North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: NC State Visits North Carolina
2/25/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 25, 2003
NC STATE (14-9, 7-5) at NORTH CAROLINA (14-12, 4-8)
DATE:Tuesday, February 25, 2003, at Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC (21,750)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (Regional)
OPPONENT-- North Carolina's trip to Maryland on Saturday was a blowout of record-breaking proportions. Steve Blake and drew Nicholas combined for 35 points as the No. 13 Terps crushed the Tar Heels 96-56, matching the most lopsided ACC victory in Maryland history.
Ryan Randle scored 16 points for the Terrapins, who have won four straight against North Carolina for the first time since 1930-32. It was Maryland's largest margin of victory in the 79-year series, eclipsing the 33-point blowout the Terrapins enjoyed at home last season.
Maryland shot 65 percent in the first half, but let a 13-point halftime lead dwindle to 47-40 before Blake scored seven points in a 13-2 run that gave the Terrapins some breathing room. After the Tar Heels closed to 62-47, freshman John Gilchrist hit a runner in the lane, Jamar Smith dunked an alley-oop pass from Calvin McCall while Andre Collins and Randle made layups to start a 14-0 burst that put the Terps ahead by 29 points.
Melvin Scott with 12 points and Rashad McCants added 11 for North Carolina. Raymond Felton, who leads the Tar Heels in assists and steals and is the team's NO. 2 scorer, was held to 8 points and 2 assists and shot only 3-10 from the field. The Heels fell to 1-6 on the road in the ACC.
Carolina again played without freshman Sean May. The 6-foot-8 center has been sidelined with a broken foot since late December and will not play for at least two more games.
Without May in the lineup, Carolina lacks a consistent inside game and has relied almost completely on Felton, McCants, and Jawad Williams for scoring and rebounding production. The trio has combined for 60 percent of the Tar Heels points and 40 percent of its rebounds this season. Those numbers are even higher with May on the bench.
Carolina has struggled shooting the ball this season from the field (.418), but without May the marksmanship is even worse. However, three-point shooting has kept the Heels competitive. McCants is an exceptional three-point shooter (.404) and also leads the team in field goal percentage (.477) and scoring. Felton and McCants combined for 48 points in Carolina's first meeting with NC State this season.
Rebounding has been a challenge for both North Carolina and NC State. In the Wolfpack's 86-77 win over the Heels a month ago in Raleigh, Carolina stayed in the game by outrebounding the Pack 38-27, including a 14-8 margin on the offensive glass. However, UNC shot only 40 percent from the field and State's 56 percent second-half shooting was too much to overcome. The Pack committed only 9 turnovers while scoring 22 points off Carolina's 15 miscues.
There is no doubt that UNC is still a very capable team. Despite the Heels lop-sided loss at Maryland, Carolina has won 3 of its last five games and is 9-3 this season at home. The Pack has a 1-7 road record.
PROBABLE UNC STARTERS
No. Name
02 Raymond Felton, G, 6'1
32 Rashad McCants, G, 6'4
41 Byron Sanders, C, 6'9
05 Jackie Manuel, F, 6'5
21 Jawad Williams, F, 6'9
TOP RESERVES:
01 Melvin Scott, G, 6'1
34 David Noel, F, 6'6
25 Damien Grant, C, 6'11
44 Will Johnson, F, 6'8
A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack its third victory in five games, fourth in-a-row over UNC in the series and second straight over the Tar Heels at the Smith Center. NC State would improve to 15-9 overall, 8-5 in the ACC and 2-7 on the road. With an eighth conference win, the Pack will have assured itself of at least a .500 regular season ACC record for a second straight season. NC State would sweep the regular season series with UNC for the second straight year.
A LOSS--Would be the second in-a-row for the Pack and third in the last four games, dropping NC State to 14-10 overall and 7-6 in the ACC. The Pack's road record would drop to 1-8 while its road losing streak would stretch to six straight games. The Tar Heels would break a three-game losing streak to NC State and earn a split in the regular season series with the Wolfpack while winning for the fourth time in the last six games.
HITTING FROM THREE EQUALS VICTORY-- In its 14 victories, the Pack is shooting .385 from the arc (125-325) while only .270 in its 9 losses (56-207). A total of 33-percent of the Pack's scoring has come via three-point shooting.
PROBLEMS DIALING LONG DISTANCE--Over the last 3 games, the Wolfpack has shot only .241 from beyond the three-point arc (13-54). NC State has lost 2 of those 3 outings. However, the Pack has shot a respectable .473 from the field during that stretch (71-150).
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 8 games this season including its last two outings and is 7-1 when hitting the big five-zero. The Pack is 7-8 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting .497 from the field in its 14 wins (370-745) and only .399 in its 9 losses (200-501).
EASY BASKETS --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 16.1 turnovers a contest (371) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. However, in its last 4 losses that number has dropped to 12.7 points off turnovers (51). State is averaging 8.8 steals a game (203).
LOOKING GOOD AT THE LINE --NC State's free throw shooting has been impressive. The Pack is shooting .756 from the charity stripe (351-464) 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 263 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 11-4 record when leading at the half this season. The Wolfpack is 3-5 when trailing at the break.
DIRTY GLASS--The Pack outrebounded Duke 28-23 on 2/22/03, but has been outrebounded in 7 of its last 10 games, including a 112-78 margin on the offensive glass.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will host Maryland on Sunday, March 2, 2003, Airtime from the RBC Center will be 7:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- One of the top scorers in the ACC at 18.2 ppg. (418), Hodge bounced out of a recent slump with 39 points on 15-26 shooting from the field (.577) in his last two games. However, he continues to struggle from 3-point range. In his last 6 games, Hodge has made only 3 of 26 shots from the arc (.115). In addition to his scoring, Hodge ranks among the ACC leaders in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounding, assists, and steals. He leads the Pack in rebounding at 6.0 (137) and minutes played with 799 (34.7). Hodge scored a career-high 30 points and added 10 rebounds vs. UNC on 1/26. He's scored 20 or more points 9 times 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 vs. NC A&T.
MARCUS MELVIN--This versatile junior appears to have broken out of a recent slump, scoring 35 points in his last two games on 10-20 shooting from the field (.500). Melvin has not been to the free throw line much lately (10-11 in his last 6 games), but has been one of the Pack's better rebounders averaging 7 rebounds in his last 4 games. The Fayetteville native 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 18 of 23 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 made all six of his field goal attempts at Duke on 2/22 and finished with 14 points and 6 rebounds. It was his second double-figure scoring effort in his last 6-games. The Georgia native leads the Pack in field goal percentage at .565 (100-177) and has shot .672 from the field (39-58) in his last 9 games. 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 attempts and makes (45-124) is also one of the team's better free throw shooters. This season Sherrill has made 25-29 attempts from the charity stripe (.862). 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 7.4 points (119) over his last 16 games. In his last two games, he's scored 12 points on 5-12 shooting from the field.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior has been steady in his last 6 games, averaging 10.5 points (63), 5.0 rebounds (30), 3.7 assists (22) and 3.0 steals (18) while playing solid defense. 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 13 games, Crawford has shot .516 from the field (46-89). He leads the Pack in assists (97) and steals (56). 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 6 games, averaging 8.8 points (53) and 3.7 rebounds (22) while shooting .465 from the field (20-43). Against WFU on 2/6, Watkins recorded 11 points on 4-6 shooting from the field. 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.
