North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Heads to Boston College Tuesday Night
1/10/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State (11-4, 1-0 ACC) at Boston College (12-4, 2-0 ACC)
January 11, 2011 • 9:00 PM
Conte Forum (8,606) • Chestnut Hill, Mass.
TV Coverage: ESPNU
NC State Game Notes
Leslie Named ACC Rookie of the Week
NC State Travels to Boston College: After opening up its ACC slate with a 90-69 win over Wake Forest this past weekend, NC State hits the road for two straight conference games, starting Tuesday at Boston College at 9 p.m.
The Wolfpack (11-4, 1-0 ACC) will be looking to open its conference slate with two straight wins for the first time since the 2003-04 season. Overall, NC State has won five straight games, and seven of the last eight.
The Eagles (12-4, 2-0 ACC) sit atop the ACC standings winning their first two conference games. In December, Boston College won at Maryland, and this past weekend downed visiting Georgia Tech, 86-75.
This game will be televised on the ESPNU with Anish Shroff and Len Elmore.
The Series Versus Boston College: Tuesday's matchup with Boston College is only the 11th meeting between the two schools, but the series does date back to 1967-68. The Eagles hold a 7-3 advantage in the series, with a 4-3 mark since BC joined the ACC.
Boston College holds a 3-1 advantage in games played in Chestnut Hill, and the Eagles are 3-2 in games in Raleigh, and also won the only meeting on a neutral site.
The two squads met at the Boston Garden Invitational on Dec. 20, 1967, with BC winning 72-55 at that neutral site. The squads then traded home-and-home games in 2003 and 2004 before BC joined the ACC, with the Eagles winning 93-81 in Raleigh (1/16/03), and also edging the Pack in overtime, 66-65, in Chestnut Hill (1/20/04).
The two teams split a pair of match-ups in the first season BC was in the ACC, 2005-06.NC State's lone win at BC was an 18 point win (78-60) versus the No. 15 Eagles in 2006. The rematch that season in Raleigh was an exciting one, with the Eagles winning 74-72 in double overtime.
The Eagles returned to Raleigh and posted a 74-58 win in 2007, and in 2008 the Pack fell at BC, 82-65. In 2008-09, each team won on its home court, and last season the Pack came away with a 66-54 home win in the final regular season game of the season.
Last Season Versus Boston College: The two teams met in the final regular season game of the season in Raleigh last season.
NC State concluded its regular season winning for the third time in the last four games, as the Pack downed Boston College 66-54 on Senior Day at the RBC Center. The first half featured five ties and three lead changes, as NC State went into the half with a slight 24-23 lead. In the second half, NC State shot 59.1 percent (13-22) from the floor, and had zero turnovers. The Eagles held a 47-43 lead with 7:10 left, but the Pack would go on a 19-5 run and grab a 62-52 lead with 2:14 remaining. Tracy Smith led the Pack with 19 points and seven rebounds, while Dennis Horner and C.J. Williams both added 14 points.
Last Time Out for NC State: NC State opened ACC play with a 90-69 win over Wake Forest at the RBC Center on Saturday. The Pack opened the game on a 6-0 run, and never lost the lead, with the lead reaching as high as 29 points late in the second half. The 90 points are the most in an ACC game under Sidney Lowe, and the Pack also started its ACC slate with a win for the first time under Lowe. Tracy Smith recorded his first double-double since last season, as he has 23 points and 11 rebounds. C.J. Leslie finished with 19 points, while C.J. Williams tied a career-best with 16 points.).
Smith Returns: Senior Tracy Smith missed 10 games after undergoing knee surgery in mid-November, but finally made his return in the win over San Diego on January 1.
In his three games back from injury, Smith has averaged 18.0 points, shooting 60.0 percent (21-35) in 28.3 minutes of action in wins over San Diego, Elon and Wake Forest.
In his first game back against San Diego, Smith started on the bench, and checked into the contest at the 15:10 mark. On his very first touch, Smith converted his first field goal attempt in nearly six weeks. He finished the contest with a game-high 16 points (7-of-12 shooting) and played 25 minutes.
Smith then returned to the starting lineup at Elon on January 5, and scored 15 points, with nine coming in the second half after the Pack was down at the break. In the season opener against Wake Forest, Smith record his first double-double of the season, 23 points and 11 rebounds. The 23 points matched an ACC-best for Smith.
After playing only six minutes against East Carolina in the Charleston Classic on Nov. 18, Smith returned to Raleigh to get an evaluation on his knee. He underwent arthroscopic knee surgery Nov. 19. The joint was debrided and no major damage was found. He played a total of just 34 minutes in the first two games of the season before missing nearly six weeks of action.
Hot After the Break: Coming back from a short holiday break, NC State has been impressive in its four games thus far, winning by an average of 22.3 points. NC State started with an 82-51 win over Alabama A&M on December 28, then downed San Diego, 76-54, on New Year's Day, and won at Elon on January 5, 87-72. In the ACC opener, the Pack downed Wake Forest at home, 90-69.
NC State has shot over 50.0 percent in all four games, the most consecutive games it has done so since early in the 2008-09 season. NC State has not had five straight games over 50.0 percent since its postseason run in Lowe's first season of 2006-07.
In those three games, the Pack shot 55.3 percent (125-226) from the floor, while holding its two opponents to just 35.7 percent (86-241).
Time to Re-Pack the Bags: The Pack's trip to Boston College marks the first time NC State will be leaving the state of North Carolina since December 4.
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.
The Wolfpack then returned home for a six-game homestand, and seven of eight games at home, the only road trip was a short drive to the Greensboro Coliseum to take on Elon. During that long stretch, the Pack won seven of eight games, only falling to Arizona at home.
Smith Reaches Milestone: In the ACC season opener against Wake Forest, senior Tracy Smith scored his 1,000th career point. Smith currently has 1,013 career points, which ranks 44th in school history.
He is also 49 rebounds from 500 for his career. He would become the 25th player in school history to reach 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Cleaning the Glass: Last season, NC State finished last in the ACC in rebounding margin, at -0.6 per game. Things have changed this season, as the Pack is currently fifth in the conference, out-rebounding the opposition 4.8 boards a game.
NC State has also out-rebounded its opponents in nine straight games, its longest such streak of games since 11 straight to start the 1998-99 season.
NC State is one of only two ACC schools that currently has a pair of players ranked in the top-12 in the conference standings in rebounding (North Carolina). C.J. Leslie is sixth in the ACC, pulling down 7.9 rebounds a game, while Richard Howell currently ranks 12th with 6.6 boards an outing.
