North Carolina State University Athletics
High Scoring Panthers Visit NC State
12/6/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 6, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-Just as no big win in December can make a season for college basketball teams, no singular loss can break a season. It is with that thought that NC State will try to bounce back from its first defeat of the year when it hosts dangerous Wisconsin-Milwaukee Sunday night at the RBC Center (6:38 tip off). The Wolfpack (3-1), which fell to Michigan 68-61 in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge on Tuesday night, certainly won't be getting a cupcake in the Panthers (3-1), who went to the NCAA Tournament last season after posting a 24-8 record under coach Bruce Pearl.
Not only did Wisconsin-Milwaukee make it to the 'Big Dance" last March, it came within an eyelash of recording a major first round upset against Notre Dame. The Panthers eventually lost to the Irish, 70-69, but only after standout 6-9 forward Dylan Page's potential game-winning layup just before the buzzer rolled agonizingly off the rim.
Fortunately for U-W-M, Page is back this season, and he's back with a vengeance, averaging 20.3 points and 9.3 rebounds through four games. Wisconsin-Milwaukee actually has two players averaging better than 20 points per contest, a rarity in college basketball these days. Junior guard Ed McCants, a 3-point marksman, is averaging 20 points per game for the Panthers, whose only loss came against Southern Illinois back on November 29th. Thus far, McCants has hit nearly 47 percent of his 3-point attempts.
A team that likes to push tempo with fullcourt pressure and a high-octane transition game, Wisconsin-Milwaukee is averaging 87.2 points per game. And when they're not getting points with their fast break, the Panthers do a good job of executing in the halfcourt with a flex offense that produces opens shots both inside and out for Page, McCants and sophomore Joah Tucker, who's putting up 16.5 points per game.
Wisconsin-Milwaukee's transition game, of course, is fueled by a variety of presses that will test an NC State team that's been loose with the basketball this season. The Wolfpack has turned the ball over 35 times over its last two games and is averaging 17 for the season thus far. Those numbers are surprising given the plethora of versatile and skilled players the Pack is able to put on the floor.
"We're too skilled a team and we have too many guys that are good with the ball to allow pressure to cause us to turn the basketball over like that," NC State head coach Herb Sendek said after his team turned the ball over 19 times in Ann Arbor on Tuesday. "Early season is when you battle these things. We have to get better at them, but I'm disappointed we haven't made better decisions."
So far, NC State has been paced by junior swingman Julius Hodge, who is averaging 20 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Guard Scooter Sherrill has also come out of the gate strong, averaging 16.8 points per contest.
Sendek would like to get senior forward Marcus Melvin going soon. Melvin, a vital cog in the Wolfpack attack, went just 2-of-7 with five turnovers against the Wolverines. Melvin's scoring average stands at 9.5 points through four games.
This will be the first ever meeting between the two schools. Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network is 6:00 p.m.
