North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Virginia Tech
1/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 19, 2005
NC STATE (11-5, 1-2) at VIRGINIA TECH (8-6, 1-2)
DATE: Wednesday, January 19, 2005 @ Cassell Coliseum, Blacksburg, VA (10,052)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: RSN (Regional Sports Network)
OPPONENT-- A steal and dunk by Carlos Dixon with 6.9 seconds left gave Virginia Tech a 59-57 win over Clemson at Cassell Coliseum on Saturday afternoon. The victory was the Hokies first in the ACC and broke a two-game conference losing streak.
Clemson (10-6, 1-3) had tied the game at 57 on two free throws by guard Cliff Hammonds with 48.5 seconds to play. Dixon missed a 3-pointer with 23 seconds left and Clemson rebounded. Tigers point guard Vernon Hamilton brought the ball up court, but threw a weak bounce pass to the left wing and Dixon stepped in for the steal. The redshirt senior drove down the court, moved to his left to avoid Hamilton and slammed the ball home with 6.9 seconds left.
After Dixon's dunk, Clemson called timeout to draw up a final play. The Tigers' Shawan Robinson missed a 3-pointer with two seconds to go and Olu Babalola's tip-in came up short, sending the crowd into a celebration.
The win came after a first half that saw Tech play poorly on both ends of the court. The Hokies committed 11 turnovers in the first 20-minutes against Clemson's pressure man-to-man defense and shot just 38.5 percent. The Tigers led 32-25, at the break, thanks to 58 percent shooting from the field.
Tech started its comeback midway through the second half. The Hokies trailed by seven with 9:30 left, but scored the next seven points and Zabian Dowdell's basket with 5:29 remaining tied the game. A three-point play by Deron Washington finally gave Tech the lead at 55-53 with 2:30 left. Washington played a critical role down the stretch, scoring six of his 10 points in the last nine minutes.
Dowdell led four Tech players in double figures with 15 points. Jamon Gordon added 14 points, while Dixon finished with four of Tech's 14 steals and 12 points. Sharrod Ford led Clemson with 16 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots.
The Hokies survived 39 percent shooting for the game (1-10 arc) by forcing 23 Clemson turnovers and by driving the ball to the basket--a strategy that resulted in 18-24 shooting from the foul line. Clemson shot 49 percent, but made only 5 of 10 free throws.
Virginia Tech is a youthful and very athletic team that plays hard, especially on the defensive end. The Hokies return three starters from last season's 15-14 squad. A fourth starter, Markus Sailes, a junior guard, suffered a stress fracture of his right leg in December and will apply for a medical redshirt.
The Hokies are last in the ACC in scoring (70.4), field goal percentage (.437) and rebounding margin (-4.8) and are near the bottom in free throw shooting (.652), but are able to compete by playing aggressive defense and forcing turnovers. Tech is allowing opponents an average of only 64.7 points a game and is forcing 21 turnovers a contest. Its turnover margin of +8 leads the ACC.
Offensively, Virginia Tech is at its best in transition and when breaking opponents down on dribble penetration. Against Clemson, a majority of the Hokies second-half baskets were scored either in transition or off the dribble in the half court.
Although not known as a great perimeter shooting team, Virginia Tech, has weapons beyond the arc in Dixon (.388) and Dowdell (.419). Dowdell is very good at driving the ball and creating his own shot. Gordon may be Tech's best all-round player. He leads the ACC in steals (3.0) and tops the Hokies in minutes (33.8) and blocks (13) as well as rebounding and assists. Washington, has been a solid contributor. He's in the top-5 among ACC rookies in scoring and rebounding.
Depth is not a problem. Ten players see at least 9 minutes or more of action in most every game. Adding to that depth is Jeff King. A tight end on the Hokies' ACC championship football team, King joined the basketball squad on January 10th. He played 3 minutes against Clemson and scored 2 points.
Virginia Tech is 7-2 at home this season and has won 12 of its last 14 games at Cassell Coliseum. The Hokies won nine in-a-row at home before losing to North Carolina 85-51 on December 19th.
This will be the first game between the Wolfpack and Hokies since an 89-65 Virginia Tech win in Greensboro during the 1983-84 season. The teams will meet again in Raleigh on February 26th.
A WIN--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack and would even NC State's ACC record at 2-2 while improving its overall mark to 12-5. The Pack would win its second road game of the season against 2 losses and record its first ACC road victory of the year.
A LOSS--Would be the Wolfpack's fifth in its last six games and would drop NC State to 1-3 in the ACC, its worst league start since 2001 when its opened 1-4. The Pack would lose for the third time this season on the road, dropping to 1-3 in games on opponents home courts and 0-2 in ACC road games. The Pack would suffer its 6th overall loss against 11 victories.
BETTER AT LINE --In its last two games, State is 49-61 at the free throw line (.803) and has improved its overall free throw shooting to .703 for the season. The Pack sank 30-37 foul shots in its win over Georgia Tech on Sunday.
HODGE REGAINING TOUCH --In his last two games, Wolfpack forward/guard Julius Hodge, who has struggled at the line this season, has made 19 of 24 free throws (.791). Last season Hodge was an 83 percent free throw shooter. Hodge recorded 14 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists against Georgia Tech for his third double-double of the season.
GETTING STOPS --The Pack is No. 4 in the ACC in scoring defense, holding opponents to a very impressive 64.2 points a game while limiting the opposition to .423 shooting from the field and .331 from the three-point arc overall.
A TALE OF FEW TURNOVERS --The Wolfpack is averaging only 12.6 turnovers per game including season-low 5 turnovers against Liberty University. The Pack is No.2 in the ACC in turnover margin (+4.3) behind Virginia Tech (+8.0)
DIALING LONG DISTANCE --State is No. 2 ACC in three-point field goals per game (8.0).
MR. HELPER --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 60% of its field goals (257-425). The Wolfpack leads the ACC in assist/ turnover ratio (1.25).
A BUMMER WITHOUT BETHEL --NC State is a different team with a healthy Tony Bethel. Unfortunately, in the Pack's last six games, the redshirt junior has been has been limited or unavailable physically (see above). During Bethel's illness the Pack is 2-4.
EVTIMOV BACK IN SYNC --Wolfpack forward Ilian Evtimov, who had off-season knee surgery, has regained his form. In his last 4 games, the redshirt junior has averaged 14 points. Against Georgia Tech, Evtimov played 38 minutes and led the Pack with 17 points while adding 4 rebounds and 4 assists. He sank a huge three-point field goal late in the second half of that game that preserved the Wolfpack's lead.
TURKISH PICK POCKET --Sophomore guard, Engin Atsur, has become a defensive stopper lately. In his last two games, the native of Istanbul, Turkey, held Duke's J.J. Redick to 8 points and Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack to 16 while recording 5 steals. Atsur has also handled another role well. He's been forced to play more at point guard in the absence of Tony Bethel and has averaged 4 assists in his last 3 games.
