North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: Boston College
1/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 14, 2003
NC STATE (8-3) vs. BOSTON COLLEGE (6-6)
DATE:Thursday, January 16, 2003 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m.
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m.
TELEVISION: espn2
OPPONENT--Boston College lost its fourth straight game Saturday night as Carmelo Anthony and Hakim Warrick each scored 24 points and combined for 25 rebounds to lead Syracuse to a 82-74 victory over the Eagles at the Carrier Dome.
Troy Bell had 29 points to lead BC and moved past Bill Curley into second place all-time on the Eagles' scoring list with 2,127 points, behind only Dana Barros' mark of 2,342. Craig Smith had 26 points and 10 rebounds for the Eagles and Ryan Sidney added 11 points and four assists.
Gerry McNamara added 20 points for Syracuse (10-1, 2-0 Big East) as the Orangemen overcame foul trouble to both their centers and a poor shooting night by Kueth Duany, who scored only one point after hitting for 20 Wednesday night at Seton Hall.
Boston College, which trailed 40-32 at halftime after falling behind by as many as 15, rallied with a 14-2 spurt shortly after the break. A rainbow three-pointer by Andrew Bryant at 12:22 put BC up 53-50. However, BC became unraveled when Bryant was assessed his second and third personals in rapid-fire succession. Referee Ed Corbett then hit Bryant with a technical when he allegedly blurted out a curse word after picking up his third personal on a Syracuse inbounds play. The Orangemen employed a press, quickly rallied to take the lead and never looked back.
McNamara hit both free throws, Anthony converted two more and Warrick followed with a three-point play to put the Orangemen ahead 59-58 with 9:36 to go. Later, Anthony scored seven points in 71 seconds in the waning moments to dash the Eagles' hopes.
BC has one of the top two-man offensive combos in the nation with senior guard, Troy Bell and freshman forward, Craig Smith. Both are scoring better than 20 points a game. Bell was selected to the preseason All-Big East First Team and was one of 50 preseason nominees for the Wooden Award. He and teammate, Ryan Sidney were recognized by "Basketball News" as the nation's best backcourt. However, that combination has been altered somewhat by necessity.
With forward Uka Agbai out of the lineup for nine games with a neck injury, coach Al Skinner, has been forced to move Sidney to the third-guard/small forward position and insert freshman Louis Hinnant into the backcourt with Bell. Hinnant has averaged more than 30 minutes and nearly 5 points and 4 assists a game since his becoming a starter. Sidney apparently has not been hurt by the change. He leads the team in assists and is second in rebounding.
Since Agbai has been sidelined, BC has not received much scoring production out of anyone except Bell, Smith and Sidney. The Eagles shot only 40 percent against Syracuse (24-60) and just 37 percent in the second half. For the season, BC is hitting .457 from the field, including .297 from the three-point arc. The Eagles are holding their own on the boards (38-38) and they're average on the offensive glass (14.8).
BC gets to the free throw line a lot --about 27 times a game. However, the Eagles do not shoot well from the charity stripe (.633). Against Syracuse, they were only 21-37 from the foul line.
The only common opponent for both NC State and BC is Massachusetts. The Eagles won 80-62 at UMass on December 7th. The Pack was beaten 68-56 there on January 2nd. Defensively, the Eagles allow 77 points a game, but showed signs of improvement against Syracuse.
This is an important bounce back game for the Wolfpack following Saturday's loss at Georgia Tech and prior to another ACC road game at Florida State this weekend.
PROBABLE BOSTON COLLEGE STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG 02 Troy Bell G 6'1 Sr. 23.0 4.8 3.5 11 Louis Hinnant G 6'4 Fr. 4.1 2.1 3.2 01 Craig Smith F 6'7 Fr. 21.1 8.9 1.0* 05 Ryan Sidney F/G 6'2 Jr. 14.3 8.0 5.0 13 Nate Doornekamp C 7'0 So. 2.4 3.6 0.8
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would keep the Pack unbeaten at home this season at 9-0 and give NC State an 8-2 non-conference record and a 1-1 mark in its all-time series with Boston College. The Wolfpack would improve to 35-3 versus non-conference opponents in the RBC Center under coach Herb Sendek. State's all-time record against Big East teams would improve to 51-34.
A LOSS--Would be the second in-a-row and third in the last four games for NC State, dropping the Wolfpack to 8-4 overall and to 7-3 against non-conference opponents this season. The Pack would suffer its first loss this season at the RBC Center and drop to 34-4 versus non-conference opponents in that building under coach Herb Sendek. Boston College would break a four-game losing streak, improve its road record to 3-2 and its non-conference mark to 7-4.
ASSISTS UP... TURNOVERS DOWN--In 6 of its 11 games this season, NC State has recorded more assists than turnovers. That happened in 25 of 34 games last season. In addition, the Pack is averaging 14.3 turnovers a game (157).
CONVERTING TURNOVERS TO POINTS --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 18.5 turnovers a contest (203) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. In its last 4 games the Pack has scored 66 points off turnovers (16.5 a game). State is averaging 10.3 steals a game (113).
HOT STUFF FROM THE PERIMITER--In its ACC opener vs. Virginia, the Wolfpack shot an impressive 45% from three-point range (9-20), but was 9-24 in its loss at GT. For the season, The Pack is .376 from the arc (97-258).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 4 games this season and won all of them. The Pack is 4-3 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting 51% from the field in its 8 wins and only 34% in its three losses.
TAKING ADVANTAGE OF CHARITY --NC State's free throw shooting has been impressive. The Pack is shooting .743 from the charity stripe (176-237). In its ACC opener, State was 20-27 from the line vs. Virginia, but only 12-19 in its loss at GT..
PINE POINTS-- Last season, the Wolfpack bench averaged nearly 20 points a game. This season is a different story. So far, the bench has scored 144 points for a 13.1 average. Its season-low production was vs. Coppin State with zero points. Its best point production was 34 against Fairleigh-Dickinson.
LEAD AT THE HALF...LEAD AT THE FINISH--NC State has posted a 7-0 record when leading at the half this season. The Wolfpack is 1-3 when trailing at the break.
DEFENSE--The Wolfpack leads the ACC in scoring defense, allowing only 63.1 points a game.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State travels to Florida State to take on the Seminoles in an ACC road game on Saturday, January 18th. Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network will be 7:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- The ACC's No. 4 scorer with 201 points (18.3 ppg.) and the Pack's leader in rebounding with 71 (6.5) and minutes played with 362 (32.9). Hodge scored only 9 points at GT, breaking a streak of 16 straight games in which he'd scored in double-figures. However, in his last 5 games he's scored 20 or more points 3 times and averaged 19.6 points (98) and 7.2 rebounds (36) while shooting .533 from the field (32-60) and 7-16 from three-point range (.438). On 12/14/02 Hodge became the first NC State men's player to record a triple-double with 11 points, 12 rebounds, and 10 assists against NC A&T. A member of the ACC All-Rookie Team last season, he led all ACC freshmen in scoring (10.7 ppg.). He was named to the second unit of the All-ACC Tournament Team after averaging 12.3 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.7 assists and shot .519 from the field.
MARCUS MELVIN--This versatile junior forward was held to 9 points on 3-11 shooting from the field at GT on 1/11. Melvin is the Pack's No. 2 scorer with 150 points (13.6 ppg.) and rebounder (66) averaging 6.0 rpg. He's the team's No. 2 three-point shooter at .411 (23-56), but leads the squad with 33 turnovers. Scored a career-high 23 points vs. Northwestern on 12/4/02 and has scored in double-figures in 10 of 11 games this season. Last season, Melvin was a difference-maker in the Pack's upset of eventual national champion 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.
JOSH POWELL-- After scoring in double-figures in the first five games of the season, the sophomore center has been inconsistent. However, he's played well in his last two outings averaging 12.5 points and 4.5 rebounds while contributing solid defense. Powell is the Wolfpack's No. 3 scorer with 127 points (11.5 ppg.) and rebounder (56) averaging 5.1 rpg. Last season, Powell was named to the ACC All-Rookie Team. He led the Pack in field goal percentage (.528) while averaging 7.2 points and 3.9 rebounds a game. Powell was named Metro Atlanta Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tip-Off Club following his senior year at Riverdale High School and averaged 22.7 points and 13 rebounds a game.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--The Pack's top three-point shooter at .431 (28-65) is also the team's leader in free throw percentage. This season Sherrill has made all 10 of his attempts from the charity stripe and dating back to last season has swished 33 straight free throws. The junior guard scored a career-high 22 points vs. Gonzaga on 12/17/02, but since then his point production has dropped somewhat. He's averaged 7.6 points (38) over his last 5 games.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior leads the team in assists (43), steals (28) and field goal percentage at .531 (34-64). Against Wofford on 12/29/02, Crawford scored a career high 22 points while hitting 9 of 11 field goal attempts. He strained a back muscle against UMass and was ineffective with only 2 points, 1 assist and 1 steal. Bounced back against Virginia with 14 points and 4 rebounds. Crawford is the team's best defender and leads the Pack in steals and deflections.
LEVI WATKINS-- Scored a career-high 15 points at GT on 1/11 and hit 4 of his 5 attempts from the three-point arc. A 2001 Parade High School All-American, Watkins suffered a torn knee ligament (ACL) vs. Maryland on 12/30/01 and was lost for the remainder of the 2001-02 season. Shedding his knee brace vs. Virginia on 1/8/03, the sophomore forward played his best all-round game of the season against the Cavaliers with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. He also played outstanding first-half defense against Travis Watson. The All-ACC center was held to 4 points and 4 rebounds in the opening 20-minutes.
