North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: North Carolina
2/20/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE (14-11, 4-8) at No. 5 NORTH CAROLINA (23-4, 9-3)
DATE: Wednesday, February 21, 2007 @ Dean Smith Center, Chapel Hill, NC (21,800)
TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: Raycom /Lincoln Financial Sports (ACC Network)
OPPONENT—Before North Carolina was upset by NC State earlier this month, the Tar Heels were not only winning, but winning by huge margins. Since the loss in Raleigh, three of Carolina’s four games have been very close. However, the Heels proved they could match the improvement and intensity of their opponents by winning two road squeakers. The first was at Duke on February 7. The latest test came Saturday night at Boston College.
The 77-72 Carolina victory was in doubt until the last few ticks of the clock. BC had two chances to tie in the final 90-seconds and the Eagles put the ball in the hands of their best player, but came up short.
Jared Dudley missed all three free throws after he was fouled on a 3-point shot with 1:29 remaining. He missed another 3-point attempt with 10-seconds left and BC down 75-72. After Carolina grabbed the rebound, BC fouled Ty Lawson who sank two free throws to ice the game with 7-seconds to play.
Lawson finished with 13 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds while Tyler Hansbrough led the Tar Heels with 17 points as Carolina bounced back from a 81-80 overtime loss to Virginia Tech at home earlier in the week.
The victory moved the Heels into a tie with Virginia for first-place in the ACC and prevented Carolina’s first two-game losing streak of the season. Boston College (18-8, 9-4) dropped into third-place in the league.
Dudley scored 22 and Tyrese Rice had 20 for the Eagles who had trouble shooting in crunch time. Both teams shot 52 percent for the game, but BC was 0-for-10 from 3-point range in the second half and 3-for-9 from the foul line in the final 5:31.
North Carolina’s ability to win its share of close games lately could mean trouble for the rest of the ACC. Why? The Tar Heels have the deepest and most talented team in the ACC and the numbers don’t lie.
Carolina leads the ACC and is No.2 nationally in scoring with an average of 87.7 points a game, but that’s only the tip of the iceberg. The Heels shoot .504 from the field to lead the league. No team in the ACC has more assists (19.04 apg.) or has grabbed more rebounds (42.3 rpg.) or has a better rebounding margin. In fact, Carolina’s +9.5 rebounding margin leads the nation.
The defense isn’t bad either. In ACC games, the Heels are holding opponents to league-leading .411 shooting and a second-best 69.8 points a game. UNC has held 15 opponents this season below 40 percent shooting from the field and is 14-1 in those games –losing only to Virginia Tech at home.
Carolina forces nearly 16 turnovers a game with a pressure defense that helps fuel its high possession, fast tempo attack. The Heels turn their opponents’ bad shots and turnovers into points very quickly.
Young teams can sometimes struggle, but UNC’s freshmen class has unbelievable talent. Brandan Wright (6), Ty Lawson and Ellington have combined to win 8 ACC Rookie of the Week awards. The Heels lead the ACC in starts by freshmen (76).
Lawson, a lightening-quick point guard, has 125 assists and only 39 turnovers in 22 starts and already has a pair of zero turnover performances. That has helped vault Carolina into the ACC lead in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.33-to-1).
Wright, who scored in double figures in his first 18 games, is shooting .653 from the field which leads the ACC. If the season ended today, Wright would break Sam Perkins’all-time ACC freshman record (.626).
Ellington leads the Tar Heels in 3-point attempts (133) and makes (51) and is the team’s No.3 scorer. He is one of three Carolina players to start every game this season. But even with all the freshman talent, Hansbrough remains the cornerstone of Carolina’s attack.
The sophomore center is one of the top-5 scorers and rebounders in the ACC and gets to the foul line an average of 8.4 times a game. Hansbrough’s ability to convert tough shots close the basket is exceptional. When he dominates inside, Carolina is extremely hard to beat.
Reyshawn Terry is one of the few upper classmen to log significant minutes. A quality, versatile player, Terry tops the Heels in three-point shooting (.458) and is No.3 in rebounding and assists.
Carolina’s bench, led by Green, Thompson and Marcus Ginyard, can go as deep as 12 players and no Tar Heel is averaging 30 minutes a game this season. The Heels have so much depth they feature three point guards (Lawson, Bobby Frasor and Quentin Thomas).
UNC has lost only once at home this season (14-1) and has won 6 of the last 7 games of the series with NC State. The Pack shot 76.5 percent in the second half in its upset of the then No.3 ranked Heels on February 3. State’s last win over Carolina at the Smith Center was a 75-67 triumph on Feb. 25, 2003.
PROBABLE UNC STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
02 Wayne Ellington G 6’4 Fr. 12.1 2.6 2.1
05 Ty Lawson G 5’11 Fr. 10.4 2.7 5.2
50 Tyler Hansbrough C 6'9 Fr. 18.5 7.7 1.3
03 Reyshawn Terry F 6'8 Sr. 9.6 5.9 1.9
34 Brandan Wright F 6'9 Fr. 14.6 6.4 1.7*
TOP RESERVES:
01 Marcus Ginyard G 6'5 So. 4.1 3.2 1.5
21 Deon Thompson F 6'8 Fr. 4.9 2.5 --
14 Danny Green F/G 6'5 Fr. 5.8 3.0 1.2
22 Wes Miller G 5’11 Sr. 2.6 0.6 1.3
32 Alex Stepheson G 6’9 Fr. 2.7 2.7 --
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack’s second straight over a ranked opponent after beating No. 25 Virginia Tech on Wed.—the second time that’s happened this season. State would record its second two-game ACC winning streak of the season and improve to 15-11 overall and 5-8 in the ACC. The Pack would sweep Carolina for the first time since the 2002-03 and get its first win at the Smith Center since February 25, 2003. State would send the Tar Heels to their second straight home loss, dropping Carolina to 23-5 overall and 9-4 in the ACC.
A LOSS--North Carolina would win for the seventh time in the last eight games of the series and beat the Pack in Chapel Hill for the fourth straight year. The Tar Heels would improve to 24-4 overall and remain in first-place in the ACC at 10-3. Carolina would win its 15th home game of year against only one loss and record its second straight victory overall. The Wolfpack would drop to 14-12 overall and 4-9 in the ACC. State would lose it third-straight road game and can not finish the regular season with a .500 ACC record. The best ACC record State could hope for would be 7-9 with victories in its last 3 games.
IT’S ALL ABOUT DEFENSE –In State’s upset of No. 25 Virginia Tech on Feb. 18., the Pack held the Hokies to a season-low 56 points and 38.5 percent second-half shooting. The same formula worked earlier this season in back-to-back wins over No. 16 Virginia Tech and No. 3 UNC. In those two games, the Pack surrendered an average of 69 points, .418 shooting from the field and .280 from 3-point range. Following the two wins, the Pack dropped three straight games and the common factor was a LACK of defense. In the three losses, opponents 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 OFFENSE –The three best defensive games State has played this year were its two wins over Virginia Tech and its victory over North Carolina. However, they were also excellent shooting and rebounding games for the Pack. In the three wins, State shot a combined .600 from the field (84-140) and .500 from the 3-point arc (24-48) while outrebounding its opponents 101-75. In its 3-game ACC losing streak, the Wolfpack shot .448 from the field, .345 from 3-point range and was outrebounded 104-86. The Pack has tied or outrebounded its opponents 12 times and has a 9-3 record. When State has been outrebounded, the Pack is 5-8.
LOTS AND LOTS 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.
HE’S THE DIFFERENCE—Engin Atsur has made a big difference in the Wolfpack since his return from a hamstring injury. When he is in the line-up, State is 8-5 this season. The senior scored a game-high 20 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and added 7 assists in the Wolfpack’s upset of No. 25 Virginia Tech on Wed. Atsur continues to improve as he works his way back from a serious hamstring injury that forced him to miss 12 games this season. In his last two games, the native of Turkey has averaged 17 points and 5.5 assists while shooting 12-of-19 from the field (63%). In the upset of No. 3 North Carolina on Feb. 3, Atsur 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 until 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.
OH, THOSE GIVE-A-WAYS –The Wolfpack committed only 11 turnovers in its upset of Virginia Tech on Feb 18. However, in 3-straight losses prior to that game, State averaged nearly 15 turnovers with opponents scoring a total of 52 points off those miscues.
NO WASTED SECONDS FOR 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 playing 35 minutes a contest and he’s responded in a big way. McCauley is tied for the team lead in scoring (16.1) and leads the Pack in shooting while running second in rebounding (6.6) and total assists (89). In his last 6 games, McCauley is averaging 16.7 points (100) while shooting .667 (42-of-63) 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. Against Virginia Tech on Feb. 18., McCauley recorded 16 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists in 35 minutes.
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 6 games, Grant is shooting .517 from the field (30-of-58). The junior leads the team in scoring in ACC games (15.7) and has shot .511 against league opponents (67-131), including 40 percent from 3-point range (14-35).
PASS IT BEFORE YOU SHOOT IT --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 59 percent of its field goals (385-650) this season. The Pack had 23 assists on 29 field goals in its loss to Alabama in Dec.
ACC ROOKIE OF YEAR CANDIDATE--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 is tied for the team lead in scoring (16.1), rebounding (7.9) and 3-point field goals (42-118). Costner recorded his 7th double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds against No.25 Virginia Tech on Feb. 18.
THE BEST THINGS IN LIFE ARE FREE--State is once again a good free throw shooting team. The Pack is shooting .713 from the foul line. Last season, the Wolfpack shot .751 from the stripe.
FELLS TURNS UP THE HEAT—Courtney Fells is the best athlete on the Wolfpack team and lately, he’s used that talent to become the Pack’s defensive stopper. In two games against Virginia Tech’s Zabian Dowdell, Fells held the ACC’s best one-on-one player to a combined 25 points. He also played solid defense in the Pack’s win over North Carolina on Feb 3rd while scoring a career-high 21 points. Offensively, in his last 9 games, Fells is averaging 13.0 points (117), 3.8 rebounds (34) while shooting .517 from the field (45-87). The sophomore forward also leads the Pack in steals (25) and blockes shots (29).
RED HOT HORNER –Dennis Horner dosen’t shoot much, but when he does the ball usually goes in the basket. In his last 8 games, Horner has made 13-of-19 field goal attempts, including 8-of-11 from 3-point range. The freshman forward recorded a career-high 14 points vs. Clemson on Jan. 9th. However, he’s scored only 6-points in his last 7 games.
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 10 games, State is shooting .411 from 3-point range (72-175). 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.
