The N.C. State men’s basketball team looks to turn the corner this weekend in Raleigh after a 92—78 defeat at the hands of the, now 17-1 number 4 ranked, defending National Champion Duke Bluedevils on Wednesday night. The loss marked the third in a row for the team. The Pack now has a record of 11-7 and 1-3 in Atlantic Coast Conference play.
The Pack continues conference play Sunday, at home in the RBC Center facing the 12-6 Miami Hurricanes. Miami has a 1-3 record in the ACC and is hoping to avoid a second straight season of starting 1-4 in conference play.
The Hurricanes lost to the Florida State Seminoles on Wednesday night 55-53.
While the Hurricanes had one of their best defensive performances of the season, the Wolfpack had one of its worst, surrendering a season high 92 points to Duke. One of the previous highs came in the 84-71 loss to the Florida Seminoles Jan. 15, who Miami held to 55.
Both teams enter Sunday’s contest with shooting woes as the Hurricanes shot 34 percent and the Wolfpack shot 37 percent on Wednesday night. To better that number on Sunday the Pack will look for better numbers from freshmen CJ Leslie, Ryan Harrow and Lorenzo Brown who altogether went 0-17 in the first half and finished 8-30.
Harrow will face off against Florida State’s leading scorer, Malcolm Grant, who puts up 15.3 points per game. Another key matchup in the game will be Florida State senior center Reggie Johnson, who contribute 11.8 points and 9.6 rebounds per game, versus N.C. State forward Tracy Smith, who contributes 15.5 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. The combination of, forward Julian Gamble and Adrian Thomas, off the bench, will matchup against CJ Leslie who is scoring 11 points and pulling down 8 rebounds a contest.
Coach Sidney Lowe was very proud of the effort put forth by his team Wednesday night and it is one positive he hopes the team carries into Sunday’s game. Coach Lowe said what the team can take from the loss is the effort it showed during the game. “I thought we had good energy and made a nice run for it,” said Coach Lowe.
That energy and effort proved most valuable in the 18 offensive rebounds, 11 forced turnovers and 30 free throws attempted by the Pack. The Canes committed 23 personal fouls and turned the ball over 12 times against Florida State.
A lineup change coming out of the halftime sparked a second half comeback in the Duke game and the new adjustments may affect the lineups on Sunday as well. “We want to put guys on the floor that are playing well. We want to reward the guys that are getting it done, reward the guys that are doing what I want them to do and capable of what I want them to do,” said Coach Lowe.
The team hopes these lineup adjustments and the effort it played with Wednesday will help it stop the Hurricanes. “I think we can score with anybody in our league, so I don’t think that is the problem. We just have to pick it up a little on defense,” said sophomore forward Scott Wood. “It is just heart and sprinting back.”
Another key element the Pack hopes to find on Sunday at noon in the RBC Center is the ruckus crowd that cheered and inspired them against the Bluedevils.
