North Carolina State University Athletics
Men's Basketball Hosts Fairleigh Dickinson Saturday
11/26/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Editor's Note: The NC State-Maryland football game will be shown on the videoboard during pregame of the basketball game. There will also be updates during timeouts and halftime. Trading cards of the assistant coaches will be given away to the first 5000 fans. Visit www.GoPack.com/tradingcards for distribution details.
Nov. 26, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State Hosts Fairleigh Dickinson: NC State returns to home action, as the Wolfpack plays host to Fairleigh Dickinson on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. The Pack has gotten off to a 3-1 start on the young season, which included a run to the Charleston Classic championship game this past weekend. The Knights stand at 0-2, losing at home to Stony Brook (66-59) and Albany (72-46).
After playing the Knights, the Pack will not return to the RBC Center until December 16, as NC State has road games at Wisconsin and No. 9 Syracuse next week, and hosts USC Upstate in Reynolds Coliseum on December 11.
The game will be broadcast on Fox Sports South with Mike Morgan and Dan Bonner.
The Series Versus Fairleigh Dickinson: This will be only the third meeting between the two schools, as NC State has won the previous two matchups, both in Raleigh. NC State has gone over 100 points in the previous two games, downing the Knights in 1982-83 (111-76) and again in 2002-03 (104-65).
NC State is also a perfect 9-0 all-time against teams from the Northeast Conference.
RBC Center Dominance Against Non-Conference Foes: NC State's home court has not been welcoming to non-conference opponents since the RBC Center opened for the 1999-2000 season, as the Pack has posted an 85-11 (.885) record in such games. Under Lowe, the Pack has posted a 29-5 (.853) mark against non-conference opponents at home, losing only to No. 10 Alabama in 2007, New Orleans in 2008, Marquette in 2009, and Northwestern and Florida last season.
Lowe in November: NC State has started its seasons strong under Sidney Lowe, posting a record of 21-3 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 3-1 so far this season in November, defeating Tennessee Tech in the season opener, and beating East Carolina and George Mason in the Charleston Classic before falling to No. 20 Georgetown in the championship game.
NC State Reaches Charleston Classic Title Game: NC State came away with wins over East Carolina and then George Mason at the Charleston Classic, before falling to No. 20 Georgetown in the championship game.
Five NC State players reached double figures, and the Wolfpack used a 46-14 run to blow out state rival East Carolina, 85-65, in the first round of the Charleston Classic. The Pirates led 19-18 at the midway point of the first half, but the Pack went on a 46-14 run over the next 17:30 to pull away for the win. Lorenzo Brown was the game's top scorer with 16 points, while sophomore DeShawn Painter recorded his first career double-double (12 pts, 10 reb) filling in for Tracy Smith who was limited to just six minutes because of injury.
For the second straight game NC State used a strong second half defensive performance, as the Pack downed George Mason, 78-65, to advance to the championship game of the Charleston Classic. George Mason held a 59-57 lead with 10:33 left in the game, but NC State responded with a 17-2 run limiting George Mason to just six points over the final 10 minutes of the game. For the third straight game to start the season, five Wolfpack players finished in double figures, including Richard Howell with a double-double (13 pts, 11 reb).
No. 20 Georgetown used a 15-0 second half run to power past NC State, 82-67, and win the Charleston Classic. The two teams were tied 44-44 four minutes into the second half, but the Hoyas went on a 15-0 run and held the Pack without a point for 5:32. After shooting 51.7 percent in the first half, the Pack was just 10-of-34 (29.4 percent) from the field in the second half, including 1-of-10 from three-point range. Richard Howell was named to the all-tournament team, as he averaged 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds for the weekend.
Howell Earns All-Tournament Honors: With the absence of senior Tracy Smith at the Charleston Classic, sophomore Richard Howell saw an increase in playing time and earned all-tournament honors for his efforts. For the Pack's three games, Howell averaged 11.7 points and 8.7 rebounds coming off the bench.
In the first game against East Carolina, Howell chipped in with eight points and seven rebounds. He then recorded his second career double-double in the George Mason game, finishing with 13 points and a game-high 11 rebounds. Against No. 20 Georgetown, Howell led the Pack with his 14 points and eight rebounds.
Smith Out of Action: NC State will be without the services of last season's top scorer and rebounder, Tracy Smith, until sometime in December. After playing only six minutes against East Carolina last Thursday, Smith returned to Raleigh to get an evaluation on his knee. Smith then underwent arthroscopic knee surgery last Friday afternoon, where the joint was debrided and no major damage was found. He is expected to be out of action for three weeks fro, the date of surgery.
Filling in for Smith: With Tracy Smith out of action, a pair of sophomores saw an increased role in the Pack's front court at the Charleston Classic.
DeShawn Painter got the starting nod at center in the two games Smith sat out. In the three games at the Charleston Classic, Painter averaged 8.7 points and 7.3 rebounds in 24.0 minutes. He recorded his first career double-double when he came off the bench and had 12 points and 10 rebounds against East Carolina, new career-highs in each category.
Last season, Painter averaged 1.6 points and 1.2 rebounds, seeing action in 26 of the 36 games.
Jordan Vandenberg has also seen an increase in playing time without Smith in the lineup, as he averaged 10.7 minutes a game in the Charleston Classic.
Freshmen Trio: In the Pack's first four games of the young season it has been the nationally-ranked freshmen class that has led the offensive charge. The three freshmen have combined to score 45.5 percent of the team's total points, as the three rookies are also the Pack's top three scorers.
Lorenzo Brown currently leads the Pack in scoring at 12.5 points a game, while Ryan Harrow has chipped in with 11.8 and C.J. Leslie with 11.3.
NC State's freshmen class was ranked No. 5 nationally by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, while ESPN had the Pack at No. 7.
Balanced Attack: One glance at the ACC stats, and there is not a single Pack player ranked in the top-20 in scoring. The Wolfpack offense has been a balanced attack this season, with five players averaging double figures ranging from 12.5-10.0. In fact, in all four games this season, NC State has had a different player lead the team in scoring.
In the season stats, its the Pack's youth that is leading the way. NC State's top-five scorers on the season are either freshmen or sophomores, and six of the top seven overall.
