North Carolina State University Athletics
HAYNES: Pack Expects Hungry Heels
1/25/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RALEIGH, N.C. – NC State men's basketball coach Sidney Lowe said the Wolfpack had a very good practice on Monday morning, but given the fact that rival North Carolina is next up on the schedule, he didn't expect anything less.
"If you can't get ready to play in this game on either side, then there's a problem," Lowe said. "You're at the wrong school and made a bad choice. It's as simple as that."
And desperation could and should be in plentiful supply when the Tar Heels (12-7, 1-3) and Wolfpack (13-7, 2-4) face off for the 216th time at the RBC Center on Tuesday night. Tip-off time is set for 9:05 p.m.
Following last Wednesday's emotional and well-played 88-74 victory over nationally ranked Duke, NC State came back down to earth and tasted a little humble pie over the weekend, falling big at Maryland, 88-64. On Tuesday, the Wolfpack will be looking to knock off Duke and North Carolina in the same season for the first time since 2003.
Lowe's 1983 national title team was referred to as the 'Cardiac Pack' because of its proclivity to win close, heart-stopping games during its title run. This year's unit could be called the 'bounce back Pack' since it has dropped back-to-back games only once all season. December defeats to Wake Forest and Arizona were NC State's only consecutive losses and Lowe would like to keep it that way on Tuesday.
"One thing that these guys have done is that they've bounced back," said Lowe. "We've learned from wins and losses. Players get better when they go through ups and downs and they learn from their mistakes. They believe in each other and they believe in what we're doing. They try to come back and do what we ask them to do. They've just been determined to bounce back and hopefully this is another one of those situations. This team has a lot of fight in them."
While NC State fans may be reveling in Carolina's misery, most UNC followers are experiencing some rare air, air that they'd rather not be breathing right now. The Tar Heels are in the midst of the first ever three-game losing streak under head coach Roy Williams. After losing four talented players from last year's national title team, North Carolina figured to suffer through some growing pains, but nothing quite like this.
Two of the three losses in the current losing streak - to Clemson and Wake Forest - were by double digits. The Tar Heels are 1-5 in games played away from Chapel Hill and 0-3 in true road games.
Such struggles are rare in the UNC program, but Lowe knows his hall of fame coaching counterpart at Carolina has made the most of a little extra time to prepare not only for this game, but for the rest of the season. The Tar Heels didn't play a game this past weekend and haven't seen action since last Wednesday's home loss to the Demon Deacons.
"They have some very talented players," Lowe said. "Ed Davis is a very talented player. Deon Thompson is a very talented player and can score the basketball. Their guards are young, but they're quick, they're fast and can create things. [Ginyard] has a lot of experience. They've been in a program that teaches you how to win and they've been around guys that know how to win. We have to play well. I'm just hoping that it doesn't all click against us. That's the scary part because you know it's there."
For all the discussion about its demise, North Carolina can still ring up the scoreboard. The Heels rank second in the league scoring offense (82.2. ppg) and are No. 2 in field goal percentage (47.9 percent). The defensive numbers, however, are on the opposite end of the spectrum. UNC is giving up a league-worst 73.4 points per contest and allow their opponents to shoot 41.6 percent, a figure that ranks 10th in the ACC.
"We're extremely disappointed, and we're extremely frustrated," coach Roy Williams said after the Wake Forest game last week. "It's something we haven't been through and something we're not enjoying going through."
Thompson and Davis, North Carolina's two bigs along the frontline, are averaging just under 15 points per game. Davis, a 6-11 sophomore, is listed as questionable after missing last week's game against Wake with an ankle sprain. His absence would have a major impact on North Carolina's quest to handle NC State post man Tracy Smith since the lanky Davis leads the ACC in blocked shots with an average of 2.9 per game. He's also grabbing an average of 9.8 rebounds to rank second in that category.
As last week's two games illustrated, the Wolfpack needs production from senior forward Dennis Horner and junior point guard Javier Gonzalez in order to win against high level competition. The two combined for 35 points in the win over Duke, but had just 17 between them over the weekend in College Park.
"We're a different team when Javi and Dennis play well," Lowe said. "Tracy has been pretty solid, but we need Javi and Dennis to play good, solid basketball."
Smith averages 17.3 points and 8.6 rebounds to lead the Pack. The junior has been NC State's leading scorer in 13 of 19 games and its top rebounder in 15 of those games. Since his 31-point outburst at Florida State a few weeks ago, freshman forward Scott Wood is starting to receive a lot of defensive attention from Wolfpack opponents. He was held to just seven shots and six points against Duke, and 10 points on just five shot attempts at Maryland. NC State also continues to get steady play from senior guard Farnold Degand, who had 12 assists and only two turnovers in a pair of games last week.
Carolina has won 16 of the last 21 meetings in the rivalry, including six in a row. The Wolfpack's last regular season victory in the series came at the RBC Center in 2007.
