North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's NCAA Scouting Report: Wisconsin
3/24/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 24, 2005
NC STATE (21-13, 7-9) vs. WISCONSIN (24-8, 11-5) in NCAA Syracuse Regional
DATE:Friday, March 25, 2005, at the Carrier Dome, Syracuse, NY (33,000)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:27 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: CBS
OPPONENT--Wisconsin's 71-62 win over Bucknell on Sunday in Oklahoma City moved the Badgers into the "Sweet 16" of the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons. The Badgers' 24 victories are tied for the second-most in school history behind last year's team that won 25 games. Wisconsin also made the "Sweet 16" in 2000 and 2003.
Forwards Mike Wilkinson, Alando Tucker and Zach Morley keyed the win. Wilkinson scored 23 points and added nine rebounds. Tucker added 17 points and seven boards and was 15-for-18 from the free throw line. Morley had 15 points and eight rebounds.
Wisconsin engineered a strong start grabbing a 23-10 first half lead before Bucknell went on an 11-0 run to cut the Wisconsin advantage to 23-21 with 8:36 left. The Badgers led 35-29 at the half.
Bucknell led briefly twice during the second half before an 8-0 Wisconsin run gave the Badgers a 54-47 lead with 6:29 left to play. Bucknell never got closer than four points the rest of the way despite holding UW to 41 percent shooting in the second half including 1-of-5 from the three-point line.
Wisconsin turned the ball over just seven times and outrebounded the Bison 30-29. The Badgers were 7-of-17 (.412) from three-point range and 22-of-29 (.759) from the free throw line. Bucknell shot 48 percent for the game and was 5-of-15 from the arc. Center Chris McNaughton led the Bison with 23 points.
The Badgers finished third in the Big Ten behind Illinois and Michigan State and have won at least 10 league games in four consecutive seasons. UW is an experienced team with four seniors in the starting lineup and another coming off the bench.
Statistically, there is no better defensive team in the Big Ten than Wisconsin. The Badgers lead the conference in scoring defense (59.5) and have allowed their last eight opponents an average of only 55.1 points a game. Only one team has scored more than 60 points during that span.
Top-ranked Illinois beat Wisconsin three times, but managed only 54 points in the Big Ten Tournament title game, the Illini's lowest output of the season. Big Ten Player of the Year, Dee Brown, was 0-of-8 from the field in that game and was held scoreless for the first time in his career. UW is 54-6 under Bo Ryan, a former Division III coach in his fourth season, when holding opponents to less than 62 points.
In two NCAA Tournament games, Wisconsin has defended the perimeter well, allowing Northern Iowa and Bucknell a combined 9-of-32 (.281) from the three-point arc. For the season, opponents are shooting only 29 percent from the bonusphere against the Badgers--that's the best mark in the Big Ten and is among the national leaders. In the last 9 games, opponents have managed only 42 three-point field goals and 26 percent shooting from the arc.
Wisconsin's deliberate, inside-out "swing" offense (which Ryan says contains some parts of the NC State offense) averages only 67 points a game, but the Badgers don't make many mistakes. They are averaging only 11.2 turnovers a game and have just 15 turnovers in their two NCAA Tournament games.
The starting frontcourt of Wilkinson and Tucker has carried much of the scoring load. Tucker, a third team choice for All-Big Ten, is an athletic player who can shoot from the perimeter as well as maneuver in traffic inside. Wilkinson is one of the most versatile big men in the nation. He is the only active Division I player with at least 1,400 points, 800 rebounds, 200 assists, 150 steals and 100 blocked shots in his career. Wilkinson and Dee Brown of Illinois were the only players to get the unanimous vote of league coaches for first-team All-Big Ten honors. Morley, the third member of the UW front line, averaged 15 points a game during the Big Ten Tournament.
The Badgers are a dangerous three-point shooting team. So far, in the NCAA Tournament they are 18-of-43 from beyond the arc (.418). The top guns are Morley (.500), and guards Clayton Hanson (.440) and Sharif Chambliss (.382). For the season, Wisconsin is shooting 44 percent from the field, an impressive 39 percent from the arc and averages nearly 19 three-point attempts a game.
UW can go about 10 deep, but the mainstays off the bench are Andreas Helmigk, a native of Austria, and guards Kammron Taylor and Ray Nixon. Taylor has only 8 turnovers in his last 199 minutes of action and led UW with 16 points in 20 minutes in its opening round 57-52 NCAA win over Northern Iowa.
The Badgers are no UConn when it comes to rebounding, but hold their own with a plus 3.5 rebounding margin. Tucker, Wilkinson and Morely are team's best on the boards. UW gets back about 35 percent of its missed shots.
This is the first meeting between NC State and Wisconsin. The Pack's last win over a Big Ten team was on November 29, 2004 when it defeated Purdue at the RBC Center 60-53 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
A WIN--Would advance the Wolfpack to the NCAA regional finals for the first time since 1985 to meet the North Carolina-Villanova winner on Sunday. NC State would win its third straight game and ninth in the last 12 outings. The Wolfpack would improve to 22-13 overall this season and to 32-19 all-time in the NCAA Tournament. Coach Herb Sendek would move past Jim Valvano and Everett Case and tie Norm Sloan for the most NC State coaching victories in post-season play (including NCAA, NIT and ACC Tournament games) with 24.
A LOSS--Would end NC State's season. The Wolfpack would finish with a 21-14 record, one game short of the Syracuse regional finals. The Pack made its first trip to the regional semi-finals since 1989, won 20 or more games for the second straight season and third time in four years, and fought back from a 3-7 ACC start to make the NCAA Tournament for the fourth straight year.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE --The Wolfpack might be playing the best defense in the nation right now. State has held its last 11 opponents to an average of 63.3 points (696) and .425 shooting from the field (244-573). During the regular season, ACC teams averaged only 71.2 points a game.
THE LINE HAS BEEN KIND --The Wolfpack's free throw shooting has been inconsistent at times. However, in the last 13 games, State is shooting almost 74 percent, sinking 198 of its last 268 foul shots. In the NCAA Tournament, State is shooting 87 percent, making 34 of 39 attempts.
BOMBS AWAY --In its last 12 games, State has made an average of 8.9 three-point field goals a game while shooting .408 from the arc during that span (107-262).
BULGARIAN BOMBER --Ilian Evtimov, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, has been red hot from the three-point line lately. In his last 12 games, he's 37-of-73 from the arc (.507). During the regular season, Evtimov was the Pack's top three-point shooter in ACC games (38-75) at .506. He was 13-of-26 from the bonusphere in the ACC Tournament and was voted to the second unit of the all tournament team.
THE B & B TEAM --With recent injuries to Tony Bethel and Jordan Collins two players have filled the void--junior Cam Bennerman and freshman Andrew Brackman. In the Pack's last 5 post-season games, Bennerman has averaged 13.0 points and 4.4 rebounds while shooting 49 percent from the field (25-51). Brackman, in his last 4 outings, has averaged 13.8 points and has made 19 of 20 free throws (.950). Both have also been outstanding on the defensive end. Bennerman held Charlotte's Brendan Plavich to zero second-half points after the 49ers bomber sank five three-point field goals in the first half of the Pack's opening round NCAA Tournament victory. Brackman has 5 blocked shots in the last two games.
SENIOR SWEEP--NC State's senior class has led the Pack to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances. Ilian Evtimov, a redshirt junior, along with Julius Hodge, Jordan Collins, Levi Watkins and Will Roach join only five other players in NC State history to advance to four straight trips to the Big Dance.
BIG TIME COMPANY--Herb Sendek is only the second coach in NC State history to take the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament four straight years. Jim Valvano had a five year run from 1985-89. State is one of only 21 teams to have earned NCAA bids in each of the last four seasons.
BIG TIME OPPONENTS--NC State and Wake Forest are the only teams to have played three of the four No.1 seeds in this year's NCAA Tournament field. However, the Pack played more games against those top-seeded teams. State faced No.1 seeded teams five times this season (once against Washington, twice against Duke and twice against North Carolina).
GOING OUT ON TOP --Julius Hodge is the leading active scorer in the ACC with 2,026 career points. The 2004 ACC Player of the Year earned second team All-ACC honors this season.
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 KEEPS DANCING --Julius Hodge in two NCAA Tournament games this season has been terrific. He has averaged 18 points, 5 rebounds and 7.5 assists while shooting 59 percent from the field (13-22) and 91 percent from the foul line (10-11). Hodge's 3-point play with 4.3 seconds left was the difference in State's 65-62 upset of UConn on Sunday in the second-round of the Syracuse Regional.
THE BETHEL FACTOR --Guard Tony Bethel, who has missed the last four games, has made a big difference for the Wolfpack when he's been healthy. The redshirt junior hit the game-winning basket at Georgia Tech on 2/13, dished out a game-high 6 assists in the win over Virginia Tech on 2/26 and tallied 16 points and 6 rebounds at Virginia on 3/2. This season, the Wolfpack is 6-7 when Bethel has been either out or severely limited by illness or injury. Bethel injured a groin muscle in the second half of the Pack's win over Florida State in the ACC Tournanent and has not returned to action since that game.
SOLID SOPH -- Engin Atsur has had a solid ACC season. The sophomore committed only 19 turnovers in 16 ACC regular season games. In the win over Maryland on 2/16, Atsur played 38 minutes with no turnovers. He can also shoot. In his last 16 games, Atsur is 36-89 from the 3-point arc (.404). Atsur has 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.
HEARTBREAK HOTEL -- Five of State's ACC regular season losses were by a combined 12 points.
