North Carolina State University Athletics
Tony Haynes: Getting Even in ACC Play
2/4/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
Yes, Tuesday’s 7 p.m. battle with Virginia Tech (14-8, 5-3) at the
A win gets NC State (14-7, 3-4) back to the .500 mark in ACC play. A loss sends the Pack into the second half with the same conference record it had last season. And considering the next two games are on the road at
And speaking of schedules, the ACC schedule-maker wasn’t doing the Pack in favors by slotting this game on a Tuesday, a little more than 48 hours after another home against
Making things even more difficult is Tuesday’s opponent. Virginia Tech is rolling after posting its third win in a row, a 72-65 overtime triumph over
“They’re definitely feeling good about themselves and the way they’ve won these ballgames,” Lowe said. “They’re playing with a lot of confidence, so they’re going to come in here thinking they can win. It’s tough as it is, but then you have a team that’s got some momentum, it makes it tougher. We need to be ready to establish ourselves early and not let them get going. There’s nothing more dangerous than a team that’s playing with a lot of confidence. I think we saw that in the Super Bowl game. It doesn’t matter what the numbers say or what the history says, when a team is playing with confidence and believing in themselves, they’re tough to beat.”
The recent history between Virginia Tech and NC State has been favorable to the Wolfpack. The Pack, in fact, may have cost the Hokies the ACC regular season title last season. Although NC State finished just 5-11 in conference play, two of those wins came at the expense of Virginia Tech, which finished a game out of first place. The Wolfpack then knocked off the Hokies a third time in the ACC Tournament.
Virginia Tech returns only two starters from that team, which, in this case, may be a good thing since the new faces in Hokieland didn’t experience the NC State hex a year ago.
“I don’t think anything from a previous year has anything to do with a new team,” Lowe said. “They’re new and we’re really new. Last year doesn’t have anything to do with it. If anything, some of the guys that were there, they’re going to be even more fired up to play against us. Right now it’s about the guys that are here right now and those guys are playing well.”
Two of those returning players, A.D. Vassallo and Deron Washington, have been extremely productive for coach Seth Greenberg’s team. Vassalo averages nearly 16 points per contest to lead Virginia Tech, while the athletic
Virginia Tech and NC State are also the poster children for what’s going on this year in the ACC. As of Monday, 22 of the first 43 conference games had been decided by three points or less or in overtime. Two of Virginia Tech’s wins during its current winning streak went to an extra period, while four of the Wolfpack’s seven league games have literally come down to the last shot.
Overall this season, the Pack has been involved in a total of eight games that have been decided by three points or less. NC State has won six of those eight games.
“It helps us because we realize that if we get into the postseason and we’re in a close game, we can look back on some of these games and know we’ve played in these kind of games," Lowe said. "We know what it takes to win, we know you have to get stops and you have to execute your offense. That’s going to help us down the road.”
With all due respect to Georgia Tech’s Thrillerdome,’ it’s the
More of the same could be on the way in what will be a huge game Tuesday night.
