North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Entertains Arizona Sunday
12/18/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Editor's Note: The first 5,000 fans will receive a free Scott Wood Trading Card. For distribution details visit GoPack.com/tradingcards.
NC State Game Notes | Arizona Game Notes
Dec. 18, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State Hosts Arizona: NC State returns to home action Sunday evening, when the Wolfpack will host Arizona at 4:45 p.m. at the RBC Center. The Wolfpack (6-3) has won the first two games in the current six-game homestand. The Wildcats (9-2) embark on their longest road trip of the season, and seek their second true road win of the year in as many attempts.
This game will be televised nationally on Fox Sports Net with Tim Brando, Mike Gminiski and Jenn Hildreth.
The Series Versus Arizona: This will be only the second time the two teams have met. Last season, NC State traveled to Tucson and the Wildcats came away with a 76-74 win on a last second layup.
The Pack Versus the Pac-10: NC State will be facing a Pac-10 opponent for only the 22nd time in the Wolfpack's 101 years of basketball. The Pack is 13-8 against teams currently in the Pac-10 conference, topping both Arizona State and Oregon State a total of four times each to lead the way.
Pack Connections at Arizona: NC State fans will see a couple of familiar faces on Arizona's coaching staff, as a couple of Wolfpack coaches have close ties to the Wolfpack.
Arizona's second-year head coach Sean Miller was an assistant coach with the Pack for five seasons (1997-01) on Herb Sendek's staff. Miller and current NC State assistant Larry Harris were on the staff together for each of Miller's five seasons in Raleigh.
Wildcats assistant coach Archie Miller played and later coached at NC State. Miller played for the Pack from 1998-2002, earning a medical redshirt season in 1999. He then served as Director of Operations under Sendek in 2004 and 2005. He was an assistant coach in 2006. During his playing career, Miller connected on 42.8 percent (218-509) from three-point range, including a 57.5 (59-102) percent mark in 2001, the second-best season in Pack history.
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. The Pack has posted an 87-11 (.888) record in such games. Under Lowe, the Wolfpack has a 31-5 (.861) 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.
Last Year Versus Arizona: Arizona's Nic Wise drove the length of the court and hit a layup with less than one second remaining as Arizona overcame a late NC State rally, 76-74, on Dec. 23. NC State was down eight points (69-61) with 53 seconds left, but eventually tied the score at 74-74 with six seconds left before Wise hit the gamewinner. The Pack played without Tracy Smith who was suspended. Javier Gonzalez scored a team-high 18 points, with 16 of his points coming in the second half and 10 points in the final 30.4 seconds of the game. Jordan Vandenberg got the start for Smith and pulled down a career-best 11 rebounds in 25 minutes.
Last Time Out for NC State: NC State overcame another slow start and downed visiting Youngstown State, 67-50, at the RBC Center on Thursday night. The Penguins opened the game with a 20-3 run, and led by as many as 18 points in the first half (31-13 with 3:38 left). The second half was a different story, however, as the Pack outscored the Penguins 46-16 and held Youngstown State to 22.2 percent shooting (6-27) from the field, including 0-of-7 on three-pointers. The comeback was the largest for NC State since the 2007 season (14 vs. Virginia). Freshman C.J. Leslie finished with his second career double-double, as he had 14 points and 19 rebounds.
Harrow Named ACC Rookie of the Week: Freshman guard Ryan Harrow was selected as the ACC Rookie of the Week for his performance last weekend against USC Upstate.
In NC State's only game of the week, Harrow came off the bench to score a career-high 20 points in the 79-60 win over visiting USC Upstate. The Marietta, Ga., freshman hit on 10-of-13 from the floor, handed out five assists without a turnover, and had three steals in his 25 minutes of playing time.
Harrow is the second NC State player to win Rookie of the Week honors this season. C.J. Leslie earned the same honor after the first week of the season.
Alabama A&M Game Time Changed: The Wolfpack has changed the game time for the Dec. 28 contest versus Alabama A&M. The game will now be held at 4 p.m. at the RBC Center, for fans wanting to watch the football team's bowl game at 6:30 p.m.
Leslie Stepping Up: Over the last three games, freshman C.J. Leslie has shown why he was one of the top recruits nationally entering this season. Leslie has averaged 13.3 points and 12.3 rebounds over the last three outings, recording two double-doubles in that span.
At Syracuse, Leslie came off the bench and finished with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Against Youngstown State, Leslie had team highs of 14 points and 19 rebounds. The 19 rebounds tie for the second-most rebounds in a game by an NC State freshman.
Leslie has led the Pack in rebounding in each of the last three games, and now ranks 10th in the ACC with 7.1 boards a game.
Harrow the Scorer: Despite not starting a game this season, freshman guard Ryan Harrow is currently tied for the team lead in scoring at 11.1 points per game.
Over his last two games, Harrow is averaging 17.0 points, including a season-best 20 against USC Upstate. Harrow did not break double figures in any of the four games prior to that and averaged 6.3 points a game.
Racking Up Assists: Scoring has been an overall team effort for the Wolfpack this season. NC State is currently fourth in the ACC in assists per game (15.0). In fact, the Pack has recorded an assist on 59.7 percent of its made field goals this season (226 FG, 135 assists).
Three different NC State players have at least 20 assists thus far. Freshman Lorenzo Brown ranks ninth in the ACC in assists with 3.9 per game, and has finished with six assists in four different games. Fellow freshman Ryan Harrow has 30 assists this season, including an ACC-best 10 against East Carolina. Senior Javier Gonzalez has 24 assists.
Gonzalez and Harrow, the Pack's two point guards, have also been taking care of the ball this season. Harrow leads the ACC in assist/turnover ratio (2.7), while Gonzalez is fourth (2.2).
