NC State (9-3) @ UNCG (2-9)

When: Thursday, December 31 6 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617/23,500)
TV: Fox Sports Net

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Spartan Notes:
- Last time out, Wake Forest turned back a late Spartan rally to win, 75-60. Ben Stywall lead 4 UNCG players in double figures with 13 points and 14 rebounds.
- The Wolfpack will be the 5th team from the ACC that UNCG will face this season. So far, the Spartans have played well at times against Duke, Virginia Tech, Clemson and Wake Forest.
- The Spartans are still looking for their first win in their new home,the Greensboro Coliseum. The Spartans are 0-5 at home and have lost those games by an average of 15.2 points.
- Brandon Evans leads UNCG in scoring (12.2). Stywall is averaging 11.8 points and a team best 9.2 rebounds. Kyle Randall leads the team in assists (2.4).
- For the year, UNCG is shooting 38.5% from the field, 31.1% from behind the arc and 69.9% from the free throw line

Wolfpack Notes:
- Tuesday night, NC State jumped out to a 32-9 lead and cruised to a 68-52 win over Winthrop. Dennis Horner lead the Wolfpack with 12 points.
- NC State comes into the Greensboro Coliseum with a road record of 1-2. So far, State has won at Marquette and lost at Arizona & Wake Forest.
- The Wolfpack has already defeated two SoCon teams this season. Georgia Southern (75-57) and Elon (79-76) both fell to NC State at the RBC Center in Raleigh.
- Ten NC State players are averaging playing over 10 minutes a game. All of NC State's primary ball handlers (Javier Gonzalez, Farnold Degand, CJ Williams & Julius Mays) have a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.
- Tracy Smith leads the Wolfpack in scoring (16.8) and rebounding (9.2). Gonzalez leads in assists (5.8).
- For the season, NC State is shooting 45.7% from the field, 34.2% from behind the arc and 63.6% from the free throw line.

My Thoughts:
This game has the potential to be very interesting. NC State is not a particularly great rebounding team that has struggled at times with turnovers. While they do have some size, they are not the super tall team like Duke or Wake Forest. Also, the Wolfpack has struggled at the free throw line.

However, NC State does shoot the ball well from the field, especially behind the arc. They have very capable three point shooters at 4 of the 5 positions on the floor. The Wolfpack have been involved in quite a few close games this season. Three of their games have been one possession games. The Pack is 2-1 in those games. Also, they have played close games against several mid-major schools. If this is a close game with UNCG, NC State will not panic.

Let's hope that UNCG brings the same fire and passion to the court that they brought on Monday. The Spartans can be very competitive with NC State playing with that kind of energy. I expect there to be quite a few people in the Greensboro Coliseum. The atmosphere will be electric. Let's hope the home team can feed off that and get the victory.

Go Spartans !!!