North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary's Game Notes: NC State at Virginia
2/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 8, 2003
NC STATE (12-6, 5-3) vs. No. 10 VIRGINIA (13-7, 4-4)
DATE: Sunday, February 9, 2003 @ University Hall, Charlottesville, VA (8,392)
TIME: Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Capitol Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 3:30 p.m. EST (Click for list of stations carrying game)
TELEVISION: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (Regional)
OPPONENT--Reserve Devin Smith scored 17 points and keyed a 16-0 second-half run as Virginia erased a 12-point deficit and stunned No. 8 Maryland 86-78 Thursday night at the Comcast Center.
. Down 65-53 with 12:50 remaining, Virginia appeared headed to its 10th straight defeat at Maryland. But Smith sparked the shocking comeback, twice hitting successive 3-pointers to spark the Cavaliers to their second road win of the year and first in the ACC. Travis Watson was also a star for the Cavs with 15 points and 10-rebounds.
After Smith hit consecutive shots from beyond the arc, Maryland increased its lead to 10 before Virginia began its decisive run. Watson scored inside and Smith hit two straight 3-pointers before Jermaine Harper put the Cavaliers up for good with another three. Elton Brown scored on a layup and Harper capped the run with a three-pointer to boost UVA's lead to 75-69 with 3:56 to go.
Ryan Randle scored 17 points for Maryland (14-5, 6-2) as the Terps saw a five-game winning streak come to an end. The defending NCAA champions had won 14 straight ACC home games and were 11-1 at home. Drew Nicholas and Steve Blake both went over the one-thousand mark in career points in the game. Nicholas scored 20 for a 1,007 total and Blake had 12 for 1,001 points.
The Cavaliers shot 49 percent, including 12-for-22 from 3-point range, against a team that was leading the nation in field goal percentage defense. UVA played without point guard, Keith Jennifer, who was suspended indefinitely earlier in the week for conduct detrimental to the team.
Virginia has been shooting well lately. In ACC games, the Cavs are hitting .471 from the field and an outstanding .407 from the three-point line. The hottest shooter is Todd Billet. In his last 8 games, Billet has averaged 17.3 points while shooting 47 percent from the three point arc. In ACC games, Billet has connected on 46 percent of his three-point shots.
The Cavs have won three of their last four games and during that stretch have connected on 39 of 84 three-point shots (.464). They've also averaged nearly 23 trips to the free throw line a game during that period.
When the Wolfpack beat UVA in Raleigh on January 5th, Billet scored only 10 points on 3-9 shooting while Watson was held to 4 points in the first half thanks to excellent defense by State's Levi Watkins. The Cavaliers were held to 40 percent shooting and sank only 4 of 22 three-point attempts. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack shot 9 of 20 from the three-point arc and sank 20 of 27 free throw attempts. It will take that kind of effort for NC State to be successful again.
PROBABLE VIRGINIA STARTERS
No. Name 05 Derrick Byars G 6'7 22 Todd Billet G 6'0 42 Elton Brown C 6'9 35 Travis Watson C 6'8 34 Jason Clark F 6'8
A WIN--Would mark the fifth for the Wolfpack in the last seven games and give NC State a regular season sweep of the Cavaliers for the second consecutive year. NC State would win for the second straight year at University Hall and would capture its sixth straight victory over Virginia in the series. The Pack would improve to 13-6 overall, 6-3 in the ACC and 2-4 on the road (2-3 ACC).
A LOSS--Would be the second in-a-row for NC State and third in the last four games, dropping the Wolfpack to 12-7 overall, 5-4 in the ACC and 1-5 on the road. Virginia would record its 14th win over the Pack at University Hall in the last 15 games and break a five game losing streak to NC State in the series. The Cavaliers would earn a split in the regular season series after losing in Raleigh 75-63 on 1/5/03.
DEFENSE TO OFFENSE --Overall, NC State is forcing an average of 17.0 turnovers a contest (306) and is converting many of those opportunities into points. In its last 11 games the Pack has scored 201 points off turnovers (18.3 a game). State is averaging 9.4 steals a game (170).
PERIMITER POP--During the current stretch in which its won 4 of 6 games, the Pack has shot .383 from the three-point arc (57-149). In its 12 victories, the Pack is shooting .406 from the arc (116-286) while only .293 in its 6 losses (44-150). A total of 36-percent of the Pack's scoring has come via three-point shooting.
NIFTY FIFTY -- NC State has shot 50% or better in 6 games this season and won all of them. The Pack is 6-6 when shooting less than 50%. Combined, the Pack is shooting .503 from the field in its 12 wins (321-638) and only .382 in its 5 losses (133-348).
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE --NC State's free throw shooting has been impressive. The Pack is shooting .751 from the charity stripe (290-386) this season.
BENCHMARKS-- Last season, the Wolfpack bench averaged nearly 20 points a game. This season is a different story. So far, the bench has scored 204 points for an 11.3 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 9-3 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 4 of its last 5 games, including a 58-34 margin on the offensive glass.
NEXT FOR THE PACK-- NC State will host Georgia Tech on Wednesday, February 12, 2003. Airtime will be 8:30 p.m.
WOLFPACK PLAYERS TO WATCH
JULIUS HODGE-- Led the Pack vs. UVA on 1/5 with 21 points and 11 rebounds while shooting 8-11 from the field. One of the top scorers in the ACC with a 18.8 ppg. average (339), Hodge was held to 13 points on 3-13 shooting @ WFU. Hodge is among the ACC's Top-10 in field goal percentage, free throw percentage, rebounding, assists, steals and assist-to-turnover ratio. He leads the Pack in minutes played with 620 (34.41). 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 12 games, Hodge has scored 20 or more points 7 times and averaged 19.6 points (236) and 6.5 rebounds (78). 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 had a sub-par night @ WFU with 5 points and 5 rebounds on 2-10 shooting. Melvin has averaged 14.3 points (86) and 5.0 rebounds (30) in his last 6 games while shooting .470 from the field (24-51). He's also made 23 of 28 free throws during that stretch (.821). 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 15 of 17 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 was outstanding vs. UVA on 1/5 with 13 points and shot 4-7 from the field. A shot-blocker, Powell could be the most improved Wolfpack player this season. He leads the Pack in field goal percentage (.561) and has come on strong recently. In his last four games, he has averaged 13.5 points (54) while shooting .759 from the field (22-29). 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 attempts and makes (40-108) 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 7.6 points (84) over his last 11 games and was shutout at WFU. In 31 minutes against the Deacons he took only three shots and failed to connect.
CLIFF CRAWFORD-- The Wolfpack lone senior was outstanding at WFU with a team-high 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 8 games, Crawford has averaged 10.3 points (82), 3.6 rebounds (29) and 4.4 assists (35) while shooting .558 from the field (29-52). He leads the Pack in assists (78), steals (42) and three-point percentage (.435). 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 played well at WFU with 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 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 1/5/03, Watkins recorded 6 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists while holding Travis Watson to 4 points and 4 rebounds during the opening half.
