North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Gators and Pack Clash in Gainesville
1/2/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BY TONY HAYNES
It’s been 22 years since NC State and
When NC State (9-2) and
Connections aside, Saturday’s game should give both teams a reading on exactly how ready they are for conference play. Awaiting the Wolfpack will be seven straight ACC games, including a road opener at Clemson next Saturday.
For NC State, this game will provide yet another opportunity to breakthrough against a quality non-conference opponent. In its first two tries, the Pack ultimately fell down on the job at crunch time in close losses to nationally ranked Davidson and Marquette.
And while NC State has proven it can play with top-25 caliber teams, it hasn’t yet shown an ability to make enough critical plays in end of game situations to finish the task at hand.
Another chance presents itself on Saturday.
“I feel like we’re ready for a dog fight if need be,” said NC State forward Brandon Costner. “We’re just going to go out and play hard; everything else will take care of itself.”
Costner is one of the main reasons NC State figures to have a shot against the Gators. The redshirt junior from
NC State’s frontline play, overall, has been impressive all season. Rarely does a team’s best player have a back-up who can erupt for 31 points, but that’s exactly what happened on Wednesday night. Subbing for Ben McCauley, sophomore Tracy Smith bounced off the bench to score a career-high 31 points against
As typically has been the case since Billy Donovan became head coach, the Gators shoot a lot of 3-pointers from numerous positions and are disruptive on defense. Along with draining an average of eight threes per game,
“That’s what we expect to see,” NC State head coach Sidney Lowe said. “They change defenses, push the ball down the floor and have guys spotting up for those threes. Our guys have seen it before, so we shouldn’t be surprised by it.”
Donovan has always liked versatile players and in 6-6 guard Nick Calathes, he has one of the best all-around players in college basketball. Five times this year, Calathes has scored in double figures and dished out seven or more assists in the same game. Overall, Calathes averages 15.7 points and 6.7 assists, while also shooting just under 40 percent from the 3-point arc.
The Gators are also getting steady play from a former NC State recruit. Junior Dan Werner initially committed to the Wolfpack three years ago, only to change his mind when Herb Sendek left
Lowe said sophomore point guard Javier Gonzalez returned to practice on Friday after missing the last two games with a sprained ankle. NC State will again be without shooting guard Trevor Ferguson, who broke a bone in his left hand against
“Right now it looks like it’s going to be a nagging thing,” Lowe said. “He couldn’t practice today. We’re hoping it will be better tomorrow and he can play. It will be game-day decisions with him. We’re trying to give him rest when we can and have him ready for the games if possible. I think it’s going to be game-day decisions for awhile.”
After switching to the small forward position at the beginning of the season, Ferguson’s injury has forced Fells to spend more time at shooting guard, his old position the last few games. Farnold Degand also played a few minutes at the two spot’ Wednesday night against
On Saturday, Lowe will be looking for the right combinations against
“This is another great opportunity and a great test to see where we are,” Lowe said. “It’s an opportunity to go down there and hopefully get a win before conference play starts.”
