North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Virginia
3/2/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 2, 2005
NC STATE (16-11, 6-8) at VIRGINIA (13-12, 4-10)
DATE: Wednesday, March 2, 2005 @ University Hall, Charlottesville, VA (8,392)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Regional Sports Network
OPPONENT-- Virginia tried to get physical again with Wake Forest, but it didn't work. Justin Gray, Chris Paul and Eric Williams combined for 54 points and the Deacons rolled over the Cavaliers 90-68 on Sunday afternoon at Joel Coliseum. The game featured 42 personal fouls.
The first meeting between the two teams in Charlottesville on Jan. 27 was also marked by physical play and ended with Paul receiving a hard foul and being knocked to the floor late in the game. Sunday, Paul was again a target of the Cavaliers.
Early in the first half, the Deacons sophomore point guard received a few elbows from Virginia freshman Sean Singletary. Although clearly frustrated, Paul continued to play effectively. Later, Paul was again knocked down when Virginia center, Elton Brown shoved him from behind after a whistle. When Brown wasn't called for a technical foul, Wake Forest coach Skip Prosser erupted and was given a technical foul - his first of the season - with 6:19 remaining in the half.
Paul later got some measure of revenge by twice freezing Singletary as he blew by him for a layup. He also embarrassed Devin Smith with a steal and break-a-way dunk to help the Deaks pull away at the intermission 44-31. The closest the Cavaliers got in the second half was 46-41before Wake Forest (24-4, 11-3) pulled away for good by shooting 72 percent from the field in the second half (18-25).
Smith led Virginia with 22 points. J. R Reynolds and T. J Bannister each added 15. Singletary, who left with a knee injury early in the second half and returned limping five minutes later, fouled out with 10:56 to play. He finished with just 7 points and no assists.
Three point shooting (9-22) kept Virginia in the game for a while, but overall the Cavaliers shot only 40 percent from the field (21-52) and were badly outrebounded by the Deacons 38-23.
After Virginia dropped 7 of its first 8 ACC games, embattled Cavaliers coach, Pate Gillen, changed his strategy before taking on NC State on Feb. 5. With defense and rebounding major problem areas for Virginia, Gillen used a deliberate offensive attack to try and shorten the game. He combined that with a smaller, quicker line-up and a more aggressive man-to-man defense.
The change produced three straight wins, but the Cavaliers have not been able to sustain the success. Virginia has dropped its last three games with opponents averaging 51 percent shooting from the field and 89 points a game. The Cavs have also been outrebounded during that stretch by an average of 10.3 a game.
Offensively, Virginia has started to come alive from the three-point arc in its last two games, knocking down 20 of its last 47 shots from the bonusphere. However, the Cavaliers haven't shot 50 percent or better from the field in their last 8 games. Virginia is shooting only 41 percent this season in ACC games and has outrebounded only 4 league opponents.
Smith has been Virginia's most consistent player. He leads the team in scoring, three-point shooting (.361) and blocked shots and torched Iowa State for 40 points in early December. He is also the team's No. 2 rebounder. Brown can be tough to handle in the post. He's recorded 11 double-doubles this season and leads the team in rebounding, but is shooting only 45 percent from the field and 53 percent from the foul line in ACC games.
Singletary, the only player to start every game this season for Virginia, is a five-time ACC Rookie of the Week. He leads the team in assists and steals (1.8), but also in turnovers and personal fouls. Off the bench, Gary Forbes has averaged 15.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in his last four games.
On Feb. 5, Singletary's put-back with 2.2 seconds left gave Virginia a 64-62 victory over NC State-- its first win in Raleigh since 1997. The Cavaliers shot 61 percent in the first half and led by 12 points at the break before State mounted a comeback. Virginia outrebounded the Pack by 11 and held State to 5-20 shooting from three-point range. Tony Bethel's 20 points led NC State. Julius Hodge was held to a season-low six points by the Cavaliers.
NC State has won seven of the last nine games against Virginia in the series and has beaten the Cavaliers at University Hall in two of the last three seasons.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's fourth in its last five games marking its best five game stretch in 2005. State would improve to 17-11 overall and 7-8 in the ACC with one regular season game remaining. The Pack would split the regular season series with Virginia and improve to 5-5 on the road this season (4-4 ACC). State would beat Virginia for the eighth time in the last 10 games of the series and for the third time in the last four tries at University Hall. Virginia would drop to 13-13 overall and 4-11 in the ACC.
A LOSS--Would be the second in the last three games for NC State, seriously damaging the Wolfpack hopes for an NCAA Tournament bid. Virginia would sweep the season series with the Wolfpack for the first time since 1997, dropping State to 16-12 overall and 6-9 in the ACC with one regular season game remaining. The Pack's road record would slip to 4-6 overall (3-5 ACC). Virginia would break a three-game losing streak and improve to 14-12 overall and 5-10 in the ACC while winning for the 11th time at home against only 4 losses.
HISTORY MAKING HODGE --With 20 points and 5 assists in the Pack's loss to UNC on Feb. 22, Julius Hodge became only the fourth player in ACC history to record 1,900 points, 700 rebounds, 400 assists and 150 steals in a career. The other players are Duke's Danny Ferry and Grant Hill and Bob Sura of Florida State.
HODGE STILL ON TOP --Julius Hodge, the 2004 ACC Player of the Year, remains the leading active scorer in the ACC, despite an 8-point effort in the Pack's win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. It was only the second time all season that Hodge did not score in double-figjures. However, the senior did help the Wolfpack with 8 rebounds and 5 assists against the Hokies.
THE LINE ON HODGE --For the better part of this season, Julius Hodge has struggled with his free throw shooting. However, lately he's started to regain his touch. In his last 5 games, Hodge is 24-30 of the foul line (.800). Last season, Hodge was an 83 percent free throw shooter.
THE BETHEL FACTOR --The return of guard, Tony Bethel, who missed an extended period due to illness, has made a huge difference. The redshirt junior hit the game-winning basket at Georgia Tech on 2/13 and dished out a game-high 6 assists in the win over Virginia Tech on 2/26. In his last 8 games he has averaged 12.0 points and 4.1 rebounds while shooting .525 from the field (31-59). Prior to his illness in late December, Bethel was among the team leaders in assists, steals and rebounds. The Wolfpack was 3-6 while Bethel was either out or severely limited.
PLUGGING THE HOLES --The Wolfpack's defense, a problem in mid-season, is improving. State has held its last 4 opponents to an average of 62.3 points (249) and .408 shooting from the field (80-196). The Wolfpack is No. 2 in scoring defense in ACC games (71.1).
JUST PLAIN SOLID -- Engin Atsur has had a solid ACC season. The sophomore led the Pack with 18 points in Saturday's win over Virginia Tech on 5-6 shooting from the field. Even more impressive is the fact that he has committed only 17 turnovers all season in ACC games. In the win over Maryland on 2/16, Atsur played 38 minutes with no turnovers. In his last 9 games, Atsur has averaged 12.2 points and shot .454 from three-point range (25-55). He's also played some tough defense this season, holding Duke's J.J. Redick to 8 points, Georgia Tech's Jarrett Jack to 16, Maryland's John Gilchrist to 13 and Zabian Dowdell of Virginia Tech to 12 points.
NOT SO FOUL ANYMORE --Free throw shooting, a problem earlier this season, has started to improve. In the last six games, State is shooting 79 percent, sinking 87 of its last 110 foul shots.
BOMBS ON TARGET --In its last five games, State has made an average of 10.2 three-point field goals a game, while shooting .454 from the arc during that span (51-121). In ACC games, the Wolfpack leads the league in three-point field goal percentage (.406) making 126 of 310 attempts.
NOT MANY MISCUES --The Wolfpack is averaging only 12.7 turnovers per game and just 13.25 turnovers in its 8 ACC losses (106).
WATKINS AND BENNERMAN RETURN -- Senior forward, Levi Watkins, saw his first game action since January when he played the final minute of the Pack's win over Virginia Tech on Saturday. The veteran suffered a sprained right medial collateral ligament during practice on February 2nd and missed six games. Junior guard Cameron Bennerman returned to the lineup on Feb. 10 after missing the previous 5 games with an elbow injury. Since his return, Bennerman has averaged 5.4 points (27) and 15 minutes (75) in five games. With Watkins and Bennerman back, the Wolfpack finally has its full complement of players available for the first time since late December.
SIZING UP SIMMONS --Cedrick Simmons has become an important contributor during the ACC season. The freshman reserve center scored a career-high 16 points against Virginia on Feb. 5. In his last 7 ACC games, Simmons has averaged 6.1 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.3 blocks and has shot .533 from the field (16-30) during that span.
BULGARIAN BOMBER --Ilian Evtimov, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, has been heating up from the three-point line lately. In his last 5 games, he's 13-of-25 from the arc (.520). He knocked down five three-pointers in the Pack's win over Maryland on 2/16.
HEARTBREAK HOTEL -- Four of State's ACC losses were by a combined 10 points.
