North Carolina State University Athletics
Minus Howell, Wolfpack Hosts Heels
2/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Basketball Game to be Televised in China
Feb. 23, 2011
RALEIGH, N.C. -
Coach Sidney Lowe and his NC State basketball team didn't enjoy being on the guest list for a pair of coming out parties the last time the Wolfpack met North Carolina at the Smith Center in Chapel Hill.
With sophomore John Henson swatting shots on the defensive end of the floor and freshman Harrison Barnes making them with regularity on the other end, the Tar Heels (10-2, 20-6) cruised to an 84-64 victory over the Pack back on January 29th.
NC State (14-12, 4-8) can only hope Henson and Barnes don't repeat their stellar performances in the rematch Wednesday night at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Wolfpack Sports Network airtime for the 9:05 tip-off will be 8:30.
"They played well against us," Lowe said. "For Barnes, it was almost like his coming out. Henson also played well. But some of it was of our own doing with quick shots, one pass shots and no pass shots."
With Barnes knocking down shots early, North Carolina jumped out to a quick 13-2 lead and never really looked back. Labeled as the top recruit in the country last year, Barnes had been struggling with his perimeter shooting until NC State showed up at the Smith Center. And when he got it going, he was hard top stop, making 10-of-16 from the field in a 25-point explosion.
"I thought he was too comfortable," said Lowe. "He was at home and had the crowd behind him, but we can't let him get that comfortable getting those shots off."
The gangly, 6-10 Henson was even more of a headache for the Pack, blocking seven shots to compliment 16 points and 16 rebounds. Since that game, Henson has emerged as a defensive and rebounding force in the ACC. His 77 blocks currently lead the league.
The shear numbers don't do justice to the overall impact Henson has on the game. Once he's blocked a few, offensive players tend to think about his presence when they get in the paint, whether he's close to them or not.
"You can't be fearful when you go in there," said NC State junior swingman C.J. Williams. "You have to be confident when you go up with the shot."
Unfortunately for Lowe, he'll be without a key contributor for the second straight time against the Tar Heels. Prior to the game in Chapel Hill, starting point guard Ryan Harrow contracted a flu-like illness that prevent him from even dressing out for the game. On Wednesday, the Wolfpack will be without burly power forward Richard Howell, who took an inadvertent, shot to the head from teammate DeShawn Painter in the first half of Sunday's game at Maryland. Both were battling for a rebound when Painter got a piece of Howell, who grabbed the ball and stuck it back in.
With blood streaming down his forehead, Howell left the game and never returned.
"It's frustrating and disappointing for our team and Richard," Lowe said. "He was starting to really play well and understand his role and was effective doing certain things to help our team win. He's a major piece to our team. We're going to miss his offensive rebounding, his passing and his defense."
In the first meeting with North Carolina, Howell managed to grab seven rebounds despite the fact that the Tar Heels clobbered the Pack on the boards, 53-39. With Howell out of the line-up Wednesday, Lowe hinted that he might even have to use the 6-5 Williams at the four or power-forward position for segments of the game.
With Howell getting only two minutes before leaving against the Terps, 6-8 freshman C.J. Leslie played 38 minutes.
The NC State - North Carolina match-up will be the first ever regular season college basketball game to be televised in Shanghai, China. R&S Consulting out of Staten Island, N.Y. is working in conjunction with Raycom Sports to make the broadcast available to the some 16 million residents in Shanghai.
Game time in China will be 10 a.m. on Thursday.
`That solidifies it once again that this is a big game," joked Lowe, who has never shied away from discussing the importance of games against NC State's rival schools.
Having mastered the art of winning close games this season, Carolina continues to nip at Duke's Heels in the ACC standings, sitting just a game and a half behind the 12-1 Blue Devils. UNC has won five conference games by six points or less, including Saturday's 48-46 victory over Boston College in Chapel Hill.
"I don't know where to start with my team," said North Carolina coach Roy Williams, whose club averages 77 points per game. "To score only 48 points in a game is mind-boggling to me."
NC State will play two games at home this week and three of its last four regular season games at the RBC Center before entering the ACC Tournament. The Wolfpack will be trying to beat North Carolina for the first time since Lowe's first season on the job.
"This is very critical," said C.J. Williams. "We know we owe UNC one. We didn't play our best over there, so we know we have to play a heck of a lot better than we did the last time we showed up at their place."
