NC State returns to the RBC Center tonight after traveling to Chapel Hill over the weekend to take on Maryland. The Terps are coming off a 19-point victory over Virginia Monday night and will look to continue the solid play which has them sitting in third place in the ACC.
The Wolfpack, losers of six straight conference games, will be looking to right the ship which has seemed take on more and more water in recent days. A win over Maryland certainly wouldn’t make all those problems go away, but it would be a nice reprieve for the Pack.
As is usually the case when a team takes on Maryland, the Pack will have to try and shut down senior point guard Greivis Vasquez first. That’s been easier said than done for the Pack and most everyone else in the ACC. In the first meeting Jan. 23, Vasquez scored 19 and dished out 5 assists. The last time the Terps visited the RBC Center, March 1, 2009, Vasquez poured in 33 points.
During his time in College Park, Vasquez has always seemed to play well against the Pack. In only six career meetings with the Pack, Vasquez averages 17 points and more than seven assists a contest. His career averages are great (15.5 and 5.6) but he still seems to have NC State’s number.
Check out the Maryland perspective on Testudo Times.
On a side note, there will be a live blog tonight from the RBC Center. This edition will be a little different, however, as SFN has contacted YANCSSB and Backing the Pack to put together a three-headed monster live blog. During the game all three sites will be contributing to the commentary and hosting the same chat on each individual site. We’re going to start the chat a little earlier as well, sometime around 8:30 p.m. If you have pre-game questions or topics you would like to discuss we’ll do that then.
Here’s some of the game notes.
Game Notes
NC State Hosts Maryland
NC State will play host to Maryland Wednesday at 9:00 p.m., in the the first of two ACC contests at the RBC Center this week. Maryland won the first game this season between the two teams in College Park, 88-64, on January 23. The Pack will follow up its meeting with the Terps by hosting No. 23 Wake Forest on Saturday. The game will be broadcasted on Fox Sports South with Mike Hogewood & Dan Bonner.
The Series Versus Maryland
Wednesday’s meeting will mark the 146th in a series that dates back to the 1924-25 season. Maryland has a slight lead in the series, 73-72. NC State has won just five of the last 21 meetings, and eight of the last 39 dating back to the 1991-92 campaign. Prior to that streak, the Pack had won nine of the previous 12 matchups. Maryland has won six straight in the series by an average of 14.8 points, and NC State will be looking to defeat the Terrapins for the first time under Sidney Lowe. Maryland won the first matchup this season, 88-64. Last season, Maryland won in Raleigh, 71-60, and again at the ACC Tournament in Atlanta, 74-69. In 2008, Maryland won in College Park by 14 points. The Terps won both contests in 2007 as well, winning by 15 in Raleigh then by 20 in College Park. Prior to that season, the Wolfpack was on a three-game winning streak against the Terrapins, winning the only contest in 2006 (62-58 in Raleigh) and sweeping Maryland during the 2004-05 regular season for the first time since 1988-89. NC State holds a 32-28 lead in games played in Raleigh, but Maryland has won six of nine contests at the RBC Center. The two teams have split the last four games at the RBC Center, with Maryland winning in 2007 and 2009, and the Pack winning in 2005 and 2006.
Earlier This Season Versus Maryland
Maryland scored the final four points of the first half and then the first five points of the second half, to take control of the game and came away with a 88-64 win over NC State in College Park on January 23. Maryland would dominate the second half of play, outscoring the Pack 47-31, thanks to shooting 66.7 percent (16-24) from the floor compared to the Pack hitting just 27.8 percent (10-36). Maryland was the first opponent to shoot over 50.0 percent against the Pack this season, as the Terps were 29-of-54 (.537) from the floor. Tracy Smith recorded a double-double leading NC State with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Javier Gonzalez hit three first-half three pointers and finished with 13 points.
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