North Carolina State University Athletics
MBB Travels to Georgia Tech on Saturday
2/5/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State Travels to Georgia Tech: NC State hits the road for the second time this week, as the Pack travels to Atlanta to face No. 21 Georgia Tech on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. NC State started its week with a 59-47 loss at Virginia on Wednesday, and will be looking for its third straight win over Georgia Tech this weekend.
The Yellow Jackets are the fourth ranked opponent the Pack will face this season. NC State previously won at No. 25 Florida State and won at home against No. 7 Duke, and fell at home to No. 24 Clemson.
The game will be broadcasted on Raycom with Tim Brandt and Eddie Fogler.
The Series Versus Georgia Tech: Saturday’s matchup will mark the 85th meeting between NC State and Georgia Tech. The Wolfpack leads the overall series 50-34. NC State has won the last two matchups, and the Pack has also won nine of the last 13 meetings dating back to the 2002-03 season.
Georgia Tech holds a 20-14 advantage in games in Atlanta. However, the Pack has won three of the last five games at Alexander Memorial Coliseum, including last year, 86-65.
Pack and Jackets Play it Close: Although the Wolfpack has won nine of the last 12 games against Georgia Tech, the scores of those games have been relatively close. NC State's largest win in those seven games was last season's 21 point win in Atlanta, and only two of those last nine wins were in double figures.
Three of the last seven games between the teams have been decided by no more than three points. Georgia Tech won in 2008 and in 2006 by three points each time, and the Wolfpack came away with a two point win at Georgia Tech in 2005. Last season's game in Raleigh had the Pack winning 76-71 in overtime.
Last Season Versus Georgia Tech: NC State won both games during the regular season.
NC State used a late surge to overcome a 10-point second half defecit, and downed Georgia Tech in overtime at the RBC Center, 76-71, on January 17. The Yellow Jackets held a 64-54 lead with 4:40 remaining, but the Pack would close the game on a 13-3 run to force overtime thanks to a three-point play by Farnold Degand with 30 seconds left. NC State would outscore Georgia Tech in the extra period 9-4, with Dennis Horner scoring five of the Pack's final six points. Brandon Costner paced the Pack withh 22 points, while Ben McCauley added 18 points and 10 rebounds.
NC State used its top shooting performance of the season, 61.4 percent (27-44) from the field, and picked up its largest ACC road win since 1989 in defeating Georgia Tech, 86-65, on February 14. Six Wolfpack players scored in double figures. Tracy Smith recorded his second straight double-double, finishing with game-highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds. The Yellow Jackets took a 11-5 lead to start the game, but NC State used a 35-13 run to go into the half up 44-33. In the second half, NC State hit 12-of-18 shots, and was 16-of-19 from the free throw line.
Last Time Out for NC State: NC State had its lowest scoring total since 2006, and its lowest total in an ACC game since 2000, as the Pack fell at Virginia, 59-47, Wednesday night. NC State led by as many as seven points (26-18 with 3:20 left in 1st half), and was up 28-25 at the half. Virginia would open the second half on a 15-4 run, in which the Pack would score just four points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half. NC State would finish with just 19 second-half points, hitting only 29.2 percent (7-24) from the field. Freshman Richard Howell was the Pack's top scorer for the first time in his career as he had 14 off the bench, while Tracy Smith added 12.
Pack Taking Down Ranked Foes: No. 21 Georgia Tech will be the Pack's fourth ranked opponent this season, the second on the road. NC State is currently 2-1 in those games.
The Pack took out a pair of ranked opponents and came close to winning a third such game, all in a span of eight days in mid-January. The Pack faced three straight ranked foes, its first games against a ranked opponent this season.
NC State started the stretch with a 88-81 win at No. 25 Florida State on January 12. The Pack returned home, and despite cutting a 18-point second half deficit down to one late in the game, fell 73-70 to No. 24 Clemson on January 16. The Pack then turned right around, and claimed a 88-74 win over No. 7 Duke on January 20, tying as the second-highest ranked foe Coach Lowe has beated in his four seasons.
NC State's two wins over ranked opponents this season, in only three tries, already has been an improvement from last year's 1-6 mark against top-25 squads.
In Coach Lowe's first three seasons, the Pack complied a record of 6-17 against all ranked foes. NC State was 3-6 at home, 1-10 away, and 2-1 on a neutral court. Lowe's home wins were against No. 3 UNC in 2007, No. 21 Miami in 2008, and No. 7 Wake Forest last season.
Limiting Turnovers: NC State has taken care of the ball lately, as the Pack has committed 12 turnovers or less in eight of the last nine games (the only game above that mark was 18 turnovers in the win at No. 25 Florida State), and four games were under 10 turnovers.
Over the last six games, NC State has committed just 61 total turnovers. The Pack has now gone six straight games with 12 or less turnovers, the longest such streak since the end of the 2004-05 season when NC State also went six straight games at 12 or less.
In the Pack's upset win over No. 7 Duke, the three primary ball handlers, Farnold Degand, Javier Gonzalez, Julius Mays, combined for just 3 turnovers in 74 combined minutes of play while dishing out 14 assists. At Maryland, NC State had 10 first half turnovers, but turned the ball over just once in the second half. In the loss to North Carolina, the Pack had just 10 turnovers. Even though the Pack was held to just 47 points at Virginia, NC State turned the ball over only seven times, its lowest total in 51 games.
