North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: NCAA Edition
3/13/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 13, 2002
NC STATE (22-10) vs. MICHIGAN STATE (19-11)
EVENT:NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional First & Second Rounds
DATE:Friday, March 15, 2002 @ MCI Center, Washington, D.C.
TIME: Tip-off: 12:15 p.m.
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 11:30 a.m.
TELEVISION: CBS
OPPONENT--Michigan State beat Big Ten Champion Ohio State twice during the regular season, but was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament before it could face the Buckeyes a third time. Conference player of the year Jared Jeffries scored 14 points, three other Hoosiers reached double figures, as Indiana beat Michigan State 67-56 in the quarterfinals on March 9th.
By limiting Michigan State to 3-of-13 shooting from 3-point range and 42.9 percent shooting in the first half, the Spartans never had an opportunity to recover from an early 11-point deficit. Defense was a factor, but the Hoosiers used other weapons too. They had scoring balance. In addition to Jeffries, the Hoosiers got 11 points each from Tom Coverdale and Dane Fife. Jeff Newton added 10 points and seven rebounds. Indiana also matched Michigan State, which has been known as the conference's strongest rebounding team in recent years, rebound-for-rebound.
Marcus Taylor and Adam Ballinger were the only consistent scorers for Michigan State. Taylor finished with 20 points, Ballinger with 12. Chris Hill, who finished with nine points, was the only other Spartan to score more than six. "That's their type of defense (to) pressure everything," Ballinger said. "That's what they were able to do to us. They really threw us out of our sets." Michigan State closed to 60-52 on a driving layup from Taylor with 3:31 left, but Indiana kept answering and MSU couldn't get any closer the rest of the way.
The Spartans have a big front line. Ballinger, Alan Anderson and Aloysius Anagonye all weigh more than 230 pounds and Michigan State is an excellent rebounding team (+8.0 rebound margin). MSU is also an outstanding three-point shooting team (.398). Chris Hill and Marcus Taylor are the top gunners from the arc. Hill is shooting nearly 45 percent from the bonusphere while Taylor has the potential to take over a game at any time. Taylor elevated his play in the final weeks of the season while leading the team in scoring and assists.
The Spartans average only 69.7 points a game, but surrender only 63.6. The guys in green don't force many turnovers (11.2), but don't expect to get a lot of good looks at the basket. Opponents are shooting only .395 from the field and .299 from the three-point line against MSU. That's because its nasty "junkyard dog" defense prevents opponents from running set plays.
Michigan State is a very young team. That's reflected in the fact that it has more turnovers than assists this season (14.3 assists a game to 14.8 turnovers). MSU does not appear to have the depth that it has had in the past, but like the Wolfpack the Spartains are an improving team. After starting the Big Ten season 0-3, they rallied to win 10 of their last 14 games. They didn't duck tough non-conference competition either.Their non-conference losses were to Syracuse, Fresno State, Florida, and Stanford.
Remember, this program has been to three consecutive Final Fours and this team plays hard for coach Tom Izzo. Michigan State will be a very difficult first-round opponent for NC State.
If the Pack should beat Michigan State, it would face the winner of the game between Hampton and Connecticut on Sunday, March 17th at 2:30 p.m. (Airtime would be 2:00 p.m. on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network)
PROBABLE MICHIGAN STATE STARTERS
01 Marcus Taylor G 6'3 So. 16.8ppg. 2.9 rpg. 5.3 apg.
23 Kelvin Torbert G 6'4 Fr. 8.4 ppg. 3.3 rpg. 1.5 apg.
OR
05 Chris Hill G 6'3 Fr. 11.1ppg. 3.3 rpg. 2.1 apg.
25 Aloysius Anagonye F 6'8 Jr. 7.9 ppg. 6.3 rpg. 1.0*
15 Alan Anderson F 6'6 Fr. 6.6 ppg. 4.3 rpg. 1.7 apg.
55 Adam Ballinger F 6'9 Jr. 11.4ppg. 7.0 rpg. 1.0*
* Blocked shots per game
A WOLFPACK WIN VS. MICHIGAN ST.--Would give the Wolfpack seven victories in its last 10 games, a 23-10 overall record and its first NCAA Tournament victory since 1991. The Pack would advance to the second round of the East Regional and meet the winner of Friday's Hampton University vs. Connecticut game on Sunday, March 17th, at 2:30 p.m. Airtime on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network would be 2:00 p.m. NC State would record its first 23-win season under coach Herb Sendek --the most victories since the 1987-88 campaign when Jim Valvano's Wolfpack won 24 games. The Pack would get its first victory over a Big Ten team this season after losing at Ohio State on November 27, 2001.
A LOSS--Would eliminate the Wolfpack from the NCAA Tournament and end NC State's 2001-02 season with a 22-11 record, its best mark under coach Herb Sendek and its best since the 1988-89 campaign when the Pack went 22-9.
LEAD AT THE HALF...LEAD AT THE FINISH--NC State has posted a 18-2 record when leading at the half this season. The only times the Pack lost with a lead at the break were against Wake Forest on 1/30 and at Georgia Tech on 2/20.
ASSISTS UP... TURNOVERS DOWN--In 24 of 32 games this season, NC State has recorded more assists than turnovers. That happened only 8 times last season. In addition, the Pack is averaging only 13.51 turnovers a game (431). Last season, the Wolfpack turned the ball over nearly 17 times a contest.
CONVERTING TURNOVERS TO POINTS --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 16.3 turnovers a contest (521) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. The Pack averaged 17.3 points off turnovers in ACC games during the regular season (276).
HOT STUFF FROM THE PERIMITER--In three ACC Tournament games, NC State shot nearly 50 percent from three-point range (30-61). Over the last 15 games, NC State has combined to shoot .411 from the three-point arc (140-340). The last 10 NC State opponents have hit only 46 of their last 154 three-point attempts (.299). Michigan State is also an outstanding three point shooting team (.398).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50 percent or better in 11 games this season (including 2 of its last 3) and won 9 of them. NC State is 13-8 when it has shot below 50 percent. Michigan State is shooting .467 from the field this season.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY --NC State's free throw shooting has improved dramatically this season. The Pack is shooting .750 from the charity stripe (519-692). Last season, the Pack shot .673 from the line. Michigan State is also an excellent free throw shooting team (.766).
NOT EXACTLY BOARD CHAIRMEN...BUT NOT BAD --For the most part, NC State has held its own on the boards this season even though rebounding was not expected to be a strength of the 2001-02 team. So far, NC State has exactly as many rebounds as its opponents this season (1064) which computes to 33.2 per game. However, in ACC play opponents outrebounded the Pack by an average of 3 rebounds a game.
PINE POINTS-- The Wolfpack's young, but deep bench is averaging 19.7 points a game (630) this season. Freshmen have accounted for more than 41 percent of the team's total minutes played.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- If NC State beats Michigan State, the Wolfpack would face the winner of the Hampton University-Connecticut game at the MCI Center on Sunday, March 17th. Tip-off has been set for 2:30 p.m. Airtime on the Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network will be 2:00 p.m.
ARCHIE MILLER-- The senior captain was named to the All-ACC Tournament team's first unit after averaging 13.3 points in three tournament games and shooting .523 from the field (11-21) and .563 from the three-point arc (9-16). Miller is second in NC State career three-point field goals with 214. In his last 14 games, Miller has averaged 12.3 points (172) on 47-99 shooting from the field (.474) during that stretch. He equaled his career high with 22 points Jan. 30th vs. Wake Forest on 6-11 shooting including 4-7 from the three-point arc. After missing 9 games last season with a stress fracture of his left leg, extra precautions were taken in January to enhance the chances of keeping Miller in the line-up for the remainder of the season. Those precautions included reduced practice time, but Miller never missed a game. Prior to the injury, Miller led the team in minutes and assists per game. He continues to lead in free throw shooting 64-74 (.865) and is No. 2 in assists (94) and steals (40). His assist-to-turnover ratio is outstanding (2.4-to-1). He has only 32 turnovers in his last 27 games. Miller's career three-point percentage is .428 (214-500).
ANTHONY GRUNDY-- Earned first-team All-ACC honors and was the Pack's first selection on that unit since Todd Fuller in 1995-96. He had an outstanding ACC Tournament and was named first-team All-ACC Tournament after averaging 23.0 points (69), 5.6 rebounds (17), 3.3 assists (10) in three games. He shot .657 from the field in the ACC Tournament (25-38) and .571 from the three-point line. He poured in a career-high 32 points against Virginia in the quarterfinals. Grundy moved into 8th place on the all-time NC State career scoring list with his 13 points vs. Duke in the ACC Championship game. He is second in school history in steals with 237 and is in the Top-10 in career three-point field goals and assists. With 28 points and 7 rebounds vs. UNC on 2/24, Grundy became the first NC State player to record 1500 points, 500 rebounds, 300 assists, and 200 steals in a career. Grundy has led the Pack in scoring in 14 of the last 16 games. During that stretch, he has averaged 21.2 points (339), 5.9 rebounds (94), 3.8 assists (61) and 2.0 steals (30) while shooting .539 from the field (124-230) and .378 from the three-point arc (28-74). In ACC regular season games, Grundy averaged 19.5 points (312), 3.9 assists (62) and 2.4 steals (38). He leads the Wolfpack in scoring (573), assists (115), steals (68), minutes (32.5) and rebounds (176).
JULIUS HODGE-- Thje Pack's leading offensive rebounder (55) earned a spot on the ACC All-Rookie Team with his outstanding play this season. Hodge led all ACC freshmen in scoring this season (10.2) and was second in rebounding (4.8). He was named to the second unit of the All-ACC Tournament team after averaging 12.3 points (37), 5.0 rebounds (15), 3.7 assists (11) and shooting .519 from the field (14-27). Hodge finished the regular season on March 2nd on a high note by tying his career high of 21 points on 7-11 shooting from the field at Wake Forest. He dished out a career-high 7 assists vs. Temple on 1/26 and led the Pack at UVA on 1/5 with a career-high 21 points on 7-8 field goal shooting. Against Maryland on 12/30, Hodge recorded 14 points and 12 rebounds vs. Maryland. Overall, he's averaging 10.4 points (323) and 4.8 rebounds a game (148). New York's "Mr. Basketball" as a senior and the New York Daily News High School Player of the Year, Hodge averaged 21.5 points, 8.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists during his senior year at St. Raymond's High School in Bronx, NY. Rated as the No. 1 shooting guard in the nation by ESPN.com.
MARCUS MELVIN--The sophomore forward has been a major factor lately. Melvin was a difference-maker in the Pack's upset of Maryland in the ACC Tournament with 19 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-12 shooting from the field. He was named to the second unit of the All-ACC Tournament team after averaging 10.7 points, 6.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists in 3 games. Over the last 8 games, Melvin has averaged 12.8 points (102) while shooting 32-61 from the field (.524). He was outstanding at Wake Forest on 3/2 with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Recorded a double-double against UNC on 2/24 (18 points, 10 rebounds). Melvin is currently the Pack's No. 1 three-point shooter (.429). He came roaring out of a seven game slump with 16 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists against Virginia on Feb. 3rd. Melvin made 5-6 shots from the field in that game, including all four of his three-point attempts. The Fayetteville native was the Pack's hero at Houston, winning the game with desperation three-pointer from the left wing at the buzzer. Melvin led NC State in scoring and rebounding in that game with 18 points and 7 boards. He's averaging 10.2 points (325) and is the team's No. 2 rebounder with 175 (5.5).
JOSH POWELL-- Despite slumping down the stretch of the ACC season, the freshman center was voted to the ACC All-Rookie Team. The final half of the ACC regular season was an adjustment period for Powell who was constantly matched-up against bigger, more experienced, and stronger front court players. Powell recorded his best outing since January 19th with 9 points at Duke on 2/14 and followed that with 8 points and 3 rebounds vs. Clemson on 2/16. In his last 12 appearances, Powell is averaging only 3.7 points (44) and 2.3 rebounds (27). His tip-in of a missed shot with :02 seconds to play was the game winning basket at Clemson on 1/15. Powell won his second ACC Rookie of the Week award this season after combining for 32 points and 16 rebounds in victories over Wofford and Syracuse while shooting 15-18 from the field (.833). He pulled down a career-high 9 rebounds vs. Syracuse. Powell scored a career high 18 points on 8-of-9 shooting from the field vs. Wofford on 12/5/01. He leads the team in field goal percentage at .538 (92-171) and blocked shots (30). He was named Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club following his senior year at Riverdale High School. He averaged 22.7 points and 13 rebounds in his senior year and is the only player in school history to have his jersey retired.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--Came off the bench to record a career high 20 points in 21 minutes against UVA on Feb 6th on 6-9 shooting from the field. He followed that with 16 points and 4 rebounds at FSU on 2/10. Sherrill has averaged 6.8 points (68) in his last 10-games while shooting .454 (20-44) from the field. He's made his last 23 free throw attempts. The hard working sophomore was the Packs No. 2 percentage three-point shooter vs. ACC teams during the regular season(.415) hitting 17-41 attempts. Sherrill came off the bench at Clemson on 1/15 scoring 18 points and equaling a career high with 5 assists. His three-pointer from the left corner with 1:24 to play was a huge play in the Pack's come-from-behind victory. In the last 12 ACC regular season games, Sherrill averaged 8.8 points (105) while shooting .532 from the field (33-62) and .444 from the three-point arc (16-36).
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The junior guard averaged 4.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.7 assists during the ACC Tournament--his best production since late January when he came off the bench vs. Wake Forest to record 9 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 steals. In 16 ACC regular season games (including 4 starts), Crawford shot .481 from the field (26-54). In his best ACC performance of the season, Crawford recorded 11 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 23 minutes at UVA on 1/5 after starting the game in place of Archie Miller. He also played well in back-to-back games vs. Wofford and Syracuse combining for 17 points, 8 rebounds and 6 assists. An above average defender, Crawford is No.3 on the team in steals with 32.
ILLIAN EVTIMOV--The freshman forward had a solid ACC Tournament averaging 10.0 points, 3.0 rebounds and 3.7 assists while shooting nearly 48 percent from the field (10-21). A two-time ACC Rookie of the Week, Evtimov scored a total of 34 points and 8 assists in games against Duke and Clemson during the week of February 11-17 while shooting 10-17 from the field. Evtimov started 10 straight games for the Wolfpack from 1/15-thru-2/16 and averaged 10.1 points (101), 4.2 rebounds (42) and 2.7 assists (27) during that span. He scored a career-high 18 points vs. Clemson on 2/16 and 16 points at Duke on 2/14 on 6-11 shooting from the field. Evtimov was a three-point threat during the ACC regular season, shooting .387 against league opponents (24-62). In only his second career ACC game at UVA on 1/5, he came off the bench to contribute 15 points, including 4 of 7 shooting from the three-point line. A native of Bulgaria, Evtimov lived in France for most of his life before moving to the United States. He averaged 21.5 points, 14 rebounds and 5.2 assists a game as a senior at Bishop McGuiness High School in Winston-Salem, NC. As a freshman at NC State, Evtimov is averaging 21minutes a game and 6.9 points a contest (222). He's seen action in every game. He's the brother of former UNC forward Vasco Evtimov who is now playing professionally in Greece.
LEVI WATKINS-- A 2001 Parade High School All-American, Watkins suffered a torn knee ligament (ACL) vs. Maryland on 12/30 and will be lost for the remainder of the season. He scored 5 points in 6 minutes before the injury. Watkins earned his first career start vs. Charleston Southern on 12/19 and played 11 minutes, scoring 2 points. His best performance of the season came vs. UNC-Asheville when he finished with 8 points and 5 rebounds. Watkins averaged 23.2 points and 11.2 rebounds a game during his senior year at Montrose Christian in Rockville, MD.
JORDAN COLLINS-- The 6-10 freshman is the Pack's biggest player in height and weight (262). Collins played the best ACC game of his career at UNC on 1/23 when he notched a career-high 8 points, pulled down 2 rebounds and dished out 2 assists in 21 minutes. Collins earned more playing time after the start of ACC play. He's averaged 9.7 minutes in 15 ACC regular season games. DNP at Georgia Tech on 2/20 due to a foot injury. Collins had 7 points and 2 rebounds vs. UNC-Asheville on 12/15. He was a four-year starter at DeMatha Catholic in Hyattsville, MD, where he averaged 15 points and 10.3 rebounds as a senior while leading DeMatha to a 27-5 record.
