North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Florida State
1/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 26, 2005
NC STATE (12-6, 2-3) vs. FLORIDA STATE (10-9, 2-4)
DATE: Wednesday, January 26, 2005 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:30 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network
AIRTIME: 7:00 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: None
OPPONENT--Florida State couldn't stop the ACC's scoring leader and that left the Seminoles with little chance to stop Duke on Saturday. J.J Redick scored a season-high 31 points and the No. 4 Blue Devils remained unbeaten cruising to an 88-56 victory in Tallahassee.
Duke (15-0, 5-0) was never in trouble, jumping to an 18-8 lead and steadily building it to as many as 33 late in the second half. Redick was the spark. He caught fire early and nailed five three-point field goals in the first half alone as the Devils led by 19 points at the intermission. The 6-foot-4 sharpshooter finished the game 9 of 18 from the floor, including 8 of 11 from beyond the three-point arc and was perfect in five tries at the line.
FSU opened ice cold, sinking only four of its first 20 shots from the field as Duke bolted to a 31-14 lead. The Seminoles never warmed up and finished with 33 percent shooting for the game to Duke's 55 percent.
Von Wafer, Al Thornton and Todd Galloway, who combined for 77 points in the 'Noles upset win over Wake Forest on Tuesday, could muster only five in the first half on 2-12 shooting.
Freshman reserve guard, Isaiah Swann, came off the bench to lead Florida State with 13 points and Wafer added 10, eight in the second half. Daniel Ewing scored 14 points and Shelden Williams contributed 11 points and 13 rebounds to help Duke to a 37-28 advantage on the boards.
Florida State has lost 3 of its last 4 games, including one at Miami and another at home to Clemson, but the 'Noles are dangerous team because they are athletic, deep and can sink three-point shots. Although the Seminoles don't launch as many threes as they did last season, they still average 6.5 made three-point field goals per game and they're the fourth-best shooting team in the ACC from beyond the arc (.381).
The 'Noles have four players shooting better than 40 percent from the bonusphere, including Wafer who accounts for 35 percent of the team's made three-pointers and 32 percent of its attempts from beyond the arc. He sank seven three-point shots in the upset win over Wake Forest. Galloway, Adam Waleskowski, and reserve forward Diego Romero are also dangerous three-point marksmen.
Defensively, the 'Noles are still looking for consistency, but they remain in the top-five of the ACC in holding opponents to 41 percent shooting from the field and 33 percent from the three-point line. Opponents are averaging only 68 points a game against FSU.
There is room for improvement in other areas. FSU is near the bottom of the ACC in rebounding and last in offensive rebounding and assist to turnover ratio. The 'Noles are the only team in the league to have a minus turnover margin (-0.32). They turn it over an average of 16.8 times while forcing 16.5 miscues a game.
Coach Leonard Hamilton substitutes liberally and his roster is one of the deepest in the league with eleven players averaging at least 11minutes a game.
NC State has to defend the three-point line, get points off turnovers and take advantage of FSU's lack of dominance on the boards while controlling Wafer. NC State has beaten FSU twelve straight times in the series. While the 'Noles are 2-2 in true road games this season, they have lost 26-straight away from home in the ACC and have not won a game in the state of North Carolina since beating UNC more than five years ago.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's second straight and its first winning streak in 2005, improving NC State to 13-6 overall and 3-3 in the ACC--the same league record the Pack had last season after 6 conference games. (State finished last season in second place in the ACC at 11-5) The Pack would earn its 13th straight win over FSU in the regular season series, including seven in-a-row in Raleigh. NC State would improve to 10-2 at home and send Florida State to its 27th straight ACC road loss
A LOSS--Florida State would snap a 26-game ACC road losing streak and a 12-game winless streak to NC State in the regular season series. The Seminoles would earn their first victory over the Pack in Raleigh since January 3, 1998, a span of six straight losses in both Reynolds Coliseum and the RBC Center. The Wolfpack would drop to 12-7 overall and 2-4 in the ACC while losing for the third time at home this season (9-3) and for the sixth time in its last 8 games overall. FSU would improve to 11-9 overall and 3-4 in the ACC.
HE'S BACK --In his last 3 games, Wolfpack forward/guard Julius Hodge, has recorded double-doubles and averaged 19.0 points, 11 rebounds and 3.7 assists. While he has struggled at the foul line this season, the 2004 ACC Player of the Year has been better in his last 4 appearances, making 30 of 41 free throws (.731). Last season the senior was an 83 percent free throw shooter. Hodge has five double-doubles this season, including 20 points and 11 rebounds on Sunday at Maryland.
NO "D" LEADS TO "L's" -- 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 12.7 turnovers per game including season-low 5 turnovers against Liberty University. At Virginia Tech on 1/19 the Pack committed 17 turnovers and the Hokies converted them in to 21 points. At Maryland on 1/23, State forced 19 turnovers and converted them into 21 points. The Pack is No. 2 ACC in turnover margin (+3.9).
GIVE ME LONG DISTANCE --State is No. 2 in the ACC in three-point field goals per game (8.11) behind Duke (8.33).
SHARE AND SCORE --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 60% of its field goals (286-478). The Wolfpack leads the ACC in assist/ turnover ratio (1.25).
THE "BRACK" ATTACK --Although he had early foul trouble at Maryland that limited his effectiveness, Wolfpack freshman Andrew Brackman has elevated his play recently. He recorded his first career double-double at Virginia Tech on 1/19 with 13 points and 10 rebounds. In his last six games, the Cincinnati native has averaged 11.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 1.7 blocked shots.
A TURKISH ARMY OF ONE --Sophomore guard, Engin Atsur, has become a defensive stopper lately. In 3 recent games, the native of Istanbul, Turkey, held Duke's J.J. Redick to 8 points, Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack to 16 and Maryland's John Gilchrist to 13 points while recording 8 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 4.0 assists in his last 5 games. He played 39 minutes at Maryland with no turnovers.
BETHEL AND BENNERMAN. --NC State is a different team with a healthy Tony Bethel. Unfortunately, in the Pack's last 8 games, the redshirt junior guard has been has been limited or unavailable due to colitis. He has missed 4 of the last 5 games. During Bethel's illness that began on 12/28/04, the Pack is 3-5. Teammate, Cam Bennerman is the latest casualty. He suffered an elbow injury in practice last week and is out indefinitely. The 6-4 junior is the Wolfpack's #2 scorer and top three-point shooter this season (.423).
