North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Looks to Rebound Against Red Hot West Virginia
1/1/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 1, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - Even as West Virginia was winning its first eight games - a stretch that included a victory at LSU - there were numerous critics still out there who said the Mountaineers record had been built against a weak schedule. But there were very few skeptics to be found after West Virginia improved to 9-0 earlier this week by downing 20th ranked George Washington. Fresh off that impressive triumph, the Mountaineers now come to Raleigh for a meeting with an NC State team (10-2) that's trying to pick up the pieces in the aftermath of its most disappointing performance of the season. Game time at the RBC Center on Sunday is set for 3:00 p.m.
After watching his New York Mets post the worst record in Major League Baseball history, a 40-120 mark in 1962, manager Casey Stengel told one of his players not to take it personally. "It was a team effort," Stengel was quoted as saying.
NC State's 63-45 loss to St. John's in the title game of the annual Holiday Festival Thursday night at Madison Square Garden should go down as a "team effort" as well. No one Wolfpack player distinguished himself during a game that coach Herb Sendek labeled "horrendous."
Three NC Starters failed to score as the Wolfpack shot just 20 percent from the floor, including just 13 percent in a first half that produced only 10 points. And though All-American Julius Hodge finished with 19 points, he didn't hit his first field goal until nearly nine minutes were gone in the second half.
The ACC's top team in assist-to-turnover ratio coming into the Thursday's game, the Wolfpack had two assists and 19 turnovers against the Red Storm.
"It seemed like everybody was taking their turn shooting the ball," said forward Ilian Evtimov. "We played very selfishly."
If there is a silver lining for NC State, this isn't the first time many of the players on the current team have suffered through a `December dud.' The Wolfpack's previous three squads all went on to post NCAA Tournament seasons after recovering from some downer December non-conference defeats. Last year's squad, a team that went to finish second in the ACC, looked disjointed and out of sync during a pre-Christmas loss at South Carolina. A few weeks later, there was also a less than picturesque defeat on the road at Boston College.
Evtimov and many of his veteran teammates know as well as anyone that one or two lackluster performances early in the year are not necessarily harbingers of things to come.
"It's going to show our character," Evtimov responded when asked about West Virginia. "We're going to play a very good team; they're undefeated and just beat George Washington. They'll probably be ranked next week. We better come to play or the same scenario is going to happen on Sunday. We've got to play together and as a team."
Wednesday's 71-65 win over George Washington moved West Virginia to 9-0 for the first time since 1960. Tyrone Sally, 6-7, 210-poound senior forward, averages 13.2 points and 4.3 rebounds per game to lead the Mountaineers, who are in their third season under former Richmond coach John Beilein. Junior forward Mike Gansey, who had 19 points on Wednesday, averages 12.4 points and six rebounds per contest.
A strong defensive team, West Virginia has held five of its last six opponents below 60 points. Opposing teams are shooting just 38.7 percent against the Mountaineers this season. West Virginia is also doing a good job on the offensive end of the court, shooting 49 percent from the field and 37 percent from 3-point range.
