North Carolina State University Athletics
Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Boston College
2/13/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC STATE (15-8, 4-5) @
DATE: Thursday, February 14, 2008 @ Conte Forum,
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: ESPN or espn2
The victory was the eleventh straight for Duke (21-1, 9-0), but it didn’t come easy. The Blue Devils couldn’t pull away until midway through the second half when Singler started and ended a decisive run with 3-pointers from the left corner.
His first bomb put Duke ahead to stay 66-65 with 9:11 to play. Less than 3 minutes later, the rookie forward connected again to push Duke’s margin to 13. Singler finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds for the Blue Devils who are enjoying their longest conference winning streak since the 2005-06 team, led by J.J. Redick and Shelden Williams, started the ACC schedule 14-0.
The loss spoiled a tremendous performance by BC’s Tyrese Rice who recorded 28 points, 7 assists and 2 steals. Shamari Spears (10 points) and Biko Paris (11 points) were the Eagles only other double-figure scorers. DeMarcus Nelson added 23 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists for Duke.
Defense and rebounding were key factors for the Blue Devils. They scored 21 points off 21BC turnovers and outscored the Eagles 20-8 in second chance points thanks to a 19-9 edge on the offensive glass.
Those same areasdefense and reboundinghave been problems for BC. Against league opponents, the Eagles are allowing 79 points a game and they’re in the bottom third of the conference in rebounding margin (-3.4). So far, ACC foes have outrebounded BC on the offensive boards 146-96.
The Eagles are the ACC’s top shot blocking team and Tyrelle Blair leads the league (4.1 vs. ACC). However, BC sends league opponents to the foul line 19 times a game and forces an average of only 10 turnovers.
Sloppy ball handling has also hurt. ACC foes are averaging 8 steals a game against BC and the Eagles are last in turnover margin in league games (-4.78).
For the first time since entering the ACC,
The three upperclassmen, Rice and seniors Blair and John Oates have accounted for 40 percent of the team’s points with Rice leading the way at 26 percent. Rice, a junior who earned first team All-ACC honors last season, is one of the top players in the conference and may be the most physically fit.
In conference games, Rice leads the ACC in minutes played (39.0). He is No.2 in scoring (21.1), fourth in assists (5.56), ninth in assist to turnover ratio (1.67) and tenth in free throw percentage (.811) against league teams. Rice has scored 20 or more points 12 times this season including 32 points versus
BC’s offensive production falls off dramatically after Rice, but the Eagles still manage to average 75.3 points a game against ACC competition.
A tight “Flex” half court offense that keeps the ball near the lane area usually produces high percentage shots. In conference games, BC is shooting nearly 47 percent from the field. Plus, the Eagles get to the foul line nearly 23 times a game and shoot 70 percent from the stripe.
Rice accounts for about 36 percent of BC’s three-point shots in league play, but Sanders (.375), Oates (.727) and Tyler Roche (.400) can also burn opponents from the bonusphere and keep defenses honest.
Oates has made 16-of-22 shots from beyond the arc in ACC games.
The freshman class has been more productive lately with the emergence of Paris and Josh Southern.
In the team’s last four outings, Southern, Paris, Rakim Sanders and Corey Raji have combined for nearly 30 points and 13 rebounds an outing.
Sanders is fifth among ACC freshmen in scoring and he’s the youngest player on the BC team (18 years, 7 months). The impressive rookie has topped the 20 point mark five times this season, including a 20 point effort against
NC State has lost the last two meetings in the series with
PROBABLE
No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG
04 Tyrese Rice G 6'1 Jr. 19.9 3.5 5.1
15 Rakim Sanders G 6’5 Fr. 12.1 4.3 1.8
44 Tyrelle Blair C 6’11 Sr. 5.7 5.1 3.8*
32 John Oates F 6'10 Sr. 4.6 3.5 1.0*
21 Tyler Roche F 6’7 So. 4.5 2.0 1.9
TOP RESERVES:
11 Corey Raji F 6'5 Fr. 8.5 4.0 --
05 Biko Paris G 6’1 Fr. 6.0 1.9 2.8
34 Shamari Spears F 6'6 So. 10.6 6.9 1.2
52 Josh Southern C/F 6'10 Fr. 3.9 2.4 --
* Blocked shots per game
A WIN--Would give the Pack 3 victories in its last 4 games and move State back to .500 in the ACC at
5-5. The Wolfpack would earn its 16th win of the season against 8 losses and break a 2-game losing streak to
A LOSSThe Pack would suffer its second two-game ACC losing streak of the season and drop to 15-9 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. State would drop its third straight game to BC in the series and lose for the fifth time in the last six meetings with the Eagles. BC would snap a six-game losing streak and win for the first time since January 15th. The Eagles would improve to 13-10 overall and 4-6 in the ACC. BC would win for the 11th time at home this season against 5 losses (3-2 ACC). The Eagles host
Due to ACC expansion, State and BC will not meet again during the regular season.
STARTBetter starts in 6 of the last 7 games have been a key factor for the Wolfpack. State is 4-3 during that stretch. Slow starts were a major problem in early January. In four games from January 5th through January 15th, State averaged only 20.3 points (81) and shot 3-of-32 from the 3-point arc (.093).
FINISH--In the last five games, State has managed to win only twice (FSU & VT) when enjoying the lead at halftime. State lost games at Duke and
HEATING UPGavin Grant has been a factor in State’s success over the last 7 games. During that span the senior forward has averaged 16.1 points (113) while shooting .500 from the field (33-66). That includes a 26-point outing at Duke on Jan. 31. In ACC games, Grant is shooting .542 from 3-point range (13-24). He leads the Pack in scoring in ACC games (14.7). Three times this season, Grant’s heroics in the final seconds have won games for the Wolfpack. His steal and layup with 2.1 seconds left in overtime gave State a 79-77 victory over
HERE’S THE POINT Due to a season-ending knee injury to Farnold Degand on December 23rd, the Wolfpack has been forced to rotate two inexperienced point guards. Freshman Javier Gonzalez and sophomore transfer Marques Johnson are learning the hard wayon the job. In the last 7 games, all of Gonzalez’s numbers have improved. During that stretch, he’s averaged 6.7 points (47), 3.4 rebounds (24), 3.4 assist (24) and only 1.8 turnovers (13). Gonzalez recorded a career-high 11points and 5 rebounds against Virginia Tech on 2/5/08.
BIG BEN Ben McCauley’s one-handed slam at the buzzer was the game-winner in State’s thrilling 67-65 win over
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR?J.J. Hickson, who leads all ACC freshmen with 8 double-doubles, was chosen as the ACC Rookie of the Week for the third time on Jan. 28th after he averaged 14 points and 10 rebounds in games against Georgia Tech and FSU. In his last 6 games, the big center, who leads all ACC rookies in scoring, is averaging 14.5 points (87), 9.5 rebounds (57). In four of those games, Hickson recorded a double-double. He leads the Pack in scoring and rebounding and tops the ACC in field goal percentage (.600).
HARD KNOCKS ON THE BOARDS In ACC games, the Pack has a minus 3.8 rebounding margin and has outrebounded only 3-of-9 ACC opponents.
FELLS VS. THE ACC Courtney Fells has scored in double-figures in 8-of-9 ACC games this season and is the team’s No.2 scorer in league games (14.6) while shooting 48-90 from the field (.533) and 26-51 from the 3-point arc (.510). His clutch 3-pointer with 18-seconds to play in overtime was a big part of State’s come-from-behind victory over
BULLS EYE After shooting only 9-of-27 (.333) from the 3-point arc in its first two ACC games, State has found the range. In its last 7 outings, the Pack has shot .449 from 3-point land (53-118).
ENEMY BOMBING ACC opponents have combined to shoot 40 percent from the 3-point arc against the Wolfpack this season (54-135).
MAKE EM’ PAY FOR FOULS Free throw shooting has been a big weapon for the Wolfpack. State has made more free throws this season than its opponents have attempted (402-to-318). Overall, State is shooting 71 percent from the stripe. The Pack has outscored its opponents 385-to-216 at the foul line this season and 140-111 in ACC games.
-0-
