State will have a chance to post consecutive victories over ranked opponents when it hosts the No. 19 Clemson Tigers Saturday at noon at the RBC Center. With No. 7 Duke coming to Raleigh Wednesday, Saturday’s game will be the second consecutive of three in a row and four of five in which State will square off with a nationally ranked ACC foe.
The Pack travels to Maryland Saturday before returning to Raleigh to take on the No. 13 Tar Heels Tuesday, Jan. 26.
As it prepares for the teeth of its schedule, the confidence the team would get from another win over a ranked opponent would be crucial, according to senior Dennis Horner.
“A win would be huge for us Saturday,” Horner said. “It would be a huge confidence booster. People will maybe start taking us seriously again. As a team, that will build that swagger. Getting a win against another ranked opponent is definitely something we need to do.”
State is looking to build on an 88-81 win Tuesday night over No. 25 Florida State.
“I think that’s a huge confidence booster,” Horner said. “We had our freshmen get their first ACC win. For our freshmen to play like they did in that game, I think they’re finally getting the speed down, and also the physical play of the ACC.”
But the Wolfpack will not be the only team on the court coming off a big win, as the Tigers will come into Raleigh fresh off an 83-64 romp Wednesday night over Carolina.
Horner said the key to the game will be how the Pack handles the Tigers’ full-court pressure defense, a scheme that forced 26 Tar Heel turnovers and allowed Clemson to build a 23-point first half lead.
“We know they’re going to press us like they did to UNC and try to force an up tempo style of game,” Horner said. “We just have to take care of the ball and not turn it over. By doing that, that’s not going to allow them to get the easy fast breaks they want and the fast-paced style they want.”
Clemson is led by senior forward Trevor Booker, a pre-season Naismith Trophy candidate and the ACC’s active leader in both rebounds and blocked shots.
“We know what type of player he is,” Horner said. “He’s athletic and he’s a big guy. He’s quick in the post; he’s very physical and strong, and he crashes the boards, so we have to keep him off the boards. We’re not really positive how we’re going to guard him yet but it’s going to be either me or Tracy [Smith] who is going to have to play 40 minutes against him.”
In its last game, the Pack defeated Florida State despite two of the team’s top three scorers, junior forward Tracy Smith and junior point guard Javier Gonzalez, combining to score just 12 points. State prevailed thanks to freshman forward Scott Wood, who more than doubled his season and career-high of 15 points with a 31 point outburst on seven for 11 three-pointer shooting.
While Wood picked up the scoring slack, the ball-handling and free-throw shooting of sophomore guard Julius Mays, who made all 10 of his free throws — all with less than two minutes remaining — allowed the Pack to hang on with Gonzalez, its primary ball handler, on the bench after fouling out with more than four minutes to play.
Wood said Mays was just one of a number of players who stepped up to play a big role in the victory over FSU. He also cited the play of a pair of freshmen, forward Richard Howell and center Jordan Vandenberg.
“It’s big,” Wood said. “Julius came in and did a good job. He contributed real well. Vandenberg and Howell did a real good job coming in and rebounding and taking the ball out. I think that’s going to get overlooked a little bit. But he took the ball out and replaced me for taking the ball out so I could get to the free throw line a little bit more. That was a big part of our success last night.”
Mays was not the only one who made his free throws. State came into the game shooting 64.8 percent from the line, but shot 83 percent from the charity stripe against the Seminoles, going 29 for 35 from the free throw line.
“It’s just confidence and concentration,” Wood said. “Tracy knocked them down. I think I missed two, which is a little bit disappointing on my part. But Julius hit ten of them, I believe. Just getting to the free throw line and knocking them down and getting that confidence — that will help us big time throughout the rest of the ACC.”
