North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Miami
2/7/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 7, 2006
No. 16/15 NC STATE (18-4, 7-2) at MIAMI (14-8, 6-3)
DATE:Wednesday, February 8, 2006 @ BankUnited Center, Coral Gables, FL (7,000)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: ESPN-U
OPPONENT-- After consecutive victories over Florida State, Wake Forest and Georgia Tech, the Miami Hurricanes have some positive momentum heading into Wednesday night's home game against NC State.
Miami used a balanced scoring attack to overcome 27 points by Georgia Tech's Anthony Morrow and beat the Yellow Jackets 70-53 in Atlanta on Saturday. The Hurricanes had five players score in double figures, led by Guillermo Diaz with 19 points.
Miami managed a 33-33 tie at halftime despite only two points from Robert Hite, the `Canes leading scorer, but opened the second half with a 15-to-4 run and then kept the lead in double-figures over the final 10-minutes. Hite finished with 10 points.
The Hurricanes shot 48 percent from the field compared to Georgia Tech's 37.5 percent and outrebounded the Yellow Jackets 37-28 to win for the seventh time in the last nine games.
Miami has a skilled veteran team with four returning starters and features a very strong perimeter game and solid defense.
The three guard lineup of Diaz, Hite and Anthony Harris has developed into one of the greatest scoring tandems in UM history. One of the three has led the team in scoring in 21 of 22 games this season. Harris missed the first seven games of the season with a broken foot. Since his return on Dec. 3, the trio has averaged nearly 46 points a game or 66.8 percent of the team's scoring.
During Miami's current 3-game winning streak, Hite is averaging 22.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and is shooting 55 percent from the field and 58 percent from the three-point arc. Diaz isn't far behind. He's averaging 20.3 points and has 14 assists to only 3 turnovers in the last 3 games.
Diaz and Hite are capable of taking over a game with their tremendous offensive ability. They take 63 percent of the `Canes three-point shots. Hite is shooting 44 percent from the arc this season with Diaz at 38 percent. Miami shoots 40 percent as a team from three-point range with 33 percent of its field goal attempts coming from the bonusphere.
While the shooting stats for the guards are impressive, the Hurricanes as a team are only hitting 43 percent of their field goal attempts against ACC opponents and average 71.1 points a game.
Normally, the Hurricanes don't turn the ball over much and they're a better than average rebounding team (+4.5 rebound margin). Miami is very good on the offensive glass (13.7) and gets back 44 percent of its missed shots. Anthony King, a Durham (NC) native, is a solid rebounder and shot blocker who can also score around the basket. Veteran Gary Hamilton is one of the ACC's top-20 rebounders.
The 'Canes are pretty solid defensively. They are the No. 1 team in the ACC in scoring defense, allowing opponents only 62.5 points a game (66.1 vs. ACC). Those figures will be tested by an NC State squad that is shooting 48 percent from the field in ACC games and 44 percent from three-point range while averaging 9.0 three-point field goals a game.
Depth does not appear to be the concern it was a year ago. Two freshmen, Jimmy Graham and Denis Clemente have been playing significant minutes.
NC State beat Miami 81-69 in Raleigh on Dec. 18. The Pack shot 57 percent in the second half to break open a close game and nailed 12-of-18 three-point shots. Four Wolfpack players scored in double-figures, led by Cam Bennerman with 19 points. Miami shot only 37.5 percent from the field, but a 17-6 edge on the offensive glass kept the `Canes in the game. Diaz and Hite combined for 31 points for Miami.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's fourth in-a-row and 5th in the last 6 games, improving NC State to 19-4 overall and 8-2 in the ACC. The Pack would earn its second straight victory over Miami and sweep the two-game season series with the Hurricanes after beating them in Raleigh 81-69 on Dec. 18, 2005. NC State would improve to 4-3 on-the-road this season (3-2 ACC) while snapping a 3-game Miami winning streak. The Hurricanes would drop to 14-9 overall and 6-4 in the ACC and lose for only the third time at home this season.
A LOSS--Would snap a 3-game Wolfpack winning streak, dropping State to 18-5 overall and 7-3 in the ACC. The Pack would fall to 3-4 on-the-road (2-3 ACC) and split its regular season series with Miami after beating the Hurricanes 81-69 on Dec. 18, 2005 in Raleigh. The loss would be the second straight to Miami at BankUnited Center. The Hurricanes would win their fourth straight game to improve to 15-8 overall and 7-3 in the ACC. Miami would improve to 10-2 at home this season (4-1 ACC).
FILL UP THE BASKET--The No.3 shooting and scoring team in the ACC against league competition is NC State. The Wolfpack is averaging 77.4 points a game while shooting .481 from the field in ACC games. State is coming off its worst shooting performance in an ACC game this season (.309) in a win over Maryland on Sunday.
GETTING STOPS --Consistent defense is a hallmark of Wolfpack basketball under Herb Sendek.. Overall, the Pack leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.393) and is allowing opponents only 64.9 points a game (4th). ACC opponents are averaging 73.2 points (9th), but only .420 shooting from the field (2nd).
HEY, MR. POSTMAN --Cedric Simmons has given NC State a low post scoring threat that was missing the last two seasons. The sophomore center recorded a career-high 28 points at Duke on Jan. 18th along with 9 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and 3 steals. This season, he is the team's No. 2 scorer (12.6) while leading the Pack in rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (2.95) while shooting a team high .610 from the field. Simmons is the No. 2 shot blocker in the ACC behind Duke's Shelden Williams and recorded 7 blocks against Miami on Dec. 18th.
LOVIN' THE LINE-- The Pack is shooting an impressive .755 from the foul line in ACC games (163-216). State sank 37-of-43 free throws in its win over Wake Forest on January 21st.
LONG RANGE ARTILLERY --State leads the ACC in three-point shooting in league games (.440) and has made more three-points shots overall (200) than any ACC team this season. The Pack averages 9 made three-point field goals a game and 44 percent of the Pack's field goal attempts come from behind the arc (521-1174).
BETHEL'S BOMBS ARE ON TARGET --Guard Tony Bethel leads the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (.564) versus league opponents and has made 33 of his last 62 shots from the three-point arc (.532). In his last 10 games, he is shooting 48-of-94 from the field (.510). Bethel is NC State's best perimeter on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and rebounder. The redshirt senior has lded the Wolfpack in scoring and rebounding in each of his last two games, averaging 16.5 points, 7 rebounds and 4.5 assists during that span. He recorded 5 steals in a win over Wake Forest on Jan. 21. In his last 5 games, he's averaging 15.4 points (77) and 5.6 rebounds (28).
TURKISH DELIGHT-- 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 (86), steals (36) and minutes (32.2) while averaging 10.6 points a game. However, lately Atsur has struggled offensively. In his last 6 games, he has averaged only 7.5 points while shooting .340 from the field (15-44) and .241 from the three-point arc (7-29).
BALL SECURITY --With only a few exceptions, the Wolfpack has done a good job taking care of the ball. State is averaging only 13.5 turnovers a game this season.
BULGARIAN BOMBER --Not many forwards in the ACC shoot better than 40 percent from the three-point arc, but Ilian Evtimov is one of them. The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is also an excellent free throw shooter, making 19 of his last 21 shots from the foul line. In his last 3 games, Evtimov has averaged 14.0 points (42) points and 7.3 rebounds (22). When State beat Virginia on Feb 1, Evtimov tied the game with a three-pointer and assisted on the game-winning basket.
THE CAM IS FOCUSED --Cameron Bennerman is playing the best basketball of his career in his final season with the Pack. The athletic senior leads the team in scoring (12.8) and over his last 16 games has averaged 14.5 points a game (232) while shooting 55 percent from the field during that span (90-of-163). The Greensboro native is among the ACC leaders in free throw shooting (.825). However, after making 22 straight free throws, Bennerman has converted only 5 of his last 12 attempts (.416).
AN UNSELFISH PACK --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 65 percent of its field goals (362-of-558) this season. The Pack has 20 assists on 27 field goals in the win over Virginia on Feb 1.
IT'S BEEN A BATTLE FOR BOARDS--Rebounding has been a challenge for the Wolfpack this season, but the Pack has won the battle of the boards in 2 of its last 3 games. State outrebounded Maryland on Sunday 42-39 overall and 17-15 on the offensive glass.
R-B-C MEANS W-I-N-- State is 14-1 at the RBC Center, including a 5-0 ACC mark. Seton Hall is the only team to beat the Pack this season at home. Away from home the Pack is 3-3 (2-2 ACC).
INJURIES --Freshman forward Brandon Costner could miss his 18th straight game for the Wolfpack with a leg injury.
