North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Looks to Protect Home Court Against Tech
2/11/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 11, 2003
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-The cool breezes of February have brought fans of ACC basketball a balance and parity unlike anything they have witnessed in recent memory. Heading into Wednesday night's action, only two games separate the top six teams in the league standings. Two of those clubs-Georgia Tech and NC State-will carry 5-4 conference marks into their meeting at the RBC Center. To the winner will go another few days of eternal hope. The loser of Wednesday's contest, however, could find itself in a sixth place hole.
The tenuous nature of the conference race has generated a guessing game of "who will be in control at this time next week?" Two weeks ago, Maryland had the upper hand. By Sunday, back to back losses had dropped the Terps into a second place tie with Duke. For the time being, Wake Forest sits in the No. 1 spot with a 6-2 record. But really, should first place be considered the catbird seat or the hot seat?
As all have seen in just the last few weeks, the outlook can change from game to game.
Wednesday's contest between the Jackets and Wolfpack will almost be like a playoff game. In a year when the top six teams are 26-1 at home against league foes, there's more pressure than ever before to preserve the homecourt edge, meaning NC State can't afford a slip up against a Tech squad that is 0-7 on the road. Between them, the Wolfpack and Yellow Jackets are 1-12 in foreign venues. Their combined record at home is 22-1.
Call this one a meeting between Dr. Jeckel and Mr. Hyde.
"If you boil it down statistically, it's come down to 3-point shooting," said Tech coach Paul Hewitt when asked about the disparity between his team's performances at home and on the road. "We've defended well and we've rebounded well. We went 2-for-15 the other night from three against Clemson. I thought we took good shots. We're playing very hard and we're in all the games. We've just got to make shots. Sometimes they fall, sometimes they don't."
NC State knows the feeling. At home, the Wolfpack is shooting 50 percent this season. On the road, that figure takes a dramatic dip to 39 percent. The Pack's scoring average at home is even 21 points more than on the road (81.9 to 60.4).
"I don't know for certain what the reason is," Wolfpack head coach Herb Sendek said. "We have some really good teams and playing really good teams on the road is always a great challenge. You can point to any number of facts, but there's no way to bottle that and say, 'ok, I have an accurate conclusion.' We still have a lot of basketball to be played and there's going to be home teams that still lose in our league."
The shooting difference was certainly apparent when these two clubs squared off one month ago in Atlanta. Leading by just one at the break, Tech exploded in the second half, shooting 64.5 percent in route to an 85-61 victory. NC State on other hand made just 35.7 percent of its shots after intermission and 40 percent for the game. The Jackets were led by unheralded guard B.J. Elder, who finished with 24 points on an 8-of-11 shooting touch.
"I really thought when we played them the first time in Atlanta they were as talented as any team that we had encountered," Sendek said. "That feeling has only been substantiated as time has gone on and Georgia Tech has won more games. They're talent quotient is outstanding. I think man for man, they're off the charts. They have just tremendous firepower."
And that firepower was on display last Sunday in an impressive 90-84 triumph over then 8th ranked Maryland. In ACC games, Georgia Tech is second only to Duke in scoring offense with an average of 78.3 points per game. While Elder and ACC Rookie of the Year candidate Chris Bosh have been the mainstays most of the year, freshman point guard Jarrett Jack has also raised his game to a new level in recent weeks. Jack tallied a career-high 20 points in the win over the Terrapins.
"Earlier in the year he was having trouble scoring, and I think a lot of that just came from knowing when to hunt the shot or when to just run the offense," Hewitt said. "I think he's getting a much better feel for how to play off of his teammates. Now he can concentrate on running the team, but at the same time feel comfortable when he decides to go and get his own shot."
Perhaps the fastest improving player on the NC State squad is forward Levi Watkins, who has averaged 10.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 28 minutes over his last two games. Though he has been coming off the bench, the sophomore has actually averaged more minutes on the floor than starters Scooter Sherrill or Josh Powell the last two times out for the Wolfpack.
Riding the strength of six consecutive victories over Georgia Tech in Raleigh, NC State owns a 42-30 advantage in the all-time series.
