North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Hosts Tar Heels Wednesday at RBC Center
2/22/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State-UNC Basketball Game to be Televised in China
NC State (14-12, 4-8 ACC) vs. North Carolina (20-6, 10-2 ACC)
Feb. 23, 2011 • 9:00 p.m.
RBC Center (19,700) • Raleigh, N.C.
TV coverage: The ACC Network
NC State Game Notes | GameTracker
NC State Hosts North Carolina: NC State returns to action at the RBC Center, as the Wolfpack plays host to rival North Carolina Wednesday at 9 p.m. The Pack (14-12, 4-8 ACC) concludes the regular season by playing three of four games at home beginning Wednesday.
The Tar Heels (20-6, 10-2 ACC) have won seven of the last eight games and sit alone in second place in the conference at 10-2. UNC is 4-2 on the road in conference play, falling at Georgia Tech and Duke and is ranked No. 19 in both national polls this week.
This game will be televised on the ACC Network with Steve Martin and Mike Gminiski.
NC State-UNC Basketball Game to be Televised in China: NC State and North Carolina will renew their men's basketball rivalry on February 23rd for the 219th time at the RBC Center, but it will mark the first NCAA regular-season game ever to be televised in China.
The game will be broadcast in Shanghai, one of the world's largest cities with more than 16 million residents. Raycom Sports (Charlotte) will produce and broadcast the game in the Atlantic Coast Conference region. R&S Consulting (Staten Island, N.Y.) is the international rights holder that worked with Raycom to clear the broadcast in China.
Greatsports Media, Shanghai, will take Raycom's video feed but will use Chinese announcers for play-by-play and analysis. The tip time of at 9 p.m. Eastern is 13 hours behind Beijing Time (10 a.m., February 24 in Shanghai).
The Series Versus North Carolina: Wednesday’s meeting will mark the 219th between NC State and North Carolina in the series that dates back to the 1912-13 season. The Wolfpack has faced just Duke and_Wake Forest more times than the Tar Heels.
UNC holds a 143-75 lead in the series and has won 19 of the last 24 meetings dating back to 1999-00. UNC has won the last nine meetings between the teams.
The Tar Heels also hold the advantage in games played in Raleigh, 59-44. NC State is 3-8 against UNC in the RBC Center, last winning in 2007 over the No. 3 ranked Tar Heels, 83-79.
Earlier this Season Versus North Carolina: On January 29 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina started the game with a 13-2 run and never lost control of the lead, as the Tar Heels defeated NC State, 84-64, at the Smith Center. In the first half, the Wolfpack shot 23.3 percent (7-30) from the floor, and fell behind 34-21 at the half. In the second half, the Tar Heels' lead never fell below 11 points, and was as big as 26 points with four minutes left. Lorenzo Brown came off the bench for a career-best 20 points, while C.J. Leslie also added 14 points off the bench.
Last Time Out for NC State: With the score tied 71-71 with 6:39 remaining, Maryland went on a 12-1 run and pulled away from the Wolfpack for an 87-80 win at College Park on Sunday. The Terps hit 58.2 percent (32-55) of their shots and an even more impressive 92.0 percent (23-25) from the free throw line. Maryland built a 10-point lead in the first half, but NC State closed the half on a 16-5 run to capture a 40-38 lead at the break. The second half was within five points for much of the second half, until the Terps put together that late run holding NC State without a point for 4:37. Tracy Smith had 19 points and C.J. Leslie added 18 points and 8 boards.
Pack Freshmen Impressive Earlier at UNC: At North Carolina earlier this season, a pair of NC State freshman had impressive games.
Lorenzo Brown scored a career-best 20 points and also dished out seven assists. After going 0-for-5 in the first half and scoring just two points, Brown exploded in the second half for 18 points while shooting 8-of-11 from the field. C.J. Leslie also came off the bench that game, and finished with 14 points and seven rebounds.
The Pack's third freshman, Ryan Harrow, did not play at UNC due to illness.
Leslie Making Case for Rookie of the Year: C.J. Leslie's recent strong play has cemented his status as a candidate for ACC Rookie of the Year. Leslie is tied for the conference lead in winning ACC Rookie of the Week honors, having won three times thus far.
The local product from Holly Springs, N.C., leads the Pack in rebounding at 7.5 boards per game and is second on the team in scoring at 11.6 points.
Leslie started the first four ACC games, averaging 14.3 points and 8.0 rebounds. Then he got sick and came off the bench in two straight games, averaging just 1.5 points and 2.0 rebounds in those contests.
But Leslie's recent play has been more like the beginning of the ACC season. Over the last four games that he has played, he has averaged 17.4 points (on 54.0 percent shooting) and 7.8 rebounds. He scored 14 points at UNC and then had a team-high 18 points against Virginia Tech. After returning from a one-game suspension, Leslie tied his ACC best with 19 points at Wake Forest. In the win over Clemson, Leslie recorded his first double-double in ACC play with team-highs of 18 points and 10 boards. Last time out at Maryland, Leslie played a career-high 38 minutes and finished with 18 points and eight rebounds.
On the season, Leslie ranks fourth in the ACC among freshmen in scoring (11.6), is tied for first among all rookies in rebounding (7.5), and is second with four double-doubles. In conference games, Leslie ranks second in both scoring (13.4) and rebounding (6.8) among the league rookies.
Finding Help on the Boards: Rebounding for NC State has gone in two very different directions this season. In NC State's four ACC wins, the Pack has a +9.8 advantage in rebound margin. But in the Pack's eight conference losses NC State is -6.5 in rebounding margin.
Before outrebounding both Wake Forest and Clemson recently, the Pack was outrebounded in six straight ACC contests. The Pack won the rebound battle at Wake Forest 36-26, and then pulled down 46 compared to Clemson's 38. In the six previous games, the Pack had a -9.7 rebounding margin, pulling down 33.5 boards to the opponent's 43.2.
Missing Time: With sophomore Richard Howell unable to play against North Carolina on Wednesday, he becomes the third Wolfpack player this season to miss time due to injury or illness.
Senior Tracy Smith missed 10 games at the beginning of the season, after undergoing knee surgery just a week into the season. When Smith was out, the Pack went 6-4 in non-conference action.
Freshman guard Ryan Harrow missed a pair of ACC games due to illness a few weeks back. Harrow did not play the first game against North Carolina, and also missed the Pack's home game against Virginia Tech. NC State lost both games Harrow missed.
Brown Recovers From Slump: Lorenzo Brown struggled in the early part of January, averaging just 5.0 points over a five game stretch. But over his last eight games, Brown has averaged 10.0 points, including a career-high 20 points at North Carolina and then 15 points at Duke.
Brown has also dished out 5.7 assists over his last six games, with three games of at least seven assists. He had a career-high of eight at Maryland, and recorded seven at North Carolina and at Wake Forest.
