North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Wolfpack Hopes For More Home Magic
1/22/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
The Pack(12-5, 1-2) will take the first step in trying to build on the Miami win when it hosts improving Georgia Tech (8-9, 1-3) Wednesday night at 7 p.m.
“I thought our last ballgame we came out and played well, and had pretty good energy,” said NC State head coach Sidney Lowe. “Guys made plays down the stretch when we needed to and guys really stepped up. Hopefully, we can duplicate that on Wednesday.”
Georgia Tech is probably thinking the same thing. The Yellow Jackets had dropped three of four games and seemed headed in the wrong direction before pushing then top-ranked
For both teams, Wednesday’s game could provide an opportunity to get on a little bit of a roll with a win, although Jackets coach Paul Hewitt says building momentum in a league as challenging as the ACC is often difficult.
“The momentum from the previous game usually goes away after about the first half or the first 10 minutes of the game,” Hewitt said. “Each game has its own personality and its own rhythm, and no matter how much momentum you build up from that last win or that last sequence of events that led to a win, that changes rapidly if you don’t adjust to what the new opponent is doing.”
For NC State, there were indeed some very good signs in the win over
“It was a much different ballgame,” Lowe said. “He was certainly more comfortable here and I think being at home in front of our crowd definitely helped him. He played with great poise. He ran the show, knew when to push it, knew when to pull it back and executed the plays down the stretch to perfection. We think that’s going to continue to get better to the point when we hit the road he’ll be confident with it because he’ll understand how to control the ballgame. It’s still going to take time.”
Like NC State, Georgia Tech has been searching at the point guard position this season. The early exodus of Javaris Crittendon to the NBA after last year left Hewitt in a bind. Last weekend, however, he may have found a jewel in Matt Causey. A transfer by way of
“I know the kid can shoot it and I know he plays with a lot of courage,” Hewitt said. “I can’t say I envisioned him putting 30 on somebody, but let’s put it this way: he’s a dangerous shooter and a fearless player.”
As usual, Hewitt’s team relies on relentless defensive pressure in hopes of speeding the tempo and creating high possession games. The Yellow Jackets force an average of 17 turnovers per game and pressured Virginia Tech into 24 miscues on Saturday.
Causey and veteran forward Anthony Morrow provide some outside punch; both are shooting better than 40 from the 3-point arc. Power forward Jeremis Smith, a staple of Hewitt’s last three teams, is coming off three straight double-doubles and averages 10.3 points and better than seven rebounds per game.
To this point in 21 ACC games, the road team has won seven times. As both Georgia Tech and NC State try to build winning streaks on Wednesday, Hewitt says the Wolfpack will enjoy a significant homecourt advantage at the
“NC State has always done a good job in the way their fans rally the players,” Hewitt said. “I watched the game the other day and obviously, those guys made great plays, but their crowd was outstanding. I wasn’t there, but it seemed like it was one of the loudest nights ever in that building. Just the adrenaline you get from your home crowd can help you a lot.”
