North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Marist
3/16/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE (19-15) vs. MARIST (25-8) in National Invitation Tournament-- 2nd Round
DATE: Friday, March 16, 2007
TIME: 9:30 p.m. (EST) at Reynolds Coliseum, Raleigh, NC (9,500)
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network. Airtime: 9:00 p.m. (EST)
TELEVISION: ESPNU
OPPONENT— Marist won its first-round NIT game Tuesday night with a 67-64 upset of Oklahoma State. Will Whittington scored 31 points for the Red Foxes as they became only the third non-conference opponent to win at Gallagher-Iba Arena in the Cowboys' last 140 games.
Marist trailed for only the first 3 minutes. The Red Foxes matched their largest lead at 52-35 with 13:43 left before Oklahoma State rallied behind the 3-point shooting of Terrel Harris. Harris, who was scoreless in the opening half, went 3-of-4 from behind the arc and recorded 11 second-half points.
Oklahoma State pulled to 65-64 with 43.7 seconds left on a 3-pointer by freshman Obi Muonelo. Whittington, who went 10-of-10 from the line, made two free throws with 8.5 seconds left to extend Marist's lead to 67-64.
The Red Foxes fouled Oklahoma State's Byron Eaton with 3 seconds left. Eaton missed both free throws, the second deliberately. The rebound went to Muonelo, who missed a 3-point attempt at the buzzer.
Marist survived 36.8 percent shooting (21-57) by sinking 10-of-28 three-point attempts and outrebounding Oklahoma State 39-27, including 19-8 on the offensive glass. The Red Foxes shot just 32 percent in the second half from the field and converted only 2-of-13 shots from beyond the arc.
Oklahoma State (22-13) shot 54 percent in the second half and 45 percent for the game, but made only 14 of 21 free throws. Ryan Stilphen added 16 points for Marist. Mario Boggan and Muonelo eached scored 12 points to lead the Cowboys.
Marist features two of the most talented, yet unknown guards in America. Whittington (6-3, 175, Sr.) and Jared Jordan (6-2, 187, Sr.) make a tremendous backcourt combination. Whittington leads the team in scoring (17.5) and is the Red Foxes’ top 3-point shooter. He takes nearly 40 percent of the tam’s 3-point shots and shoots 40 percent from the arc.
Jordan is a pro prospect with a great all-round game. The Hartford, CT native is making a bid to become only the second player in NCAA Division-One history to lead the nation in assists twice during his career. Jordan not only averages 8.8 assists a game, but can score (17.3), too. The Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Player of the Year is also an excellent rebounder (5.9), defender and capable shooter. Sportscaster, Dick Vitale, calls Jordan the most underrated player in the nation.
Unlike NC State, Marist launches a lot of 3-point shots. Fourty-four percent of the Red Foxes’ shots come from behind the arc and they average 9 made 3-point field goals a game. In addition to Whittington and Jordan, Ben Farmer (.378) and 7-foot center James Smith (.403) are also dangerous 3-point shooters.
The Red Foxes are not a dominating team on the boards, but they have a +4.0 rebound margin and they’re 20-4 when they either tie or outrebound their opponents. They also take care of the ball, averaging only 10 turnovers in their last 14 games.
Marist won 9 straight games before losing to rival Sienna 86-78 in the semi-finals of the MAAC Tournament on March 4th. During the regular season, the Red Foxes registered non-conference wins over Minnesota, Western Michigan, Old Dominion and Richmond while losing to Ohio, Wright State and Arkansas.
Depth is not a problem, but it is interesting to note that both Whittington and Jordan average 37 minutes a game. Both played 40 minutes in the upset of Oklahoma State.
PROBABLE MARIST STARTERS
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
13 Will Whittington G 6'3 Sr. 17.5 3.4 1.7
25 Jared Jordan G 6'2 Sr. 17.3 5.9 8.8
22 Ben Farmer F 6'5 Jr. 5.8 3.5 1.7
32 Ryan Stilphen F 6'8 Jr. 10.9 4.7 1.0
40 James Smith C 7’0 Sr. 11.4 6.0 1.0*
TOP RESERVES:
42 Wilfred Benjaman F/C 6'7 Jr. 5.8 5.2 --
43 Gerald Carter G 6'4 Jr. 2.2 1.8 --
31 Shae McNamera F 6’8 Jr. 3.2 2.3 --
* Blocked shots per game
A STATE WIN—Would be the sixth for the Wolfpack in the last 8 games and the fifth in six post-season games. State would move into the quarterfinals of the NIT to meet West Virginia on the road on March 20th. The Pack would win its 20th game overall for the fourth straight year, improving to 20-15. State would record its first NIT home victory since 2000 and its first NIT victory at Reynolds Coliseum since beating Kansas State in 1998. The season would end for Marist at 25-9.
A STATE LOSS—Would end the season for the Wolfpack at 19-16. Marist would advance to the NIT quarterfinals to meet West Virginia on March 20th. The Red Foxes would improve to 26-8.
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