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. fullmoon1 02/10/2010 at 8:28 AM #

    I wish the injury bug had not bit. It’s always something. A very good read by the way. I like being able to compare it with the last game, the last game with Va tech and last season. My hope is that we have a comfortable lead so that the poor officiating is not a factor but I feel like this one is going to come down to the buzzer but we are seriously due some good karma at the buzzer. It is sad that I am relying on karma for a bailout. It almost never works that way. Maybe I should hope for the opposite and then karma, little baby Jesus(in his golden diaper), Allah, something would grace State with a favorable outcome. This is what one has to resort to when the starting lineup is completely changed in the last half of the season. I guess Sid could argue what he had going in the starting line up up until now wasn’t working so why not switch it up.

  2. packfan03 02/10/2010 at 8:38 AM #

    I like our chances in this one – Horner’s due for a good game. When he’s on, we’re on.

  3. packbackr04 02/10/2010 at 8:48 AM #

    “NC State has not lost to Virginia Tech at home since the 1940-41 season”

    get ready for that $hit to change

  4. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 9:04 AM #

    the odds makers have us winning by 1 point

  5. D_Medlin 02/10/2010 at 9:07 AM #

    I noticed that this morning too Tucker.

    Not a huge deal that State’s favored, but interesting nonetheless.

  6. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 9:08 AM #

    if you had told me at the begining of the season that on Feb 10, 2010 that the pack record would be 14-10 I would have believed it. If you had told that the heels record would be 13-10 I would have told you you were insane. If you had told me that the pack would have more overall wins than the heels at this point in the season I would have told you you were f****** insane or that you were living in some dark alternative universe where spock is evil

  7. VaWolf82 02/10/2010 at 9:25 AM #

    Here’s the dunk that started the exodus at Cassell during Sid’s first season:

    http://www.statefansnation.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/McCauley-sm1.jpg

  8. primacyone 02/10/2010 at 9:32 AM #

    If we shoot well from the outside we will win, if we don’t we won’t.

  9. JeremyH 02/10/2010 at 9:33 AM #

    D_Medlin, thanks for the writeup, a nice read with the morning cereal : )

  10. Thinkpack17 02/10/2010 at 9:40 AM #

    I loved McCauley…he could do no wrong in my book.

    As for tonight…I wonder how many State fans watch that other game instead of ours.

  11. Dr. BadgerPack 02/10/2010 at 10:11 AM #

    I told the GF I was watching State tonight… she offered to save me two hours and just kick me in the cubes…

  12. jaybird80 02/10/2010 at 10:15 AM #

    Given the “other” game that is being played tonight, I feel like this is one of those NFL weekends where there is some huge game that has all the attention, as well as one other one. Something like: “This Sunday its Dallas vs. New England or Oakland vs. St Louis. Check your local listings.”

    While Dr BadgerPack’s GF may have the right idea, I will be watching!!!

  13. bradleyb123 02/10/2010 at 10:16 AM #

    That spread is really suspicious. Vegas normally just wants spreads that they believe will ensure equal betting on both sides, and they keep the “juice”.

    I have to believe that State being favored by a point will ensure unbalanced betting, with many more people taking VT instead of State. So why would Vegas do this, is the question. It makes me wonder if “the fix is in” and State will indeed win, resulting in a windfall for Vegas.

  14. packfan03 02/10/2010 at 10:18 AM #

    “It makes me wonder if “the fix is in” and State will indeed win, resulting in a windfall for Vegas.”

    One can only hope!

  15. eas 02/10/2010 at 10:25 AM #

    I will be watching the other game unfortunately (we only have ESPNU on one TV). My wife is the UNC side of our family and honestly I couldn’t deny her based on the wolfpacks recent performance. I will be pulling for both teams to loose somehow though and LISTENING to wolfpack radio at the same time. First time I can ever remember a “blue” game taking priority at our house. It is a sad day….

    My 4.5 year old daughter (Wolpack girl thankfully) asked me last night “Daddy will the Wolfpack ever win again?”. I honestly told her I had no clue.

    I hope we play well tonight. We really need the win and if we continue to loose out it will be bad. Not from the record but the fact of how many confused & angry people will wonder how Sid is still around. I will probably one of them.

    Play hard like the “end” of last game and maybe it will happen.

  16. eas 02/10/2010 at 10:28 AM #

    Good idea Dr. BadgerPack. It will prolly be a lot less pain involved.

  17. WIFF 02/10/2010 at 10:28 AM #

    I totally forgot about that “other” game tonight. Judging by ESPN’s college basketball front page, looks like they have too. Unbelieveable that there is not even a mention of the game. Oh, how the mighty have fallen.

  18. primacyone 02/10/2010 at 10:29 AM #

    ^If you are in a Raycom broadcast area, the UNC/DUKE game will be on a local station and the STATE/VT game will be on the main ESPN channel.

    The other side of that is that it might be very enjoyable to watch UNC get their arses slaughtered by the Duky’s.

  19. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 10:30 AM #

    Do you realize that IF we win tonight and the smelly holes lose we will be tied with them with a 3-7 record in conference play. IF for some reason God will lift the curse of Valvano next Saturday at about 4 pm for just a few hours the heels could even not make the NIT. It that were to happen I would have to pinch myself every few mins to make sure I am awake. I would have to quit dropping acid because my reality would no longer differ than my fantasy. IF IF IF IF !!!!!

  20. rtpack24 02/10/2010 at 10:31 AM #

    There will not be enough bet on our game for the fix to be in nor will there be enough wagered for Vegas to care one way or the other. Let us hope that we somehow win tonight.

  21. Thinkpack17 02/10/2010 at 10:41 AM #

    tuckerdorm1983 if the Heels lose tonight they will still only have 2 wins in ACC play.

  22. Dr. BadgerPack 02/10/2010 at 11:04 AM #

    eas- Introduce your daughter to Wolfpack baseball. Should be some wins there.

    I will of course watch the game, as it provides the perfect excuse to go out. Florida and the Pack have overlapping games, so we’ll have to go somewhere with multiple TVs in order for both of us to be accommodated.

    I am interested in the official’s response to Lowe’s implied (if not direct) criticism. For SOME coaches (we know who), the result would be lopsided. I would hope for at least fair, although I would expect lopsided… against us. Which ensures the version of DBP with the vocabulary of a drunken sailor should emerge at some point (after a few Boston Lagers, I’m sure).

  23. tuckerdorm1983 02/10/2010 at 12:00 PM #

    I stand corrected. I better quit doing all this LSD.
    (note I am kidding about the drugs, I ain’t never done an illegal drugs in my life and neither should anybody else) My only high comes from watching the heels lose and the pack win.

  24. JEOH2 02/10/2010 at 12:19 PM #

    Listen guys as an Oakland Raiders fan I can tell you having a poorly managed team, with a coach who has yet to solidify his worth, on a team where the most important position is lacking the most, and the team continues to fail to make a postseason after having a successful, championship-laden, legendary past that continues to fade in the mind of the general populace, that I know what its like to be the “other” game…but luckily most of you all don’t have that experi….

    …Wait a minute…we’re NC State Basketball fans…hmmm

  25. PackerInRussia 02/10/2010 at 12:27 PM #

    I wish I’d known about the game being showed on normal ESPN. I thought that by upgrading to get ESPNU, I was paying for two games. Since I don’t care about any of the other channels (or games on ESPNU), I basically paid for the upgrade to watch them blow it last week. I should have trusted my better judgment.

    Tucker, does Roy Williams have a gotee in that alternate universe? On second thought, he’d probably be a good guy in that universe.

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