North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: NC State Hosts Clemson on Sunday
2/1/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 1, 2003
CLEMSON (11-5, 1-5) at NC STATE (11-5, 4-2)
DATE: Sunday, February 2, 2003 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 1:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 12:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom/Jefferson Pilot (Regional)
OPPONENT-- Wake Forest avenged a double-overtime loss last season at Clemson by whipping the Tigers at Littlejohn Coliseum 81-60 on Tuesday night. Josh Howard led the Deacons with 18 points and 11 rebounds and led a 17-4 second-half run as Wake Forest (No. 17 AP) won for the eighth time in the last nine games of the series.
The contest was the third for the Deacons in five days and Clemson hoped to take advantage of some weary legs and short-armed shots by Wake Forest. However, in the second half, the Deacons showed why they're the ACC's second-leading offense this season and why Howard is a candidate for league player of the year.
Chey Christie's basket drew the Tigers to 42-37 with 16:15 left before the Deaks made their spurt. Vitas Danelius had Wake's ninth 3-pointer -- its high in the ACC this season -- and Howard added a jam during the charge. When Howard hit two free throws to close the run, Wake Forest led 59-41 with 8:38 left.
Edward Scott and Christie made consecutive 3-pointers with 5:10 left to bring Clemson within 66-52. But that's as close as it got the rest of the way as Wake Forest improved to 14-2 overall and 4-2 in the ACC.
Howard was just 4-for-13 from the field, but was 7-of-10 from the free throw line. Danelius had a career-high 21 points and sophomore Taron Downey helped Wake Forest with 18 points, including four 3-pointers. The Deaks shot 50-percent for the game (25-50). Clemson was 23 of 58 (.397) from the field.
Clemson is a relatively young team. Of those that play significant minutes, only Scott, Ray Henderson, and Tomas Nagys are seniors. A majority of the roster is made up of sophomores and freshmen. Due to the inexperience, Scott logs a lot of playing time. Against ACC teams he's in the game an average of 39.5 minutes. Scott also leads the team in scoring and assists.
The Tigers are good rebounders and average 15 offensive boards a game. Clemson needs that kind of strength on the glass because it has struggled shooting the ball lately. Against ACC opponents, the Tigers are hitting only .432 from the field and .318 from the three-point arc. Scott is shooting just .374 against the league. Three-point marksmanship is not a Clemson hallmark. The Tigers would rather get the ball inside for high percentage shots to Sharrod Ford (.631 FG), Chris Hobbs (.590 FG) and Henderson (.570 FG).
With its physical style of play, Clemson can make opposing teams look ugly as they did to Maryland last week. The Tigers used a 2-3 match-up zone and held the Terps to 52 points (an 8-year low) and 34 percent shooting. Clemson has had several close ACC losses and has been blown-out only by Duke and Wake Forest. The Tigers upset Virginia 78-77 at home on January 18th, so they have to be considered armed and dangerous. Sunday's game will be just the fourth away from home for Clemson (1-2). Its lone road victory came at High Point on November 27.
PROBABLE CLEMSON STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG 10 Edward Scott G 6'0 Sr. 16.9 3.1 6.2 14 Chey Christie G 6'4 So. 11.1 3.0 2.7 05 Sharrod Ford C 6'9 So. 9.5 7.8 0.6* 12 Olu Babalola F 6'8 So. 8.1 4.0 1.3 43 Chris Hobbs F 6'7 Jr. 7.6 5.7 0.4
TOP RESERVES:
21 Ray Henderson C 6'8 Sr. 7.3 6.3 1.1* 03 Tomas Nagys F 6'10 Sr. 5.4 2.6 0.5* 22 Shawan Robinson G 6'2 Fr. 4.5 1.0 0.7 01 Julian Betko F/G 6'5 Fr. 2.7 0.8 0.6* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack its fourth victory in the last five ACC games, fourth straight over Clemson in the series and third in-a-row over the Tigers at the RBC Center. The Pack would put itself into position to possibly sweep the regular season series with the Tigers for second straight season when the two teams meet at Littlejohn Coliseum on March 5th. NC State would record its third consecutive home victory and move to 11-1 at the RBC Center. The Wolfpack would improve 5-2 in the ACC, marking the team's best ACC start since the 1989 season (8-2) and moving alone into second place in the ACC.
A LOSS--Would be the second straight for NC State and drop the Wolfpack to 11-6 overall and 4-3 in the ACC. The Tigers would break a three-game losing streak to NC State, a three-game overall losing streak, and earn no worse than a split in the regular season series when the two teams meet again on March 5th at Littlejohn Coliseum. The Pack would drop to 10-2 at home and fall out of a second-place tie in the ACC.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 17.3 turnovers a contest (277) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. In its last 9 games the Pack has scored 164 points off turnovers (18.2 a game). State is averaging 9.5 steals a game (152).
PERIMITER POP--During the current stretch in which its won 3 of 4 games, the Pack has shot .402 from the three-point arc (37-92). In its 11 victories, the Pack is shooting .400 from the arc (102-255) while only .306 in its four losses (38-124).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 5 games this season and won all of them. The Pack is 6-5 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting .497 from the field in its 11 wins (292-587) and only .381 in its 5 losses (112-294).
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE --NC State's free throw shooting has been impressive. The Pack is shooting .747 from the charity stripe (274-367). Versus ACC opponents, NC State is shooting .730 from the line (111-152).
BENCHMARKS-- Last season, the Wolfpack bench averaged nearly 20 points a game. This season is a different story. So far, the bench has scored 183 points for an 11.4 average. Its season-low production was vs. Coppin State and UNC with zero points. Its best was 34 against Fairleigh-Dickinson.
LEAD AFTER 20.....WIN AFTER 40--NC State has posted an 8-2 record when leading at the half this season. The Wolfpack is 3-3 when trailing at the break.
REBOUNDING--The Pack has been outrebounded in each of its last three games, including a 40-16 margin on the offensive glass.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State visit Wake Forest on Thursday, February 6, 2003. Airtime from the Joel Coliseum will be 6:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- One of the top scorers in the ACC with a 19.1 ppg. average (306)), Hodge is also among the league's Top-10 in rebounding (6.4), assists (3.9) and steals (1.8). He also leads the Pack in minutes played with 546 (34.1). Hodge scored a career-high 30 points and added 10 rebounds vs. UNC on 1/26. It was his 7th game of 20 or more points this season. Over his last 10 games, Hodge has scored 20 or more points 6 times and averaged 20.3 points (203) and 6.8 rebounds (68) while shooting 46 percent from the field (61-132). 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 has averaged 16.5 points (66) and 5.0 rebounds (20) in his last 4 games while shooting .529 from the field (18-34). He's also made 20 of 25 free throws during that stretch (.800). Melvin led the Pack at FSU on 1/18 with 21 points and 10 rebounds and was 3-5 from the three-point line. He scored a career-high 23 points vs. Northwestern on 12/4/02 and has scored in double-figures in 14 of 16 games. 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.
JOSH POWELL-- A shot-blocker, Powell is among the Top-15 in the ACC in that category (1.31). The sophomore was outstanding vs. UNC on 1/26 with 17 points and 9 rebounds. In his last 7 games, the Pack's center has shown overall improvement, averaging 12.9 points (90) and 5.1 rebounds (36) 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. 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 leader in three-point field attempts and makes (37-95) is also one of the team's better free throw shooters. This season Sherrill has made 17-21 attempts from the charity stripe (.810). 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 8.1 points (73) over his last 9 games, but has rebounded well during that span averaging 4.1 boards a contest (37).
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior did not play well at Maryland, fouling out with 2 points and 2 assists in 24 minutes. However, he was sensational vs. Duke on 1/22 with 21 points, 6 assists and played tremendous second-half defense on J.J. Redick. The Duke Freshman was held to only 4 points in the final 20-minutes. In his last 5 games, Crawford has averaged 11.2 points (56), 3.8 rebounds (19) and 5.0 assists (25) while shooting .529 from the field (18-34). He leads the Pack in assists (68), steals (37) and three-point percentage (.421). 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 deflections. He is among the ACC's Top-10 in assists and steals.
LEVI WATKINS--Contributed 6 points, 2 assists and 2 steals at Maryland on 1/30. In the win over Duke on 1/22, the sophomore contributed with 10 points and 3 rebounds in 27 minutes as the Wolfpack's sixth-man. 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 was outstanding against the Cavaliers with 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists. He also played tough first-half defense against Travis Watson. The All-ACC center was held to 4 points and 4 rebounds in the opening 20-minutes.
