Showing posts with label NC State Wolf Pack. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NC State Wolf Pack. Show all posts

Thursday, March 26, 2015

NCAA Tournament: Sweet 16 Previews, Friday Games feature Duke, Gonzaga, Cardinals, Spartans

Sweet 16 Previews: Friday Games

South Region
7:15 pm (11) UCLA (22-13) vs (2) Gonzaga (34-2) CBS - The highest seed remaining in the tournament, UCLA will defend the honor of the PAC-12, which has done surprisingly well during the first two rounds, compiling a 7-1 mark from four teams (UCLA, UTAH, Arizona, and Oregon). What the Bruins face, however, is one of the best teams left in the tourney. Gonzaga hasn't been a "Cinderella" team for quite some time; they're established as a powerhouse on a national scale and perennial champions of the West Coast conference. Additionally, Gonzaga already has a win at UCLA in the books this season, a December 19, 87-74 victory.

9:45 pm (5) Utah (26-8) vs (1) Duke (31-4) CBS - As usual, the Blue Devils have raised their game as the tournament has proceeded. Under the tutelage of Mike Krzyzewski, nothing short of 100% is expected from the players on the floor and that's generally what he always gets. Duke can produce from the outside, raining down threes on the opposition or inside, using Jahlil Okafor's wide body for scoring and defense. The Utes will test the interior of Duke's defense, as they have significant size on their front line. Not an easy task for the Blue Devils and possibly a significant upset, should Utah prove too tough in the lane.

East Region
7:37 pm (8) NC State (22-13) vs (4) Louisville (26-8) TBS - An all-ACC meeting here in the East, and the edge belongs to the Wolf Pack, by virtue of a 74-65 win at Louisville during the regular season. Both teams are notable for athleticism and defense, and this will be as hard-nosed a game as one will see in the entire tournament. While Louisville was awarded a lower seed, there really isn't much differentiating these teams and the game could come down to fouls (who's left on the court) and free throws. If there's a "must see" game for potential upsetters of the status quo, this one is it.

10:07 pm (7) Michigan State (25-11) vs (3) Oklahoma (24-10) TBS - The Sooners and Spartans are both well-coached and highly regarded by the remaining competition. This game could turn into a brawl, with physicality in excess on both sides, but the duel between Michigan State's Travis Trice and Oklahoma's premier scoring threat, Buddy Hield, will be prominent. Oklahoma hasn't seen much in the way of serious competition, beating Albany, then Dayton, to advance, while the Spartans have made their way with a win over Georgia before upsetting the #2 seed in the region, Virginia, and doing so with apparent ease. Ought to be a good one leading up to Sunday's epic games.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

T.J. Warren Lights Up Hokies in 71-64 NC State Victory

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, February 22, 2014

While all the lights were on at Cameron Indoor Stadium to see #5 Duke outlast #1 Syracuse, the NC State Wolfpack was doing its best to get off the tournament bubble and make themselves a sure pick out of the ACC.

T.J. Warren lit up Virginia Tech for 31 points as the Wolfpack scored an important win on the road, 71-64.

The leading scorer in the ACC, Warren was 12-for-21 from the field, 2-for-6 on threes and 5-for-8 at the stripe, mixing in six boards and four steals at the 17-10 Wolfpack evened their conference record at 7-7.

Warren is tied with BYU's Tyler Haws for fourth nationally in scoring, hoisting up 23.3 points per game. Creighton's Doug McDermott leads the nation at 25.8 per game.

NC State has just four games left on the regular season schedule, with home games against North Carolina, Miami and Boston College. Their road game is at Pitt, leaving them a legitimate shot at reaching the tournament if they can split these games or upset either the Panthers or Tar Heels.

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Richard Howell Leads #20 NC State over #1 Duke, 84-76

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, January 12, 2013

And Then there was one.

With Duke's loss to North Carolina State on Saturday, there remains only one team in the country without a loss, the 2nd-ranked Michigan Wolverines, but they must survive a trip to Columbus Ohio on Sunday, where they will play the #15 Ohio State Buckeyes - in order to last through the weekend and into Monday's poll as the presumptive #1 team in the country. Tip time for the Buckeyes and Wolverines is 1:30 pm ET.

Duke's demise came a short bus ride from their home court, at PNC Arena, home to the #20 Wolfpack, sure to rise in the rankings after their 84-76 victory over the previously-unbeaten Blue Devils.

Richard Howell, one of the nation's most accurate shooters, striking the iron at 62.3%, was a beast in the paint, scoring 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting, in addition to hauling down a game high 18 rebounds, six of them on the offensive end.

Besides denying the Blue Devils second opportunities with his board work, Howell also kept Wolfpack possessions alive by battling Mason Plumlee and other Duke rebounders.

Howell, who averages a double-double (12.4 points, 10.6 rebounds), turned in his ninth such performance of the season, helping NC State improve to 14-2, but, more importantly, push the Wolfpack to the top of the ACC standings, at 3-1.

Howell had plenty of help in upending Duke. The team's leading scorer, CJ Leslie, pumped in a game-high 25 points, and NC State's assist leader, Lorenzo Brown, dished 13 times and scored 12 points.

NOTABLE: 19 of the nation's top 25 teams were in action on Saturday, with all of them winning except for the Blue Devils, #8 Minnesota (dumped at #5 Indiana, 88-81), #17 Notre Dame, a 65-58 loser at home to unranked UConn, and 10th-ranked Missouri, finding early trouble in the SEC, falling at Mississippi, 64-49.

Saturday, November 24, 2012

Richard Howell Saves Wolf Pack in 82-80 Win

College Hoops Player of the Day for Friday, November 24, 2012

Bucketfuls of Top 25 action adorned the holiday hoops weekend. For some, life was a breeze; for others, just hanging on to a ranking was enough.

Down on Tobacco Rosd, in Raleigh, North Carolina, the Wolf Pack had their hands full with unwelcome guests from NC-Asheville, as Jeremy Atkinson led all scorers with 28 points and the Bulldogs led most of the game, until Richard Howell bailed out the 16th-ranked Wolfpack, scoring the go-ahead bucket with 3:06 remaining in an 82-80 NC State victory.

Howell, a 6'8" senior forward, scored 23 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, registering his second double-double of the season. The Wolfpack improved to 4-1, bouncing back from a 76-56 drubbing by Oklahoma State on November 18.

Howell was 8-for-10 from the field and 7-for-11 from the foul line. Five of his 15 boards were offensive.

Elsewhere, in the "romp-over-cupcake" category, #3 Ohio State blasted Missouri-Kansas City, 91-45; #8 Kentucky bombed LIU Brooklyn, 104-75.

In the best holiday tournament action, the Battle for Atlantis got down to two teams for the finals, with #5 Duke topping a determined and sure to be heard from again VCU squad, 67-58.

On the other side of the draw, #2 Louisville erased Missouri, 84-61. Russ Smith popped in 18 points, but junior forward matched a career high with 19 points on six of nine shooting, making five of seven threes in just 21 minutes.

For the Memphis Tigers, the trip to the Bahamas was a veritable disaster. After losing to VCU in the opening round, 78-65, the Tigers were humbled in a consolation game by Minnesota, 84-75. The #19 Tigers went from 2-0 to 2-2 in the span of 24 hours and are unlikely to remained ranked when the new poll is released on Monday.

Also encountering early season issues was #18 UNLV, losing at home to Oregon, 83-79. The Runnin' Rebels are 2-1.

Friday, March 09, 2012

Conference Tournaments UPDATE afternoon games, 3/9/12

Big Ten: Wisconsin 79 Indiana 71 - The 14th-ranked Badgers took an early lead and were never headed, advancing to a Big Ten semi-final meeting with Michigan State on Saturday. Wisconsin got a career high 30 points from senior Rob Wilson, who was on fire from beyond the arc, making seven of 10 three-pointers. Indiana's Verdell Jones, who left Thursday's game with a knee injury originally described as a sprain by the Hoosier staff, has been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

ACC: North Carolina State 67 Virginia 64 - Taking a 36-33 lead into the half, NC State played Virginia even in the second stanza to advance in the ACC tourney. The Wolf Pack will face #1 seed North Carolina on Saturday. CJ Leslie led the way with 19 points and 13 boards. The win may be just enough to get NC State into the big dance. Virginia is virtually assured of a spot in the tournament.

Atlantic-10: St. Bonaventure 71 St. Joseph's 68 - Upsets seem to be the order of the day in the A-10, as the Bonnies advance to a semi-final match-up with Massachusetts, Saturday afternoon. 20-13 St. Joseph's may be on the outside looking in, in terms of an NCAA bid.

SEC: Kentucky 60 LSU 51 - The Wildcats were hardly impressive, beating LSU in their first tournament action of the month, though Kentucky did manage to hold the Tigers to 29% shooting. The top-ranked Wildcats were just 1 of 9 from 3-point range and committed 18 turnovers.