North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Virginia Tech
2/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 2007 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 4:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 3:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom / Lincoln Financial Sports (ACC Network)
OPPONENT— The ACC’s traditional powers have been powerless against Virginia Tech this season. Tuesday night in Chapel Hill, the Hokies topped North Carolina for a second time, after upsetting Duke in January.
Zabian Dowdell bounced back from his worst game of the season - a five-point outing against Virginia - with the best of his career. The senior guard tallied 33 points to lead Virginia Tech to an 81-80 overtime victory over the No. 4 Tar Heels that sealed a stunning season sweep of Carolina.
Dowdell and Deron Washington combined to stop UNC’s Ty Lawson in the final seconds of overtime and preserve the victory for the Hokies who enhanced their NCAA tournament hopes with a major road victory.
When Markus Sailes missed two free throws with 7.1 seconds left, it gave Carolina a last chance to win. Lawson drove into the key and took a quick shot which was tied up by Dowdell. Lawson recovered the ball and shot again from the lane, but Washington blocked it. Wayne Ellington grabbed the deflection, but the buzzer sounded before he swished a circus 3-point shot from the left wing.
Washington had 12 points and 14 rebounds for the Hokies, who won in Chapel Hill for the first time since 1966. Tyler Hansbrough’s 22 points led North Carolina (22-4, 8-3), but the sophomore center missed a critical free throw with 13.9 seconds left that might have forced a second overtime.
Virginia Tech could have taken the lead late in regulation when Washington was fouled by Reyshawn Terry with 36.4 seconds remaining. The athletic forward was shaken up on the play and briefly left the game. The Hokies brought Nigel Munson off the bench to shoot Washington’s free throws. Munson missed the first foul shot but swished the second to tie it 73-73.
Lawson then failed to connect on a 3-pointer from beyond the key with 0:01left in regulation and the game went to overtime.
Virginia Tech is one of the most experienced teams in the ACC and that experience is reflected in its record against top competition.
The Hokies are 4-0 against ranked teams this season, including 3 wins against top-five teams. Overall, they’ve won 5 of their last 7 games, including the last two. In addition to the experience, Virginia Tech is extremely athletic, skilled and deep. Last season, the Hokies had trouble scoring at times, but not anymore. In ACC games, Virginia Tech is one of the league’s top-5 scoring teams (74.0) and is No. 2 in 3-point percentage (.378).
Dowdell, who could be the best one-on-one player in the conference, is fourth in the ACC versus league opponents in scoring (20.3), No.2 in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.19) and leads the league in steals (2.45) in ACC games.
He’s averaged 20.7 points over his last 6 games and for the season is shooting nearly 42 percent from 3-point range. The senior gets to the free throw line an average of 10 times a game and shoots 83 percent. Dowdell does not go to the bench often and averages nearly 36 minutes in ACC games.
Gordon, the team’s No. 3 scorer, is a very well rounded, versatile player. The senior guard, ranks No. 6 in the conference in assists (4.5) and is the league leader in steals (2.56). He’s struggled some with his 3-point shooting (4-of-20) in ACC games, but is a solid rebounder and excellent distributor.
A.D. Vassallo and Dowdell are the Hokies top long-range threats and account for 59 percent of the team’s 3-point shots. Vassallo, who is shooting 52 percent from bonusphere in league games, leads the team in 3-point field goals (49), attempts (109) and percentage (.450).
Washington has elevated his play of late. He’s scored in double-figures in 4-straight games and is averaging 16.0 points during that span, including back-to-back double-doubles against Virginia and UNC.
The Hokies defensive effort is also pretty solid. Against league opponents, Virginia Tech is No.3 in field goal percentage defense (.428), and No.2 against the 3-point shot (.300) while holding ACC foes to 72.5 points a game. Dowdell and Gordon are tremendous on-ball defenders while Coleman Collins, Washington and Cheick Diakite have better than average shot blocking ability inside.
Virginia Tech is not a dominant rebounding team, but can usually hold its own on the boards. On the offensive glass, both the Hokies and NC State are among the worst in the league. Free throw shooting has been spotty at times, but the Hokies are hitting 72 percent of their foul shots in ACC games.
Thanks to its outstanding guards, Virginia Tech is No. 2 in the ACC in conference games in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.16-to-1) and is No. 2 in turnover margin (+1.82). Only Miami has fewer turnovers this season than Virginia Tech. The Hokies average only 11.2 turnovers per ACC game.
Depth is a big plus, too. In most games, Virginia Tech uses a 10 or 11-man rotation with nine of those players averaging 12 or more minutes a game.
Virginia Tech is 4-3 (4-2 ACC) away from home this season. NC State has won the last three meetings in the series, including a 70-59 win in Blacksburg on January 31.
PROBABLE VIRGINIA TECH STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
01 Zabian Dowdell G 6'2 Sr. 18.2 3.4 3.4
22 Jamon Gordon G 6’3 Sr. 11.6 4.5 4.5
21 Lewis Witcher F 6’9 Fr. 3.6 3.0 --
13 Deron Washington F 6'7 Jr. 11.9 5.8 1.8
33 Coleman Collins C/F 6’9 Sr. 7.8 5.0 1.3*
TOP RESERVES:
40 A.D. Vassallo F 6’6 So. 11.2 3.8 --
24 Markus Sailes G 6'5 Sr. 2.0 1.4 1.2
03 Nigel Munson G 6'0 Fr. 3.3 1.0 1.3
34 Cheick Diakite F 6'8 So. 3.4 2.9 1.1*
A WIN--Would be State’s third this season over a team ranked in the nation’s top-25. The victory would break a Wolfpack 3-game losing streak and improve State to 14-11 overall and 4-8 in the ACC. The Pack would beat the Hokies for the fourth straight time in the series and record a regular season sweep of Virginia Tech. State’s victory would end a 2-game Virginia Tech winning streak and drop the Hokies to 18-8 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. The Wolfpack would improve its home record to 12-6 with only one home game remaining vs. Wake Forest on Feb. 28.
A LOSS--Would be the fourth straight for NC State-- its longest losing streak of the season and longest overall since last season when the Pack dropped its final three regular season games and its ACC Tournament opener. State would drop to 13-12 overall and 3-9 in the ACC and lose its second straight home game. Virginia Tech snaps a 3-game losing streak to NC State in the series and improves to 19-7 overall and 9-3 in the ACC. The Hokies win their third game in-a-row and stay in contention for the No.1 seed in the ACC Tournament.
THAT’S A LOT OF MINUTES – Four NC State players rank among the ACC’s top seven in minutes played. Gavin Grant has played every minute of six games this season. Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner have gone the distance in three games each with Courtney Fells never coming out in two games.
DISAPPEARING “D” –In beating No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 3 UNC back-to-back, the Wolfpack’s defensive effort was a huge factor. The two ranked opponents averaged only 69 points (138) and .418 shooting from the field (51-122), including .280 from the 3-point arc (7-25). Since then, the Pack has not duplicated that defensive effort. During its 3-game losing streak, opponents have averaged 79.6 points (239) and nearly 50 percent shooting (.86-173) from the field, including 46 percent from the 3-point range (17-37).
WITH DEFENSE COMES REBOUNDING –It’s no coincidence that rebounding had something to do with the Pack’s back-to-back wins over nationally ranked Virginia Tech and UNC. State dominated the Hokies 42-29 and outrebounded the Tar Heels 31-25. During its 3-game losing streak, State has lost the board battle in 2 games and overall has been outrebounded 104-86 and 41-31 on the offensive glass. The Pack has tied or outrebounded its opponents 11 times and has an 8-3 record. When outrebounded, State is 5-8.
DIFFERENCE-MAKER—Engin Atsur has made a big difference in the Wolfpack since his return from a hamstring injury. In the upset of No. 3 North Carolina, the native of Turkey recorded his first double-double of the season with 12 points and 10 assists in 38 minutes. The Pack’s only point guard was off to a great start when he a pulled hamstring muscle against Michigan on November 27th and missed the next 9 games. When he returned on Jan. 6 against Boston College, Atsur dished out a career-high 10 assists. Unfortunately, he injured the muscle again on Jan. 7th and missed three consecutive games before returning again. With Atsur in the lineup, State is 7-5 this season.
GIVE-A-WAYS –Turnovers have sometimes been an issue for NC State. During the current 3-game losing streak, the Pack has averaged nearly 15 turnovers (44) with opponents averaging 17.3 points off those mistakes (52).
BIG BEN --The most improved player on the NC State team is Ben McCauley. How far has he come? Last season, the sophomore center averaged 5.5 minutes in 13 ACC games. This season, he’s the team’s No.2 scorer (16.1), leads the Pack in shooting while running second in rebounding (6.7) and total assists (82). In his last 5 games, McCauley is averaging 16.8 points (84) while shooting .769 (36-of-53) from the field. He’s among the leaders in the ACC in field goal percentage (.601). McCauley recorded a double-double against Maryland with 12 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
DON’T TAKE HIM FOR GRANT-ED –Junior Gavin Grant was forced into a difficult spot when Engin Atsur was injured. The slashing shooting guard was forced to play the point and it was a tough transition, especially against higher-level competition. With Atsur back, Grant has benefited. In the last 5 games, Grant is shooting 49 percent from the field (24-of-49). The junior is tied for team scoring lead in ACC games (15.7) and has shot .500 against league opponents (61-122).
SHARE THE BALL --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 59 percent of its field goals (364-618) this season. The Pack had 23 assists on 29 field goals in its loss to Alabama on 12/20/06.
ONE FINE FRESHMAN--Redshirt freshman Brandon Costner is the ACC’s top freshman scorer and rebounder. That’s quite an improvement from last season which was cut short by injury after playing in only five games. The former Parade and McDonalds High School All-American leads the Pack in scoring (16.3), rebounding (7.8) and 3-point field goals (40-115). Costner recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds against No.3 North Carolina.
HOLDING THE LINE--State is once again a pretty solid free throw shooting team. The Pack is shooting .714 from the foul line. Last season, the Wolfpack shot .751 from the stripe.
IT’S AN INSIDE JOB --State no longer relies as much on three-point shooting as in past seasons, but that does not mean the Wolfpack can’t shoot 3-pointers. In its last 9 games, State is shooting 38 percent from 3-point range (61-160). Under Sidney Lowe, the Pack is an inside-out team. Only 33 percent of State’s shots come from the arc compared to 46 percent last season.
FELLS FALLS—A bruised tailbone suffered during the Pack’s loss at Miami on Feb. 10, has impaired the improvement of Courtney Fells. The sophomore forward played only 19 minutes against Maryland with just 2 points and 3 rebounds. On Feb. 3, Fells showed what he can do when healthy. Against No.3 UNC, he scored a career high 21 points and shot 8-of-11 from the field, including 4-of-5 from the 3-point line. Over the previous 7-games before the injury, Fells averaged 14.4 points (101), 4.3 rebounds (30) and shot 38-of-74 (.513) from the field. Fells also leads the team in steals (28) and blocked shots (24).
HORNER CAN HIT ‘EM –Dennis Horner can shoot and his numbers reflect that. In his last 7 games, Horner has made 12-of-18 field goal attempts, including 7-of-10 from 3-point range. The freshman forward recorded a career-high 14 points vs. Clemson on Jan. 9th. However, he’s scored only 3-points in his last 6 games.
