North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Expecting Big Test in ACC/Big Ten Challenge
11/28/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - After riding on easy street in four one-sided victories to begin the season, NC State's 16th ranked college basketball team expects to encounter a bumpier road when it hosts Purdue Monday night in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge at the RBC Center (7 p.m.). And although the Boilermakers are off to a 1-2 start, they figure to offer up a stiffer test than the Wolfpack's first four opponents. Shooting 57.6 as a team thus far, the Pack has an average victory margin of 37.2 points and has scored better than 90 points in three of its four outings.
But Purdue, playing its last season under veteran coach Gene Keady, has always had a way of keeping games fairly close and competitive by playing stingy halfcourt man-to-man defense.
"They really play terrific defense, and they get after the ball," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "They play with a lot of intensity."
Intensity has been a Keady trademark during a standout head coaching career that is now in its 27th year. At the conclusion of this season, the six-time national coach of the year will begin his retirement, an announcement that was made last year.
"Well, he's obviously had a Hall of Fame career at Western Kentucky and then for many years now at Purdue," Sendek said. "He always has his guys ready to play. They play as hard as anybody, and if you talk to anyone close to him or that's been around his program, they'll always be quick to point out how much he cares about his guys."
To this point early in the season, however, Keady has not been able to go get his guys going in the right direction. In a 79-59 loss to Cincinnati on Saturday, the Boilermakers were outscored 15-0 during a six-minute scoring drought in the second half.
There have been very few scoring droughts for NC State over the first four games. Along with churning out a lot of points on the offensive end, the Wolfpack has been ultra-tenacious on the defensive end of the court, especially guards Tony Bethel and Engin Atsur. Along with being disruptive, the ball pressure exhibited by the Pack perimeter has led to numerous easy baskets in transition.
"Those two guys have played very well all along and they've done it on both ends of the floor," Sendek said. "Their ability to put pressure on the basketball, to really set the tone out front with our defense has been really important for us."
Some of NC State's offensive numbers have been staggering thus far. A total of nine players are shooting better than 50 percent from the floor, including center Jordan Collins, who has hit 80 percent (16-of-20) of his field goal attempts. As a team, the Wolfpack has been credited with 91 assists on 132 made field goals.
On Monday, the Pack is eager to see if it can keep it rolling against a team that takes a lot of pride in its defense.
"We've played against ok competition, but with the level of competition stepping up, our easy opportunities like that will be limited," said reserve guard Cameron Bennerman, who had a career-high 20 points in Friday night's 99-44 victory over Campbell. "With the level of competition stepping up on Monday, we're going to have to be more precise."
This will mark the second time NC State and Purdue have squared off in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Back on December 1, 1999, Justin Gainey's 3-point shot in the final seconds gave the Wolfpack a dramatic come-from-behind 61-59 win in West Lafayette.
ACC/Big Ten Challenge Schedule
Monday, November 29:
7:00 p.m. Purdue at NC State (ESPN2)
Tuesday, November 30:
7:00 p.m. Michigan at Georgia Tech (ESPN)
7:30 p.m. Florida State at Minnesota (ESPN2)
9:00 p.m. Michigan State at Duke (ESPN)
9:30 p.m. Maryland at Wisconsin (ESPN2)
Wednesday, December 1:
7:00 p.m. Wake Forest at Illinois (ESPN)
7:30 p.m. Ohio State at Clemson (ESPN2)
9:00 p.m. North Carolina at Indiana (ESPN)
9:30 p.m. Virginia at Northwestern (ESPN2)
