Preview: NC State vs Virginia Tech

09-10 Basketball ACC ACC & Other College Basketball61

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When NC State takes the court tonight against Virginia Tech, it will be exactly three weeks since the Wolfpack got its last conference win, an 88-74 triumph over Duke Jan. 20. If there was ever a time when the Wolfpack need a win, it would be now. State (14-10, 2-7) has dropped four straight ACC games since the win over the Blue Devils, scoring just more than 61 points a game and losing by an average of 10 points a contest.

For the Pack to pick up a win over the Hokies (18-4, 5-3), who have become a viable contender in the league recently, the trends from the last four games — scoring droughts, defensive lapses, poor shooting nights —  have to stop.

A potential key for tonight’s game will be the health of guard Farnold Degand. Degand did not play against Georgia Tech Saturday due to a deep thigh bruise and is listed as questionable for tonight’s game.

For thoughts on the game from the Virginia Tech side of the equation, check out Gobbler Country.

Game Notes

NC State Hosts Virginia Tech: After two straight ACC road games, NC State returns to
home action when the Pack plays host to Virginia Tech Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. NC State
head coach Sidney Lowe is 4-1 all-time against the Hokies. The Pack has won six of the eight
games against Virginia Tech since they joined the ACC in the 2004-05 season, including all
three games held in Raleigh.
The two teams have met once each of the last two seasons. NC State won in Raleigh in
2008, 73-63, while Virginia Tech won at home in overtime last season, 91-87.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU with Carter Blackburn and LaPhonso Ellis.
The Series Versus Virginia Tech: Wednesday’s contest between NC State and Virginia Tech
will be the 46th meeting between the two schools, as the series dates back to 1914-15.
NC State currently holds a 34-11 advantage in the series. The Pack is 23-6 at home versus
the Hokies, 6-4 in games in Blacksburg, and 5-1 at neutral sites. NC State has not lost to Vir-
ginia Tech at home since the 1940-41 season, and has won all three games since the Hokies
joined the ACC in 2004-05.
The Pack has won six of the eight meetings since the Hokies joined the ACC for the 2004-
05 season, and 17 of the last 20 matchups overall.
Last Season Versus Virginia Tech: Virginia Tech overcame an 18-point deficit in the final 14 min-
utes of regulation, and defeated NC State in overtime, 91-87, in Blacksburg, Va., on February 8. NC
State held its biggest lead of the game, 61-43 at the 14:14 mark, but the Pack would turn the ball over
12 times in the final 13 minutes and were outscored 33-15 in that span. A.D. Vassallo tied the game with

NC State Hosts Virginia Tech

After two straight ACC road games, NC State returns to home action when the Pack plays host to Virginia Tech Wednesday at 9:00 p.m. NC State head coach Sidney Lowe is 4-1 all-time against the Hokies. The Pack has won six of the eight games against Virginia Tech since they joined the ACC in the 2004-05 season, including all three games held in Raleigh. The two teams have met once each of the last two seasons. NC State won in Raleigh in 2008, 73-63, while Virginia Tech won at home in overtime last season, 91-87. The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU with Carter Blackburn and LaPhonso Ellis.

The Series Versus Virginia Tech

Wednesday’s contest between NC State and Virginia Tech will be the 46th meeting between the two schools, as the series dates back to 1914-15. NC State currently holds a 34-11 advantage in the series. The Pack is 23-6 at home versus the Hokies, 6-4 in games in Blacksburg, and 5-1 at neutral sites. NC State has not lost to Virginia Tech at home since the 1940-41 season, and has won all three games since the Hokies joined the ACC in 2004-05. The Pack has won six of the eight meetings since the Hokies joined the ACC for the 2004-05 season, and 17 of the last 20 matchups overall.

Last Season Versus Virginia Tech

Virginia Tech overcame an 18-point deficit in the final 14 minutes of regulation, and defeated NC State in overtime, 91-87, in Blacksburg, Va., on February 8. NC State held its biggest lead of the game, 61-43 at the 14:14 mark, but the Pack would turn the ball over 12 times in the final 13 minutes and were outscored 33-15 in that span. A.D. Vassallo tied the game with 17.9 seconds left, and NC State’s last shot attempt was blocked. Virginia Tech outscored the Pack 15-11 in the extra five minutes, hitting all five of its free throws in the final minute. Ben McCauley finished with game-highs of 25 points and 15 rebounds, and Courtney Fells added 17 points.

Last Time Out for NC State
Julius Mays’ three-pointer as time expired fell short, as No. 21 Georgia Tech held on for a 73-71 win Saturday in Atlanta. The Yellow Jackets held a 69-55 lead with 4:07 before the Pack made the game close. NC State would put together a 14-1 run and cut the lead to 70-69 with 2:07 left. Georgia Tech would then hit three free throws and go up 73-69 with 35 seconds left. Dennis Horner hit a pair of free throws with 19 seconds left, and NC State forced a tie-up and got the ball back with 15 seconds. Javier Gonzalez missed a jumper, and Mays final heave fell short. Farnold Degand missed the game with a thigh injury, while freshmen Josh Davis and Richard Howell each made their first career starts.
 
Degand Misses Time
After being inserted into the starting lineup the previous seven games, senior Farnold Degand missed the Georgia Tech game with a deep thigh bruise. The injury occured in practice prior to the Pack’s trip to Atlanta, and Degand is listed as questionable for the Virginia Tech game. At Georgia Tech, NC State moved Scott Wood over to shooting guard and started Josh Davis at small forward.
 
Changing the Starters
At Georgia Tech this past weekend, NC State took the floor with a new look to open the game. The Pack started three freshmen and two juniors, with two of those players making their first career starts. Freshmen Josh Davis and Richard Howell were each inserted into the starting lineup for the first time this season. Howell’s role has increased as the season has gone on, and he replaced senior Dennis Horner who had started the first 23 games at power forward. Davis got the starting nod at small forward, where he came off the bench and played each of the first 23 games. Classmate Scott Wood is the only Pack player to start all 24 games this season, the first 23 at small forward before starting at shooting guard at Georgia Tech. Juniors Javier Gonzalez and Tracy Smith have been staples in the starting lineup all season, as the two have combined to start 44 of their 46 games played this season.
 
There will be a live blog Wednesday night from the RBC Center. Check back around 8:45 p.m. or so for that.
09-10 Basketball ACC ACC & Other College Basketball

61 Responses to Preview: NC State vs Virginia Tech

  1. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 12:51 PM #

    Roy has a goatee and pointed ears.

    by the way packerinrussia

    мой супруга русский

  2. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 1:01 PM #

    actually Roy is very nice and polite to the opposing teams fan’s. He makes sure they are comfortable and can see the game. After the game he thanks them for coming and stands outside the dean dome and shakes their hands.

  3. Myrtle Beach Wolfpack 02/10/2010 at 1:40 PM #

    When does the NCSU brass start to look at replacing Sid?

  4. ldr of the pk 75 02/10/2010 at 2:10 PM #

    Based on the last 4 pitiful weeks, what gives anyone any glimmer of hope that a W is possible?

    Of course anything is possible. But, we are a last place team for good reason. We just don’t do the things necessary, game in and game out, to be anything other than bad.

    We all still pull for the Pack, and will continue to do so, but we should know the outcome is likely not good. And a win here or a win there doesn’t help turn any corners on becoming a successful program. We are mired in mediocrity.

    Just a perusal of the threads out here show that we haven’t got much to talk about when it comes to sports. The sports threads are basically the same old same old, and the rest of the threads just give us something to stay together on and forget the misery we are experiencing across the board atheletically. Lately it seems there is more “other” stuff than atheletics.

  5. bradleyb123 02/10/2010 at 2:28 PM #

    When does the NCSU brass start to look at replacing Sid?

    If they treat Sid the way they treated his predecessor, he’s good for the rest of this year, and maybe two more years after that.

    Sid’s predecessor had five bad years before finally making it to the big dance. That means after five bad years, the fifth year being his WORST at NC State (we won 13 games that year), he was still given a SIXTH year. This is only Sidney’s fourth year. So no matter how poorly his teams perform, they could have one more bad year and we’ll still keep him for a sixth year. (Assuming he gets the Herb treatment. Oops, I said his name!)

    I’m no longer defending Sidney. But I’m not calling for his job, either. I’m anxious to see what happens when his class of 4- and 5-star recruits arrive next year. Especially if we get CJ Leslie back in the fold. And this year’s group will be mostly intact (except for Degand and Horner) and they will all be a year older and more experienced.

  6. choppack1 02/10/2010 at 2:48 PM #

    bradley – the situations were a bit different. HWSBN walked into a situation where we hadn’t made the tourney in 5 years.Sid walked into a situation where we hadn’t missed the tourney in 5 years.

    Still, 90% of the major college programs in the country (not named Baylor or Northwestern) would have fired a coach after he didn’t make the tournament in his 5th year.

    Of course, in order to tie the ACC win total of HWSBN in his first 5 years, Sid needs to win 6 ACC games this year. The good news – if you want to make the argument for keeping Sid around – is that he only has to win 11 of at least 25 games to match HWSBN’s 5 year total.

    That shouldn’t be too hard for him to do – right? it’s an overall record of 11-14 (unless of course you look at his ACC and NBA record.)

    Let’s hope after tonight, he only has 10 left.

  7. Wolfy__79 02/10/2010 at 2:49 PM #

    i’m about in the same place as bradleyb!, i’m definetly not happy right now but i’m not calling for sid’s head. i don’t know if he’ll beat me to it and resign or not? i have a feeling he will move on if nothing improves by next year. win or lose, this job is hard on people.. especially when you are not winning.

    but understanding how pitiful of caliber we are at guard, i can’t sell out on having sidtastic giving it a shot with an upgrade in talent. this is no excuse, i firmly believe this team can play harder/smarter and win a few of our upcoming games. a win tonight would be a breath of fresh air but by no means will get our hopes up like the duke win. but i won’t lie, it will definetly be the best feeling so far this season.

    i’m all for horner playing, and playing well. but that does not translate to me if he’s our 4 and not playing under the basket.. which he won’t! considering that it is not going to happen, he should come of the bench for howell. and painter desperately needs minutes to improve. he might as well have taken a year off if he doesn’t get anymore pt. nope, the keys to winning for me tonight have nothing to do with horner and more to do with our three idiotic pg’s playing that position and not the mindless numbskull play they always given us. the way horner shoots, we might as well have vandenburg out there.. he atleast has a defensive presence. we can’t go small atleast not at 1.2. or 3., so why not go big with tracy, howell and painter for some spurts. i don’t think we can turn the ball over that much more than the last outing.

    maybe sid will get his s### together!

  8. Wolfy__79 02/10/2010 at 2:55 PM #

    tonights game will also tell us how pointless our back & forth will be for the rest of the season. if we win, the band marches on. a loss, i won’t have too much to add from this point… the other game will more than likely be close, i would be suprised if duke can stretch them out.

    our game, can be won. i just hope there is some unharnessed magic on the bench somewhere!!!

  9. packfan03 02/10/2010 at 3:15 PM #

    http://deadspin.com/5468840/roy-williams-is-a-clueless-dick

    Made. My. Day.

  10. coach13 02/10/2010 at 3:39 PM #

    My predictions…Duke walks the dog on the Holes…

    Pack falls behind early, makes a run, loses late.

    Moving foward…I see only two falfway descent chances of winning…Miami and WF…but I am not optimistic. I have adapted.

  11. VaWolf82 02/10/2010 at 3:42 PM #

    I’m anxious to see what happens when his class of 4- and 5-star recruits arrive next year.

    I’ve heard this over and over again through Herb’s and now Sid’s tenure. It’s a never-ending collection of sad stories, excuses, and WTNY.

  12. coach13 02/10/2010 at 3:45 PM #

    Yep…the I can’t wait til…buncha crap. Again, we are going to be saved by a 160 lb(soaking wet) freshman PG.

    I am anxious to see… win Fowler and Lowe are gone…

  13. coach13 02/10/2010 at 3:48 PM #

    I don’t know why I keep coming to SFN. I guess because I am hoping I am going to get here and find out something new and exciting has happened to make us a competative program. …and I am disappointed every time.

  14. packfan03 02/10/2010 at 3:51 PM #

    coach13, Why do you think all PGs have to be the size of linebackers to be successful? Brandon Jennings seems to be doing OK in the NBA at 170lbs.

    I’m not saying you have to be positive about everything, but Harrow and Brown choosing NCSU is a GOOD thing. Have you even seen Harrow play? What about Brown?

    Look, maybe they won’t be successful. But this continued conversation about how a 160lb point guard can’t be successful is ridiculous.

  15. Thinkpack17 02/10/2010 at 3:54 PM #

    ^You should probably start by focusing on the other freshman guard. If anyone picks us up off the mat in his first year it will be Lo Brown.

  16. packfan03 02/10/2010 at 4:11 PM #

    http://community.foxsports.com/goodmanonfox/blog/2010/02/09/n.c._state_could_be_lowe-ded_next_season_with_talented_frosh

    Jeff Goodman, an established columnist with Foxsports is positive. No mention of Leslie/Cothron – he simply thinks these two are high-impact players. LoZo’s line is nasty 23 points, 9 boards, 7 assists a game.

    On the game tonight – I’m looking forward to it. I think we have a real opportunity to grab some momentum here – especially if Carolina loses to Duke. Obviously it’s a stretch.

  17. choppack1 02/10/2010 at 4:38 PM #

    thanks packfan – that’s a nice article.

    My main concerns are as follows:
    1) What if we run into issues w/ Brown again?
    2) Can Harrow handle the physicality of the college game – right out of the gate.
    3) Where will the depth be – w/out Brown, Harrow, Smith or Wood, we’re probably 6-10.
    4) Will Lowe build acceptable depth and talent going forward.

    You’d think we would have learned our lesson about what can go wrong next year – from what went wrong this year. (Mainly, our biggest guard recruit in years didn’t qualify.)

  18. JeremyH 02/10/2010 at 5:11 PM #

    VaWolf- You mentioned before HWSNBN had a recruiting class as highly ranked as our class next year– did that class have any guards as highly ranked as Harrow and Brown? Everyone keeps saying that at the collegiate level it is a guard’s game, so that should count for more, no?

    As an aside, when I watched Kentucky and Alabama play last night, their offensive “schemes” are not really very different from ours. The difference is that they swing the ball around the perimeter much faster than our guys, and 2 or 3 guys can each make room between them and the defender, using a dribble drive, and can either hit a midrange jumper after doing so, take it all the way to the rim and get fouled, or dump it off to an open big guy after the rotation.

    Instant offense. We don’t have, we need it. WTNY : )

  19. 61Packer 02/10/2010 at 5:34 PM #

    I know that tv pays a lot of bills, but does anyone know why this game wasn’t scheduled to start at 7pm? ESPNU is showing ESPNU Sportscenter during that time. So now Pack fans are stuck with a midweek 9pm game that is being televised on a two-bit station at the same time most of the nation will be watching Duke-Carolina. Why put this game on tv at all if your audience is going to be somewhere else?

    I just don’t understand any of this. Can someone help me out here?

  20. VaWolf82 02/10/2010 at 5:58 PM #

    VaWolf- You mentioned before HWSNBN had a recruiting class as highly ranked as our class next year– did that class have any guards as highly ranked as Harrow and Brown? Everyone keeps saying that at the collegiate level it is a guard’s game, so that should count for more, no?

    Count? Count for what? The only thing that I am interesting in counting is wins…not recruiting rankings.

    A poster who will remain un-named called me out for not gushing over Lowe when Painter committed last spring. But I’ve been down this road before. Show me inspired play against ACC competition and then I’ll gush….not before.

  21. winstonwolf1 02/10/2010 at 5:58 PM #

    Do we really have anything to play for tonight? We’re certainly out of the at-large NCAAT picture, and I care very little for the NIT. Why not let him rest and be ready to go for the Acc Tournament?

    This year is the most wide open that the Acc tournament has been in, what, decades? Although Sid’s coaching has been seriously flawed, there’s not a team in the league that we can’t beat. Wouldn’t it be something to make it to the championship game again?

    Anyway, if in doubt, I say let Degand rest up.

  22. bradleyb123 02/10/2010 at 6:02 PM #

    I’ve heard this over and over again through Herb’s and now Sid’s tenure. It’s a never-ending collection of sad stories, excuses, and WTNY.

    True, but this season has gone about the way I expected it. I was hopeful for better, but not expecting it. I just didn’t want the wheels to completely come off, while our freshmen get “broken in”, and so far they haven’t. We’ve lost four games by 2 points or less, while winning just one such game. There have been very few games where we didn’t have a chance to win late in the game. This is reason for optimism, because it could very easily have been a better than expected season.

    I’m not making excuses for being 14-10, just trying to justify the optimism for next year. And I haven’t even gotten to the part about our three 4- and 5-star recruits coming in, or four if we manage to land CJ Leslie. Unlike in most years, we actually DO have something to be hopeful about next year. Do you not see that? Or do you think Sidney is so bad that even WITH a team full of talent, depth and experience, that he’ll find a way to lose games anyway?

    I’ve stopped defending Sidney. I don’t know if he’ll make it or not. I’m beginning to have my doubts. But I’m still willing to give him next year with this incoming recruiting class. If I thought we’d go after a HUGE name coach and get him, I’d probably be more in the anti-Sid camp. But I can’t see us doing that (when have we ever done that in basketball? TOB is the closest thing to that, and he chose us!) I’m not willing to support rolling the dice on another unproven guy and hoping for the best. I like Sidney’s odds next year with the expected 2010-11 roster better than the odds of us hiring an unproven guy that turns out to be a great coach.

    Now if Fowler gets replaced with a solid AD that would only hire a proven guy, that could be a game-changer, IMO.

  23. COLLEGEB413 02/10/2010 at 6:19 PM #

    the tarholes are going to get destroyed

  24. NJpack 02/10/2010 at 6:21 PM #

    Does anyone else think that Painter should start at small forward instead of Josh Davis, assuming Degand can’t go? The light bulb has to turn on for Painter at some point, remember how Howell looked his first few games. I’d like to see a “big” line up of Howell, Smith, and Painter with Javi (by process of elimination) and Wood at the guards. What do we have to lose? You can’t finish any worse than 12th place in the conference.

  25. VaWolf82 02/10/2010 at 6:23 PM #

    Unlike in most years, we actually DO have something to be hopeful about next year. Do you not see that?

    Can you not see that we have had highly rated kids coming in before? If you are going to let recruiting rankings set your expectations, fine. I’ll wait until the kids produce against ACC competition.

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