North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: Wolfpack Clashes With Duke
1/21/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2003
No. 3 DUKE (12-1, 3-1) @ NC STATE (9-4, 2-1)
DATE: Wednesday, January 22, 2003 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot (Regional)
OPPONENT-- Maryland beat the last undefeated team in the country, downing top-ranked Duke 87-72 Saturday at the Comcast Center. It was Maryland's second straight victory over the Blue Devils at home.
Drew Nicholas led the Terps with 24 points while Ryan Randle added 15 points and a career-high 17 rebounds as Maryland finished with a 43-32 advantage on the boards. The defending national champions also stood out at the free throw line (29-for-31)and held Duke to 33 percent shooting from the field in the second half (11-33) including 2 of 13 from 3-point range.
Maryland scored the first six points of the second half to tie the game at 43 and then turned up the defense. Dahntay Jones. who had a career-high 26 points for Duke, hit a 3-pointer with 14:21 to play marking the final tie at 53. At that point, the Terps went on a 10-0 run with all the points coming from newcomers John Gilchrist and Jamar Smith. Duke went nearly six minutes without a field goal during that stretch as Maryland increased its lead to 75-60.
Maryland's second half defense was very good, plus the Terps were able to get the ball inside offensively and got some good second shots. They also took care of the ball, committing only three second-half turnovers.
Freshman J. J. Redick, who entered the game as Duke's leading scorer, had 13 points but only two in the second half. For the first time this season, Duke played like a young team. The Devils have five freshmen in their 10-man rotation.
Despite the setback on Saturday, Duke remains a solid team with outstanding talent. The Blue Devils average 88.2 points a game and feature scoring balance, a productive bench, tremendous three-point shooters, and the ability to get to the free throw line.
They also have one of the hottest players in the ACC in Jones who has averaged 19.8 points in his last 9 games while shooting better than 50 percent from the field. He hit 10 of 18 field goal attempts against Maryland and has emerged as the team leader.
Junior guard, Chris Duhon, leads the ACC in assists, while Redick tops Duke in three point attempts (91) and three-point percentage (.440). He is also Duke's best free throw shooter (.940) and has made 28-straight. Redick scored 33 points vs. Virginia on January 15th and has six 20-point games this season.
Duke is also blessed with a deep bench that can score. The Devils bench has averaged 34.1 points a game this season and the talent is significant. Duke has used eight different starting lineups this season. Eight different players have started at least two games.
Although Duke has seven newcomers on its roster, some things have not changed. The Blue Devils launch a lot of perimeter shots (they average almost 9 made three-pointers a game) and they get to the free throw line. Thirty-four percent of Duke's shots come from three-point range and the Devils have made more free throws than their opponents have attempted (299 to 285). Also, Duke's pressure defense is forcing opponents into an average of nearly 20 turnovers a game.
A WIN-- Would give the Wolfpack its second straight ACC victory and first over Duke since beating the Blue Devils in the 1997 ACC Tournament, breaking a 13-game losing streak in the series. The Wolfpack would earn its first victory over a Top-10 opponent this season and would improve to 9-1 at home. The Pack would put itself into position for no worse than a split in the season series with Duke. The last time the Pack and Devils split their regular season series was in 1991. The last time the Pack swept the Devils was 1995.
A LOSS--Would be the fourth in the last six games for NC State, dropping the Wolfpack to 9-5 overall and to 2-2 in the ACC. The Pack would suffer its second loss this season at the RBC Center, 13th in-a-row to Duke in the series, and 8th straight to the Blue Devils in Raleigh.
ASSISTS TO TURNOVERS--In 6 of its 12 games this season, NC State has recorded more assists than turnovers. That happened in 25 of 34 games last season. The Pack is averaging 13.8 turnovers a game (179).
CONVERTING TURNOVERS TO POINTS --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 17.7 turnovers a contest (230) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. In its last 6 games the Pack has scored 105 points off turnovers (17.5 a game). State is averaging 9.8 steals a game (127).
SOME POP FROM THE PERIMITER--In its ACC opener vs. Virginia, the Wolfpack shot an impressive 45% from three-point range (9-20), but is a combined 16-48 in its last two ACC games (.333). For the season, The Pack is .354 from the arc (110-311).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 4 games this season and won all of them. The Pack is 5-4 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting .499 from the field in its 9 wins (244-489) and only .357 in its four losses (87-244).
 Josh Powell is averaging 14.0 points per contest over his last four games.  |
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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 161 points for a 12.4 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 8-1 record when leading at the half this season. The Wolfpack is 1-3 when trailing at the break.
DEFENSE--The Wolfpack is near the top in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing only 65.4 points a game.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- Improving North Carolina visits NC State on Sunday, January 26th, Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network will be 1:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- The ACC's No. 2 scorer with 244 points (18.8 ppg.) and the Pack's leader minutes played with 434 (33.4). Hodge scored 22 points at FSU, his 6th game of 20 or more points this season. Over his last 7 games, Hodge has scored 20 or more points 5 times and averaged 20.1 points (141) and 6.6 rebounds (46) while shooting .450 from the field (45-100). 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.
MARCUS MELVIN--This versatile junior forward rebounded from two sub-par games in-a-row with 21 points and 10 rebounds at FSU. Melvin shot 6-10 from the field vs. the Seminoles and 3-5 from the three-point line. Melvin is the Pack's No. 2 scorer with 171 points (13.2 ppg.) leads the team in rebounding (82) averaging 6.3 rpg. He's the team's No. 2 three-point shooter at .388 (26-67), but leads the squad with 41 turnovers. Scored a career-high 23 points vs. Northwestern on 12/4/02 and has scored in double-figures in 11 of 13 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-- Foul trouble hurt the sophomore center's numbers at FSU, but he managed to score 8 points in 14 minutes. Powell has played well in his last four games, averaging 14.0 points and 5.25 rebounds while contributing solid defense. He tied a career-high with 23 points and added 9 rebounds in the loss to Boston College on 1/16. Powell is the Wolfpack's No. 3 scorer with 158 points (12.2 ppg.) and rebounder (68) averaging 5.2 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.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--The Pack's top three-point shooter at .390 (30-77) is also the team's leader in free throw percentage. This season Sherrill has made 15-17 attempts from the charity stripe (.882). The junior guard scored a career-high 22 points vs. Gonzaga on 12/17/02, but since then his point production has dropped. He's averaged 7.7 points (46) over his last 6 games, but has rebounded well during that span averaging 4.8 boards a contest (29).
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior leads the team in assists (54), steals (31) and is shooting .513 from the field (41-80). Against Wofford on 12/29/02, Crawford scored a career high 22 points while hitting 9 of 11 field goal attempts. Showed toughness by playing hurt against UMass and UVA with a back strain. 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.
