North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Wearing a Target as it Heads to Clemson
2/17/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 17, 2004
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C.-To the victor go the spoils. But what do the spoils lead to? Awash in the kind of notoriety no NC State team has experienced in at least 15 years, the 13th ranked Wolfpack now faces a new opponent: its own success. Fresh off its fifth straight ACC win - a spectacular 78-74 triumph over then top-ranked Duke -the Pack has gone from being the hunter to the hunted, a new role that will make it impossible to sneak into road arenas under the radar. Certainly, there's little doubt that the Clemson Tigers (9-13, 2-9) will be eager to take a bite out of a nationally ranked opponent when NC State (16-5, 9-2) visits Death Valley on Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
And while the Tigers currently occupy last place in the ACC standings, there is no such thing as a 'gimme' in this league, not this season. Clemson may also be eager to avenge the rough treatment it got last month in Raleigh when it was handled rather easily by the Wolfpack, 86-69.
"Either way, you have to be ready to play," NC State head coach Herb Sendek said when asked if his team's role change would make games like Wednesday's more challenging. "There are quality teams in our league top to bottom. Anytime you go on the road in the ACC you better be really good if you're going to get a win. I don't think it changes our mental approach to things at all."
And while the mental approach that has worked so well for the Wolfpack this season may not change, there's every chance that an opponent like Clemson will be just a little more enthusiastic about the opportunity to host a nationally ranked team that is very much in the hunt for the ACC's regular season title. The spoiler role certainly suited the Tigers very well earlier this season when they tripped up a North Carolina team that was ranked 15th before it walked out of Littlejohn Coliseum with an 81-72 loss.
"There's no question that if you're flying in under the radar screen that it's a lot easier than what Duke has had to face over the last few weeks when you're getting everybody's best shot," said Clemson coach Oliver Purnell. "It definitely can change things, I don't think there's any question about that. They're certainly going to get some well-deserved pop and publicity. When you look at what they've done, 9-2 in the league and 13-0 at home, they're going to get some credit and exposure. What comes with that obviously is more of a focus from opposing teams."
Purnell's focus will be trying to figure out a way to avoid the match-up problems NC State has been creating for most of its opponents during this most recent stretch of games. Even against Duke on Sunday, the Wolfpack forced the Blue Devils to keep smaller line-ups on the floor for long stretches when it became obvious that big men Shelden Williams and Shavlik Randolph were having trouble guarding the Pack's Ilian Evtimov away from the basket. Then, against Duke's smaller combinations, NC State was effective in getting points in the paint from Evtimov, Marcus Melvin and Julius Hodge. During its winning streak, the Wolfpack has shown that it can be successful without relying as much on the 3-point shot, as evidenced by its 34-20 scoring advantage in the paint against Duke.
"They really spread the floor and go "five out" with their Princeton-style offense," Purnell said. "If you put a small guy on [Hodge], they're going to send him to the box. If you put a big guy on him, they're going to put him at the point of attack in the middle of the floor with the ball and he's going to challenge you off the drive. Evtimov is a tough match-up for any big guy. They've got three or four guys who are tough match-ups to start with and then Herb does a nice job of putting them in positions depending on who's guarding them. All of those guys can play inside and outside."
The toughest match-up NC State may face on Wednesday could be Sharrod Ford, Clemson's improving 6-9 center who burned the Wolfpack for 20 points in the first meeting. Raleigh native Shawan Robinson has also given the Tigers a boost in the backcourt and is averaging nearly 11 points per contest. Robinson, who drilled five of six 3-pointers in the victory over North Carolina, is a 38 percent shooter from the arc.
NC State is getting 18.2 points and 6.3 rebounds per game from Hodge, 14 points and 8.0 rebounds from Melvin and 10.6 points per contest from senior guard Scooter Sherrill.
As a team, the Wolfpack continues to lead the nation in free throw percentage with a startling accuracy rate of 79.9 percent. Against ACC competition, the Pack is hitting 82.1 percent from the stripe.
NC State's 9-2 start in ACC play is the third best in school history, trailing only the 1973 and 74 teams which posted unbeaten league marks (12-0) in back-to-back seasons.
The Wolfpack owns a 92-40 advantage in the series with Clemson and has prevailed in the last six games, including two in a row at Littlejohn. Airtime on the Wolfpack Radio Network Wednesday night will be 6:30 p.m.
