North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Hosts Delaware State Wednesday Night
12/21/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State Game Notes | Delaware State Game Notes
Dec. 21, 2010
RALEIGH, N.C. -
NC State Hosts Delaware State: NC State wraps up action before a holiday break, when the Wolfpack plays host to Delaware State Wednesday night at 7 p.m. at the RBC Center. The Wolfpack (6-4) will be playing its third game in seven days, and then will be off until a home game against Alabama A&M on Dec. 28. The Hornets (4-5) have not played a game since Dec. 11, falling at Delaware, 61-50.
This game will be streamed live on GoPack.com's All-Access.
The Series Versus Delaware State: This will be only the second time the two teams have met. In Coach Lowe's second career game, NC State downed visiting Delaware State, 63-43, at the RBC Center during the 2006-07 season. NC State is a perfect 21-0 all-time against teams from the MEAC.
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 87-12 (.879) record in such games.
Under Lowe, the Wolfpack has a 31-6 (.838) mark against non-conference opponents at home, losing only to No. 10 Alabama in 2007, New Orleans in 2008, Marquette in 2009, Northwestern and Florida last year, and Arizona this season.
Last Time Out for NC State: Arizona got 22 points from star forward Derrick Williams, and came away with a 72-62 win at the RBC Center on Sunday. Scott Wood hit back-to-back three-pointers to bring the Pack within two points at 52-50 at the 10:01 mark, but Arizona responded with a 10-0 run over the next three minutes to put the game away. Wood was 4-of-7 from three-point range and scored a team-high 16 points, while Lorenzo Brown added 14 points and Richard Howell had 12 points and seven boards. The Pack was strong on the glass with 45 rebounds, including 23 offensive boards, but could not overcome 14 turnovers and 31.8 percent (21-66) shooting.
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.
Unpack the Bags: After playing five of its first seven games away from Raleigh to start the season, the Wolfpack can unpack its bags until ACC play starts in January. NC State is currently in a six-game homestand, and will not leave the state of North Carolina until a Jan. 11 trip to Boston College, the first ACC road contest of the season.
The Pack has already played three games in this stretch. First was a 79-60 win over USC Upstate in Reynolds Coliseum, followed by a come-from-behind 67-50 win over Youngstown State. Last time out, the Pack fell to Arizona, 72-62.
The Pack started the season at home against Tennessee Tech, then played three games in four days at the Charleston Classic. After returning home to play Fairleigh Dickinson, the Pack had back-to-back road games at Wisconsin and Syracuse.
Racking Up Assists: Scoring has been an overall team effort for the Wolfpack this season. NC State is currently fifth in the ACC in assists per game (14.8). In fact, the Pack has recorded an assist on 59.9 percent of its made field goals this season (247 FG, 148 assists).
Three different NC State players have at least 20 assists thus far. Freshman Lorenzo Brown ranks seventh 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 34 assists this season, including an ACC-best 10 against East Carolina. Senior Javier Gonzalez has 26 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 (2.8), while Gonzalez is fourth (2.0).
Leslie Stepping Up: Over the last four games, freshman C.J. Leslie has shown why he was one of the top recruits nationally entering this season. Leslie has averaged 10.5 points and 12.0 rebounds over the last four outings, recording two double-doubles in that span. In the first six games of the season, he pulled down 4.5 boards a game, compared to 12.0 over the last four.
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 in a game by an NC State freshman.
Leslie has led the Pack in rebounding in each of the last four games, and now ranks 10th in the ACC with 7.5 boards a game.
