North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: North Carolina
2/21/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 21, 2006
No. 15/14 NC STATE (21-5, 10-3) vs. No. 21/21 NORTH CAROLINA (17-6, 8-4)
DATE:Wednesday, February 22, 2006 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (ACC Network)
OPPONENT-- Reyshawn Terry scored 24 points and North Carolina handed Wake Forest its eighth straight ACC loss with an 83-72 come-from-behind victory on Sunday at Joel Coliseum. The junior forward from Winston-Salem came within one point of his career high and made 9-of-10 free throws. Overall, the Tar Heels converted 24-of-30 from the foul line.
Tyler Hansbrough reached double-figures for the 18th straight game by adding 17 points. David Noel finished with 13 points despite foul trouble while Danny Green had 10 for the Tar Heels who improved to 5-1 on the road in the ACC and assured themselves of no worse than a .500 league record.
Justin Gray led the Deacons with 20 points, but was 7-of 23 shooting. Gray sank two 3-pointers late in the first half to help the Deacons take a 5-point lead at the break. Soon after the intermission they stretched the margin to nine. That's when North Carolina made its move by holding Wake Forest to one point over an 8-minute stretch.
Turnovers and limited production inside hurt Wake Forest in the second half. Center, Eric Williams, scored only 4 of his 19 points in the final 20-minutes while 10 second-half Deacons turnovers led to 21Carolina points.
A 10-1 run capped by Bobby Frasor's free throw tied it for the last time before Noel's 3-pointer gave Carolina the lead with 10:26 to play. The Heels then took control on a pair of 3-pointers by Terry, a Marcus Ginyard steal and layup and Green's jumper from beyond the arc to push the margin to 69-59. The Deacons never recovered, dropping to 13-13 overall and 1-11 in the ACC.
Hansbrough is the Heels top scorer and is a force inside. The 20-year old freshman is the ACC Rookie of the Week for the eighth time after averaging 28.5 points and 8.0 rebounds in a pair of wins last week. He leads all ACC rookies in scoring and rebounding.
The Missouri native is the league's No. 3 scorer and ranks second in field goal percentage (.607) and sixth in rebounding. Hansbrough's ability to convert tough shots around the basket under heavy defensive pressure is exceptional. Plus, he gets to the free throw line an average of 8.3 times a game. Hansbrough was 14-of-14 from the line in the Tar Heels 82-69 win over NC State in January.
Noel and Terry join Hansbrough up front and both are averaging in double-figure scoring. Noel, a steady veteran is No.2 on the team in assists while shooting .522 from the field and .405 from the 3-point line. Lately, it appears that more of the Tar Heels offense is going through Noel and his assist numbers reflect that.
Over the last 6 games, Noel is averaging 5 assists while shooting 54 percent from the field (30-56). In the same span, Terry is averaging 18.5 points while shooting 53 percent from the field (36-68) and 44 percent from the 3-point arc (11-25).
Carolina's mid-season problem with turnovers looks like a thing of the past. In the last 3 games, the Tar Heels are averaging only 13.3 turnovers. That's a major reason why UNC has shot 50 percent or better from the field in each of those games--all wins.
Frasor has more turnovers than points in his last two games (8-to-6), but he's dished out 13 assists during that stretch and remains a threat to score. The freshman point guard recorded a career-high 17 points against NC State on Jan. 7.
Wes Miller, the other starting guard, is the Heels top 3-point shooter (.426) and has more attempts and makes from the arc than anyone on the team (46-108). Terry (.405) is also a dangerous perimeter shooter.
Off the bench, Green and Ginyard are the most productive Carolina players. Green is one of the Heels better free throw shooters (.780) and leads the team in blocks (23). Ginyard had 6 points and 5 rebounds in 18 minutes against Wake Forest on Sunday.
While Carolina's ability to shoot from the perimeter and strike quickly on offense is not as lethal as last season, the Heels continue to pack a punch. In ACC games, Carolina is the No.4 scoring team in the league (76.7) and No. 1 in rebounding margin (+7.9). UNC gets back an impressive 47 percent of its missed shots.
UNC would like a high possession game and the Tar Heels continue seeking to create transition opportunities with selective defensive pressure. When they don't score in transition, they look to get the ball inside to Hansbrough or to the open man.
Carolina's three-point shooting has steadily improved along with its perimeter defense. The Heels are shooting nearly 40 percent from the arc in ACC games while allowing league opponents .344 shooting from the 3-point line. Carolina is surrendering an average of seven 3-pointers a game to ACC opponents.
The last five games of the series have all been won by North Carolina. The Wolfpack's last win over the Tar Heels was on Feb. 25, 2003, a 75-67 triumph at the Smith Center.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's third in-a-row and 7th in the last 8 games, improving NC State to 22-5 overall and 11-3 in the ACC. The Pack would remain in sole possession of second-place in the ACC, better last season's win total, equal the Pack's best ACC win total under Herb Sendek and stop a 5-game losing streak to the Tar Heels in the series. State would snap a 3-game North Carolina winning streak and drop the Heels to 17-7 overall and 8-5 in the ACC. The Wolfpack would remain unbeaten at home in ACC games this season (7-0) and improve to 16-1 overall at the RBC Center.
A LOSS--Would snap a 2-game Wolfpack winning streak and drop NC State to 21-6 overall and 10-4 in the ACC. The Pack would lose its first ACC game at home this season (6-1) and only its second overall at the RBC Center (15-2). North Carolina would win for the sixth straight time in the series and beat the Pack in Raleigh for the third straight year. The Tar Heels would improve to 18-6 overall and 9-4 in the ACC and move to within one victory of tying NC State for second-place in the ACC.
NO. 2 AND TRYING HARDER --The No. 2 shooting and No. 2 scoring team in the ACC against league competition is NC State. The Wolfpack is averaging 77.5 points a game while shooting .490 from the field in ACC games. The Pack shot 64 percent from the field (28-44) and made 13 of 23 three-point shots in its win over Florida State on 2/15.
BOMBS ON TARGET --State leads the ACC in three-point shooting in league games (.457) and has made more three-points shots overall (249) than any ACC team this season. The Pack has made 12 or more three-pointers in each of its last 5 games and is shooting .480 from beyond the arc during that span (61-128). Over its last seven games, State is averaging 11.9 made three-point field goals. For the season, 45 percent of the Pack's shots come from 3-point range.
BETHEL'S THE LEAD BOMBADIER --Guard Tony Bethel leads the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (.558) versus league opponents (43-77) and was 6-of-9 from the arc (19 points) at Virginia Tech on Sunday. However, he's more than just a shooter. Bethel is NC State's best perimeter on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and rebounder. The redshirt senior is averaging 13.3 points (80), 4.0 rebounds (24) and 3.3 assists (20) in his last 6 games. He recorded 5 steals in a win over Wake Forest on Jan. 21.
HELPERS --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 66 percent of its field goals (435-659) this season. The Pack had 22 assists on 28 field goals in its win over FSU on 2/15.
KNOW WHEN TO HOLD EM' --Consistent defense is a hallmark of Wolfpack basketball under Herb Sendek. Overall, the Pack leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.398) and is allowing ACC opponents only .423 shooting from the field. The Pack is 6th in the ACC in scoring defense (71.9) in league games, but two contests went to double-overtime.
THR IRON TURK-- Nobody on the Wolfpack team has played more minutes this season than Engin Atsur.. The native of Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the most versatile players in the ACC. The 6-4 junior leads the Pack in assists (103), steals (44) and minutes (33.1) while averaging 11.3 points a game. In his last 4 games, the junior has averaged 14.8 points (59) while shooting 59 percent from the field 19-32. Against FSU on 2/15, Atsur recorded a season-high 19 points and 8 assists.
BALL SECURITY? -- For most of the season the Pack has taken care of the basketball. However, in its last 3 games it has committed 55 turnovers. Opponents have scored 61 points off those mistakes. For the season, State is averaging only 14.1 turnovers a game.
BULGARIAN BOMBER --Ilian Evtimov, a native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is one of the Pack's most valuable players. Unfortunately, the 6-8 forward sprained a ligament in his left foot late in the first half against FSU on 2/15 and did not play at Virginia Tech on Sat. Not many forwards in the ACC shoot better than 40 percent from the three-point arc, but Ilian Evtimov is one of them (.434). He has made 11 of his last 19 three-point shots. The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is also an excellent free throw shooter, making 19 of his last 21from the foul line. In his last 6 games, Evtimov has averaged 13.5 points (81) points and 5.8 rebounds (35).
W-I-N @ R-B-C-- State is 15-1 at the RBC Center, including a 6-0 ACC mark. Seton Hall is the only team to beat the Pack this season at home. Away from home the Pack is 5-4 (4-3 ACC).
A FOCUSED CAM --Cameron Bennerman has played a major role in the Pack's success this season. The athletic senior tied his career-high with 26 points including 10-of-10 at the foul line in the Pack's win Sat. at Virginia Tech. Bennerman sank eight of his free throws in the final 55-seconds when the game was in doubt. The Pack's top scorer has averaged 15.3 points (306) over his last 20-games while shooting .536 from the field (112-209) during that span. Bennerman sank a clutch 3-pointer to force overtime at Clemson on 1/29 and scored 23 points in the Pack's double-overtime win at Miami on 2/8.
NOTHING FOUL ABOUT THIS-- Over its last 3 games, the Wolfpack is shooting 83 percent from the foul line (59-71). State is hitting an impressive 77 percent of its free throws in ACC games (222-287). The Wolfpack was 22-of-25 from the line in its double overtime win at Miami on 2/8/06.
HEY, MR. POSTMAN --Cedric Simmons has given NC State a low post scoring and defensive threat that was missing the last two seasons. The sophomore is the team's No. 2 scorer (12.1) while leading the Pack in rebounding (6.6) and blocked shots (2.8). Simmons' field goal percent of .607 also leads the team. However, in his last 5 games, he's averaged only 8.6 points (43) and 5.8 field goal attempts (29). Simmons recorded a career-high 28 points at Duke on Jan. 18th along with 9 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and 3 steals. He blockes six shots at Virginia Tech on Sat.
BETTER ON THE BOARDS--Rebounding has been a challenge for the Wolfpack this season, but the Pack has been more competitive on the boards lately, outrebounding or tying its opponents on the boards in 4 of its last 7 games. On Feb. 5, State outrebounded Maryland 42-39 and won the offensive glass 17-15.
INJURIES --Freshman forward Brandon Costner could miss his 22nd consecutive game for the Wolfpack with a leg injury. Starting forward Ilian Evtimov could miss his second straight game with a sprained ligament in his left foot suffered late in the first half against FSU on 2/15.
