North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: NC State at Temple
2/14/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 14, 2003
NC STATE (13-7) at TEMPLE UNIVERSITY (7-13 as of 2/13/03)
DATE: Saturday, February 15, 2003 @ Laicouras Center, Philadelphia, PA (10,206)
TIME: Tip-off: 3:30 p.m.
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 3:00 p.m.
TELEVISION: ABC (Regional)
OPPONENT--Temple (7-13, 5-5) traveled cross-town on Thursday night (2/13) to take on No. 25 (AP) Saint Joseph's (17-3, 7-2) in a key game for both teams at The Palestra. The Owls were outscored 44-24 in the second half in route to a 78-59 defeat.
Temple was coming off its third consecutive road victory, a 61-50 win over Massachusetts last Saturday in Amherst. Three freshmen came up big for the Owls. Center Keith Butler posted the first double-double of his career, scoring 10 points while pulling down 11 rebounds. Guard Maurice Collins chipped in with 16 points along with three steals while forward Antywane Robinson pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds while contributing eight points. Robinson helped lead TU to a 44-26 advantage on the boards. The Owls are 7-1 when outrebounding their opponent. However, for the season they have a minus 2.4 rebounding margin
Shooting and scoring have been a struggle for the Owls. Only three times this season has Temple shot better than its opponent. Prior to Thursday night's game, the Owls were shooting only .388 from the field and .318 from the three-point arc while averaging only 63.1 points a game. Temple opponents have totaled more assists than the Owls in all but two games this season.
Defensively, Temple is holding opponents to .443 from the field , but its three-point defense has not been solid. Opponents are shooting nearly 40 percent from long-range while averaging nearly 67 points a contest. However, in the last five games, Temple has tightened up defensively allowing an average of only 60.6 ppg. The Owls average nearly 9 steals a contest.
The strength of the Owls is in the backcourt. Collins and junior David Hawkins account for 43 percent of Temple points, 46 percent of its three-point attempts and 49 percent of its free throw attempts. The Owls have used the same starting lineup for every game this season.
Temple's schedule is currently ranked as the fifth toughest in the nation according to the latest Sagarin ratings. The Owls have met Wake Forest, South Carolina, Charlotte and Illinois (all road losses) and beat Indiana 71-64 at home on December 28th.
PROBABLE TEMPLE STARTERS
No. Name
25 Maurice Collins, G 6'5
34 David Hawkins, G 6'4
44 Keith Butler, C 7'0
23 Alex Wesby, F 6'6
24 Antywane Robinson, F 6'8
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack overall and second this season away from home, improving NC State to 2-5 on-the-road. The Pack would end its regular season non-conference schedule with an 8-3 record while improving to 14-7 overall and 1-1 in non-conference road games.
A LOSS--Would be the third in the last four games for NC State, dropping the Wolfpack to 13-8 overall and to 7-4 against non-conference opponents this season (including 0-2 on the road). The Pack's overall road record would drop to 1-6.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 16.8 turnovers a contest (335) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. In its last 13 games the Pack has scored 235 points off turnovers (18.1 a game). State is averaging 9.2 steals a game (184).
HITTING FROM THREE EQUALS VICTORY-- In its 13 victories, the Pack is shooting .390 from the arc (120-308) while only .282 in its 7 losses (48-170). A total of 34-percent of the Pack's scoring has come via three-point shooting.
LAUNCHING LONG-RANGE DUDS--Over the last five game, the Wolfpack has shot only .301 from beyond the three-point arc (37-123). NC State has lost 3 of those 5 outings. Overall, NC State has shot .444 from the field in its last five games (115-259).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 6 games this season and won all of them. The Pack is 7-7 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting .495 from the field in its 13 wins (343-693) and only .387 in its 7 losses (156-403).
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 (313-419) this season.
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 236 points for an 11.8 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 a 10-4 record when leading at the half this season. The Wolfpack is 3-3 when trailing at the break.
FOLLOW THE BOUNCING BALL--The Pack outrebounded UVA on 2/9 (33-30), but has been outrebounded in 5 of its last 7 games, including a 78-58 margin on the offensive glass.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will host Florida State on Tuesday, February 18, 2003, Airtime from the RBC Center will be 6:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- One of the top scorers in the ACC with a 18.2 ppg. average (363), Hodge has struggled shooting the ball lately. In his last five games, Hodge is hitting .363 from the field (20-55) and only .176 from the three-point arc (4-23) while averaging 14.2 points (71), 5.4 rebounds (27) and 4.0 assists (20). In addition to his scoring, Hodge also ranks among the ACC's Top-15 in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounding, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. He leads the Pack in minutes played with 691 (34.5). 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. 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 appeared to making a move to come out of his recent slump with 11 points and 9 rebounds against Georgia Tech on 2/12. However, Melvin has struggled in his last 5 games, averaging 10.6 points (53), 5.6 rebounds (28) while shooting only .353 from the field (18-51) and .343 from the three-point line (11-32). He is only 2-2 from the free throw line in his last 3 games. 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 16 of 20 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-- The sophomore center has been shooting the ball very well lately. A shot-blocker, Powell could be the most improved Wolfpack player this season. He leads the Pack in field goal percentage (.552) and has been playing his best basketball of the season. In his last 6 games, he has averaged 11.7 points (70) while shooting .652 from the field (30-46). Powell was outstanding vs. UNC on 1/26 with 17 points and 9 rebounds. He tied a career-high with 23 points and added 9 rebounds in the loss to Boston College on 1/16.
SCOOTER SHERRILL--The Pack's leader in three-point field goal attempts and makes (43-113) is also one of the team's better free throw shooters. This season Sherrill has made 23-27 attempts from the charity stripe (.852). 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 7.8 points (101) over his last 13 games.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior has been outstanding in his last 3 games, averaging 11.0 points (33), 6 rebounds (18), 3.3 assists (10) and 4 steals (12). Crawford recorded a game-high 5 steals vs. Georgia Tech on 2/12. He led the Pack at WFU on 2/6 with 19 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 steals while shooting 8-13 from the field. Crawford 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 10 games, Crawford has averaged 9.6 points (96), 4.1 rebounds (41) and 4.2 assists (42) while shooting .514 from the field (36-70). He leads the Pack in assists (85) and steals (51). Against Wofford on 12/29/02, Crawford scored a career high 22 points while hitting 9 of 11 field goal attempts. 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--The Maryland native led the Pack with a career-high 18 points vs. Georgia Tech on 2/12. He has played well in his last 3 games, averaging 13 points (39) and 4 rebounds (12) while shooting .538 from the field (14-26). Against WFU on 2/6, Watkins recorded 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field--his best outing in two weeks. In the win over Duke on 1/22, the sophomore contributed with 10 points and 3 rebounds in 27 minutes off the bench. Scored 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 1/5/03, Watkins recorded 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists while holding Travis Watson to 4 points and 4 rebounds during the opening half.
