North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Maryland
1/21/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 21, 2005
NC STATE (11-6, 1-3) at MARYLAND (11-4, 2-2)
DATE: Sunday, January 23, 2005 @ Comcast Center, College Park, MD (17,950)
TIME: Tipoff: 6:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network
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AIRTIME: 5:30 p.m.
TELEVISION: Fox Sports Net
OPPONENT-- Maryland shut down Virginia in the second half and kept the Cavaliers winless in the ACC with an 82-68 victory on Wednesday night at Comcast Center. The Terps' Nik Caner-Medley continued his torrid streak with 26 points and Maryland overcame a poor shooting night by John Gilchrist to record its second straight win.
Gilchrist finished with 13 points and 7 assists but was only 3-14 shooting from the field, including 1-6 from the three-point arc. Fortunately for the Terps, Virginia also struggled shooting the ball. The Cavaliers went 7-for-31 from the floor and scored only 27 points over the final 20 minutes to lose for the eleventh time in their last 12 meetings at Maryland.
For a while it looked like the Cavaliers misfortunes in College Park might come to an end. Sean Singletary hit two 3-pointers to open the second half, helping the Cavaliers take a 49-42 lead, but Virginia went cold after that.
Moments later, Maryland used a 14-2 spree to go up 60-53 with 12 minutes left. Caner-Medley scored the first seven points and Ekene Ibekwe capped it with two baskets and a three-point play. After Jason Cain scored for Virginia, Maryland's Mike Jones hit a 3-pointer and Ibekwe added a dunk for a 10-point cushion and the Terps never looked back.
Maryland played without sophomore guard D.J. Strawberry who was lost for the season with a torn ligament in his right knee suffered in practice. Strawberry, who was averaging 7.0 points a game, started three of the Terps last four games.
Virginia also played short-handed. The Cavaliers announced Wednesday that forward Jason Clark, a 12-game starter, would miss the rest of the season for academic reasons. UVA was also without reserve center Donte Minter, who broke a finger on his shooting hand.
After trailing by nine points with 7:45 left in the first half, Virginia closed with a flurry to go up 41-40 at the break. Ibekwe finished the game with 12 points and 6 rebounds while Chris McCray added 12 points and 7 rebounds. Elton Brown led Virginia with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Teammate Devin Smith also had a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds).
Maryland stayed undefeated at home, winning its ninth straight game this season in College Park. The Terps have won 10 in a row overall at Comcast Center, their last defeat coming Feb. 28, 2004 at the hands of Wake Forest.
With his performance on Wednesday, Caner-Medley has averaged 27.3 points and 7.3 rebounds in his last four games. At the moment, he's the hottest player in the ACC while Gilchrist is among the ACC leaders in assists and steals. Two juniors, McCray and Travis Garrison are underrated performers and there is depth. Even without Strawberry, eight players average at least 11 minutes a game.
The Terps are the third highest scoring team in the ACC (84.8) and have four players averaging in double-figures. Maryland grabs more rebounds a game than any other team in the league (42.5). The Terps are also among the ACC leaders in offensive rebounding (14.5), field goal percentage defense (.399), blocked shots (6.7), steals, and assists (16.5).
Maryland has been making progress in solving some defensive issues and is working offensively to become a better perimeter shooting team. The Terps are near the bottom of the league in scoring defense (71.9), three-point field goal percentage (.312), three-point field goals per game (5.4) and average nearly 16 turnovers.
State beat Maryland 81-69 at Comcast Center on February 1, 2004, as Julius Hodge led the way with 28 points. Engin Atsur added 16. The Wolfpack was 10 of 19 from three-point range and sank 23 of 25 free throws. In the next meeting, Maryland knocked off the Pack in the semifinals of the 2004 ACC Tournament 85-82 behind Gilchrist's 30 points.
The Wolfpack must shore-up its defense, especially in the second half. In its three ACC losses opponents have shot 53 percent against State in the second half (42-79) and outscored the Pack 121-95 in the final 20 minutes. NC State will have to be efficient on offense and limit turnovers. Maryland is forcing 19 turnovers a game and nearly 11 steals a contest. The Terps are at their best when they can get easy baskets in transition.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's second in its last three games, improving State to 12-6 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. The Pack would beat the Terps for the second straight time at Comcast Center, marking the first two game win streak in College Park since winning back-to-back at Cole Fieldhouse in 1987 and '88. State breaks Maryland's 10-game overall home winning streak and improves its road record to 2-3 overall and 1-2 in the ACC. The two teams meet again in Raleigh on Wed., February 16th.
A LOSS--Would be the second straight and sixth in the last seven games for NC State, dropping the Pack to 11-7 overall and 1-4 in the ACC--its worst league start since 2001 when State opened 1-4 in the conference. The Wolfpack would drop to 1-4 on the road this season and 0-3 in ACC road games while losing for the 16th time in the last 17 games to Maryland in College Park. The Pack will try to salvage a split in the season series when the two teams meet in Raleigh on Wed., February 16th.
HODGE REGAINING TOUCH --In his last two games, Wolfpack forward/guard Julius Hodge, has recorded double-doubles and averaged 18.5 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. While he has struggled at the foul line this season, Hodge has been better in his last 3 appearances, making 25 of 34 free throws (.735). Last season the senior was an 83 percent free throw shooter. Hodge has four double-doubles this season, including 23 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday night at Virginia Tech.
A BREAKDOWN ON "D" -- In its three ACC losses opponents have shot 53 percent against State in the second half (42-79) and outscored the Pack 121-95 in the final 20 minutes.
A TALE OF TURNOVERS --The Wolfpack is averaging 12.9 turnovers per game including season-low 5 turnovers against Liberty University. At Virginia Tech on Wed., the Pack committed 17 turnovers and the Hokies converted them in to 21 points.
DIALING LONG DISTANCE --State is among the ACC leaders in three-point field goals per game (7.9).
SHARE AND SCORE --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 60% of its field goals (269-450). The Wolfpack is among the ACC leaders in assist/ turnover ratio.
PACK NOT SAME WITHOUT T.B. --NC State is a different team with a healthy Tony Bethel. Unfortunately, in the Pack's last 7 games, the redshirt junior has been has been limited or unavailable due to colitis. He has missed State's last 4 games. During Bethel's illness that began on 12/28/04, the Pack is 2-5.
THE "BRACK" ATTACK --Wolfpack freshman, Andrew Brackman, has elevated his play recently. He recorded his first career double-double at Virginia Tech on Wednesday with 13 points and 10 rebounds. In his last five games, the Cincinnati native has averaged 11.5 points, 5.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocked shots.
TURKISH PICK POCKET --Sophomore guard, Engin Atsur, has become a defensive stopper lately. In two recent 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 3.5 assists in his last 4 games.
