North Carolina State University Athletics
MBB Begins Home ACC Slate Saturday
1/8/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State Hosts Virginia: NC State begins a stretch of 15 of its next 16 games all in conference play, when the Pack hosts Virginia this Saturday at 12:00 p.m. The Pack is 0-1 in ACC play after falling at Wake Forest back on December 23, while the Cavaliers will be playing their first conference game. NC State is also at the end of a season-long three game homestand, which say the Pack fall to Florida (62-61 in overtime) and down Holy Cross (87-70).
The game will be broadcasted on Raycom with Tim Bryant and Mike Gminiski.
The Series Versus Virginia: NC State holds an 80-54 advantage in the all-time series with Virginia, which dates back to the 1912-13 season. The Pack holds a 38-17 advantage in games in Raleigh and 19-2 edge at neutral sites, but Virginia holds a 35-23 mark in games in Charlottesville. This will also be the first time since the 2006-07 the two teams will meet twice in the regualr season, as the Pack will travel to Charlottesville on February 3.
NC State has won nine of the past 11 home contests against the Cavaliers, including last season's 72-67 win in February.
Last Season Versus Virginia: Courtney Fells went 4-of-4 from the free throw line in the final seven seconds, to help the Pack secure a 72-67 win over Virginia at the RBC Center on February 21. NC State started the game on a 24-8 run, but the Cavs closed the gap to 33-29 at the half. The Pack started the second half much like the first, with a 17-4 run that pushed the score to 50-33 with 13:24 left. The Cavs however would close the gap to within one at 68-67 with seven seconds left, before Fells sealed the game. NC State got 31 points off the bench, as C.J. Williams had a career-best 16 points, and Dennis Horner added 12. NC State also shot over 50.0 percent for the third straight game (53.2 percent).
Last Time Out for NC State: Five players scored in double figures for NC State, as the Pack defeated Holy Cross, 87-70, at the RBC Center Wednesday night. NC State was up only 33-31 at the half, but the Pack would open the second half on a 16-2 run and grab a 49-34 lead just four minutes into the half. NC State would score 54 points in the second half, shooting 59.4 percent (19-32) from the field and 63.6 percent (7-11) from three-point range. The Pack also had 20 assists to just eight turnovers for the game. Tracy Smith had a team-high 19 points, while Dennis Horner added 18, with 16 coming in the second half. Farnold Degand came off the bench to add 12 points and nine assists, while back-up point guard Julius Mays had 15 points.
Second Half Pack: Two times this year the Pack has comeback from double-digit deficits it has faced in the first half. On the season, NC State has outscored its opponents 570-488 in the second half of play (38.0-32.5). NC State has outscored the opponent in 11 of the 15 games this season, including eight of the last nine outings. NC State has also scored at least 50 points in four games (Marquette 52, Arizona 51, UNCG 57, Holy Cross 54).
At Marquette on December 5, NC State overcame an 11-point halftime deficit as the Pack pulled out a 77-73 win. Down 35-25 at the break, NC State opened the second half on an 11-2 run, and used another 17-2 run midway through the half to take control. The Pack shot 71.4 percent (20-28) in that second half, and scored 52 points.
The Pack then avoided a home upset against Elon, pulling out a 79-76 win on December 17. Elon started the game on a 15-7 run, and was up by as many as 11 points at the 2:19 mark in the first half. Down 39-33 at the break, NC State opened the second half on a 7-0 run and captured its first lead since scoring the game's first basket 15 seconds in. The game would stay within five points in the second half, with 11 lead changes, until the Pack finally went up for good with 5:24 left.
NC State almost made it a third game at Arizona on December 23. NC State trailed 31-23 at the half back, and was down 69-61 with 53 seconds left. The Pack battled back to tie the score at 74-74 with six seconds left, but Arizona hit the gamewinning shot with less than a second to go. Javier Gonzalez led the charge with 16 second-half points, including the Pack's last 10 points in the final 30.4 seconds.
Three-Point Range Found: NC State has taken advantage of opponents double-teaming Tracy Smith in the post, as the Pack's perimeter game has been red hot.
NC State has averaged 9.0 three-pointers a game the last five games, connecting on 10 apiece Winthrop, UNCG and Holy Cross. In the last five games, the Pack has hit 45-of-103 (.437) percent from long range with no fewer than seven in those games.
Javier Gonzalez has at least one three-pointer in an ACC-best 11 straight games.
Gonzalez the Offensive Threat: Javier Gonzalez took control of the Pack's point guard position late last season, and has been one of the Pack's top offensive players this season. He currently ranks third on the team in scoring, averaging 11.2 points, and his 70 assists rank him sixth in the ACC and are more than double the next highest Wolfpack player.
Over the last six games, he has averaged 12.8 points, shooting 53.1 percent (26-49) from the field. Gonzalez has also averaged 5.2 rebounds in that span, including a career-best 10 against Winthrop.
Gonzalez was clutch late in a pair of road games, at Wake Forest and at Arizona. At Wake Forest, Gonzalez scored 11 straight points for the Pack in the second half, and 13 of the Pack's final 15 points in the game. At Arizona, Gonzalez had 16 second-half points, including the Pack's final 10 points all in the final 30.4 seconds of the game.
Degand Makes the Switch: After playing his first two seasons at NC State exclusively at point guard, redshirt senior Farnold Degand is spending much of his senior campaign at shooting guard. With Degand seeing time at the two-guard position, it allows the Pack to have at least two primary ball handlers on the court at the same time.
Degand's first season with the Pack was cut short, as he suffered a torn ACL only 10 games into the 2007-08 season. Degand returned last year to play in 24 games, making 11 starts, and averaged 4.7 points.
Degand did not pley in the Pack's first six games (coaches decision), but made his season debut at Marquette and helped the Pack in the comeback win with six points and two assits in 14 minutes. He has averaged 19.1 minutes in his nine games this season.
Degand's role has increased over the last few games, and he starterd the second half against Holy Cross. Over the last four games, Degand has scored 8.8 points and averaged 25.3 minutes while connecting on 7-of-11 three-pointers.
Against Holy Cross, he set a new career-high with nine assists and had a season-best 12 points.
This is the first time that Degand has said his knee is back to full strength since he was injured.
Wood Breaks Out of Slump: Freshman forward Scott Wood was thrust into the Pack's starting lineup in the preseason, and started off strong averaging 9.0 points in the first four games of the season. He then went into a bit of a slump, scoring just 2.8 points over the next five outings, including struggling from three-point range hitting just 2-of-18 attempts.
But Wood has returned to his early season form, averaging 10.8 points over the last six games shooting 17-of-39 from three-point range. Wood hit a career-high five three-pointers at UNC Greensboro, and has made 14 three-pointers over the last four games.
