North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Heads to Charleston Classic
11/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 17, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Charleston Classic Homepage | NC State Game Notes | Live Stats
NC State Travels to Charleston Classic: NC State will travel to Charleston, S.C., this weekend and compete in the 2010 Charleston Classic being held at the Carolina First Arena. The Wolfpack (1-0) will be facing East Carolina (2-0) on Thursday at 6:00 pm, then either Charlotte or George Mason on Friday. After a day off on Saturday, the Pack will play its final game on Sunday.
NC State started its 2010-11 season with a home win over Tennessee Tech, 82-69, this past Friday night at the RBC Center.
ACC teams have claimed the first two Charleston Classic championships, as Clemson won in 2008 and Miami won last season.
All games throughout the tournament will be broadcast on either MASN or ESPNU. All three games will be broadcasted on the Wolfpack radio network as well.
The Wolfpack Versus Charleston Classic Field: NC State has enjoyed previous success against the field at the Charleston Classic, as the Pack enters the event with a 41-5 all-time record against the other seven teams competing.
The Pack will face a familiar foe in the first game, as NC State takes on East Carolina on Thursday. The Pack and Pirates have faced each other 19 previous times, with NC State currently holding a 18-1 advantage in the series. NC State won the first 17 contests, starting when the teams first met in 1967-68. The Pirates' lone win was also the only game played in Greenville, a 75-69 decision in 2007-08. NC State came back the next season and downed ECU when the teams last met in 2008-09, 87-76.
The Pack's second opponent of the tournament will either be Charlotte or George Mason. NC State holds a record of 6-2 against Charlotte in previous matchups. The last meeting was an NC State win in the first round of the 2005 NCAA Tournament in Worcester, Mass., 75-63. NC State and George Mason have never met.
Among other teams competing at the Charleston Classic, NC State posts a 3-0 all-time mark against Coastal Carolina, has gone 4-1 against Georgetown, 10-1 against Wofford, and has never faced USC Upstate.
The Pack in Tournament Action: When the Pack starts play in the 2010 Charleston Classic this weekend, it will mark the third time a Sidney Lowe team has competed in an in-season tournament in November.
During the 2007-08 season, the Pack won the Old Spice Classic in Orlando. Playing three games in three days, NC State defeated Rider (72-63), South Carolina (63-61) and No. 20 Villanova in the championship game, 69-68.
Last season, NC State made it a perfect 2-of-2 in claiming a tournament title under Lowe, as NC State was the only squad to post a perfect 4-0 record in the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach. The Pack started with a 69-53 win over Georgia State in Raleigh, then downed Akron (66-45), Austin Peay (66-59) and Auburn (60-58) in consecutive days to bring home the title.
Playing three games away from Raleigh in tournament action during the season has been fairly new to NC State. Before the 2007 Old Spice Classic, NC State's last trip to a tournament during the season was the 1998 Puerto Rico Classic. The Pack got wins over Middle Tennessee State and No. 23 Oklahoma, but fell to Ohio State in-between those two games.
In more recent tournament action during the season, NC State claimed first place honors when it hosted the BCA Invitational in both 2004-05 and 2001-02.
Lowe Finds Success in Tournaments: NC State has found success playing in tournaments under Sidney Lowe, as the Wolfpack has captured team titles at both in-season tournaments it has played in with Lowe as head coach.
The Pack started last season strong, posting four victories to win the Glenn Wilkes Classic in Daytona Beach. In the 2007-08 season, the Pack won the Old Spice Classic with a 3-0 record in Orlando.
In Lowe’s four seasons at NC State, the Pack is 15-6 in both in-season and postseason tournaments. In postseason play under Lowe, the Pack advanced to the ACC Tournament finals and the NIT quarterfinals in his first season in 2007. Last season, NC State won a pair of games at the ACC Tournament to reach the semifinals, then advanced to the NIT second round.
Last Time Out: NC State won its 17th consecutive season opener, downing visiting Tennessee Tech, 82-69, at the RBC Center last Friday night. Five NC State players finished in double figures, led by the freshmen trio of C.J. Leslie (21), Ryan Harrow (16), and Lorenzo Brown (14). NC State scored just twice on its first 14 possessions, but went on a 28-14 run to grab the lead for good. Leslie's 21 points off the bench were the fourth-most for a Pack freshman in his debut.
Leslie Named ACC Co-Rookie of the Week: NC State’s C.J. Leslie and Duke’s Kyrie Irving were named ACC Co-Rookies of the Week for the first week of the season.
Leslie came off the bench to help lead the Wolfpack to an 82-69 win over Tennessee Tech. Leslie finished with a game-high 21 points, shooting 7-of-10 from the field and 7-of-11 from the free throw line in his 31 minutes.
The 21 points by Leslie ranks as the fourth-highest total for an NC State freshman in his first collegiate game. The Pack started off slow, scoring on just two of its first 14 possessions. But Leslie came off the bench and scored eight of the Pack’s next 13 points to help NC State grab the lead for good midway thought the first half. Leslie also finished with six rebounds, six blocks and three steals.
Lowe in November: NC State has started its seasons strong under Sidney Lowe, posting a record of 19-2 in November games in Lowe's five seasons. In Lowe's first season (2006-07), the Pack was a perfect 5-0 in November games. In his second year, the Pack had a record of 4-2 in such games, but was perfect each of the last two seasons, going 4-0 in 2008-09 and 5-0 last season.
The Pack is 1-0 so far this season in November, defeating Tennessee Tech in the season opener.
Freshmen Trio: In the Pack's two contests this season, one exhibition and one regular season game, it has been the nationally-ranked freshmen class that has led the offensive charge. Ironically, the three freshmen have combined to score 51 points in each game, 52.8 percent of the team's total points.
In the exhibition win over Pfeiffer, the trio of Lorenzo Brown, Ryan Harrow and C.J. Leslie all finished with a game-high 17 points. In the season opener against Tennessee Tech, all three freshmen were once again the game's high scorers, Leslie with 21, Harrow with 16 and Brown with 14.
Getting Defensive: In the season opener with Tennessee Tech, NC State used a stout defense to come away with the win, holding the Golden Eagles to 69 points. Dating back to last season, only one of the last 13 opponents has scored over 70 points against the Pack.
For the game, the Pack held Tennessee Tech to just 35.3 percent (24-68) from the field. The Golden Eagles were also forced into 19 turnovers, compared to just nine for NC State.
NC State also finished with 13 blocks, the second-most for an NC State team under Lowe (14 last year vs. New Orleans). C.J. Leslie led the way with six blocks for the game, the most for a Pack player since Ced Simmons also had six late in the 2005-06 season.
