North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack, Huskies Meet in NCAA Rematch
3/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 19, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Worcester, Mass. - Four years seems like an awfully long time ago, especially when one considers how many different things have happened since the last time NC State (20-13) and 13th ranked Connecticut (23-7) met in a basketball game. Current Wolfpack team members Julius Hodge, Ilian Evtimov, Jordan Collins and Levi Watkins were just freshmen when the Huskies turned back the Pack (77-74) in a close second round game in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Much has indeed changed since that day. For instance, no one on UConn's current roster participated in that game at the MCI Center in Washington. And while the year is different and the teams are completely new in 2005, the stakes are the same: A trip to the `Sweet 16' will again be on the line in Sunday's rematch (12:10 p.m.) at the DCU Center.
"I don't remember much about it other than we lost the game," said NC State's Julius Hodge. "It was hardfought and it was a heartbreaker for the guys. This is a new UConn team that we know is very talented. They have a great coach and they're going to be ready to play. We're going to do the same."
Hodge would probably like to put that loss in the past as much as possible since it was his slight brush of the finger against Caron Butler's wrist on a 3-point shot that set up Connecticut's winning points with less than a minute to play. Butler went on to hit three free throws, shots that spelled the final margin of victory for his team.
Sunday's meeting will pit Connecticut's awesome inside power against NC State's interchangeable versatility. The Huskies' frontline resembles that of an NBA team, with 6-10 sophomore Josh Boone, 6-11 sophomore Charlie Villanueva and 6-11 junior Hilton Armstrong forming a three tower front over which shots in the paint rarely reach their intended destination.
"They are bigger than us on paper and that's their advantage," said NC State's 6-7 center, Ilian Evtimov. "On our side, we have an offense that spreads the court and those big guys are going to have to chase us around. Both teams have some advantages."
Connecticut hopes its exposure to offenses similar to the Wolfpack's will also provide an advantage. During their Big East season, the Huskies defended the likes of Georgetown and West Virginia, a pair of teams that employ offenses similar to the one run by NC State.
"With five guys above the foul line and the back cuts, you need to play full possessions defensively because you're going to get back-cut otherwise," said Connecticut coach Jim Calhoun. "Then somebody is going to fake a back-cut and come back off the screen. We had trouble with Georgetown coming down the stretch in the [Big East] Tournament of them faking back-cuts and then coming back off of screens. But the good thing is we played Georgetown and we played West Virginia; that's four games that gives us some preparation for it. But it's difficult to play."
Calhoun hopes his defending national champions will be more intent on playing a full 40 minute game on Sunday, something they didn't do in a surprisingly close 77-71 triumph over Central Florida on Friday afternoon. After jumping out to a big lead early, the Huskies nearly paid for putting it on cruise control in the second half. The fact that NC State has battled its way through the ACC, while posting impressive victories over teams like Wake Forest, Maryland and Georgia Tech along the way, should, in Calhoun's estimation, get his team's attention.
"All I did was tell [his players] that they beat Wake Forest, and beat Maryland by 20," said Calhoun. "It's a lot easier for us to see North Carolina State on the uniform than it is to see Central Florida. All I'll do is say "do you think Wake's any good? Do you think Duke's any good? You think Maryland is any good? Those are household names to our kids because we see them all the time."
As usual, Calhoun has assembled an impressive array of talent and depth. Five players are averaging double figures, including Villanueva who puts up 13.5 points and 8.2 rebounds per contest. The tall, rangy and athletic Huskies are outrebounding their opponents by 12 boards (46-to-34) per game. Villanueva (55), Boone (88), Armstrong (36) and Rudy Gay (59) have combined to block 238 shots. By contrast, NC State's entire team has compiled only 147 rejections.
The word that comes to mind when those numbers appear on the stat sheet is "intimidating." But as far as Hodge is concerned, NC State's constant exposure to Final Four caliber teams in the ACC has prepared the Wolfpack for the powerful Huskies.
"We know Connecticut has some really talented players," Hodge said. "They're a big group, tough on the boards, can shoot the ball and we give them a lot of praise. But we know it's not about them; it's about us. If we stick to playing our tough defense with the intensity we've been playing it the past month or so, and we continue to shoot the ball the way we have, we'll put ourselves in a very good position to win the game."
In it's come from behind victory over Charlotte in the first round on Friday, the Wolfpack shot 55 percent in the second half, while holding the 49rs to just 27 percent shooting after intermission. It will take that same kind of effort and execution - but for the entire 40 minutes -- to keep it close against UConn.
Both teams have injury concerns. Huskies point guard Marcus Williams, who leads the nation in assists with an average of 8.1 per contest, turned an ankle on Friday and probably won't be at full strength.
For NC State, Tony Bethel will remained sidelined with a pulled groin. The outlook on senior center Jordan Collins, who has only played two minutes since separating his right shoulder in the Pack's final regular season game against Wake Forest, seems to be improving with each day.
"Tony is going to be out for an indefinite period of time," said NC State head coach Herb Sendek. "Jordan is ahead of him, but we'll have to wait until tomorrow to see how he's feeling. Jordan is making some progress."
Pack NCAA Notes If NC State can defeat UConn on Sunday, it would become just the second ACC team with a losing conference record (7-9) to win two NCAA games. Virginia's 1984 squad was 6-8 in the league before winning four games to advance to the Final Four....The Wolfpack has given up just 64.5 points per game in four postseason contests....In its last nine games, the Pack has an assist on 65 percent of its baskets...Sunday's game will be NC State's 11th against a nationally ranked team this season. The Wolfpack has prevailed in nine of its last 20 contests against teams ranked in the top 25.
