NC State Highlights

Wolfpack Hold of Spartans

UNCG 64 - NC State 68

UNCG Athletics
NC State Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 35 - NC State 38

UNCG Stats
Leader Points: Locke (19)
Leader Rebounds: Cain (8)
Leader Assist: Parker (3)
Team FG: 22-58 (37.9%)
Team 3 Pt: 3-15 (20.0%)
Team FT: 17-28 (60.7%)
Rebounds: 43
Turnovers: 16

NC State Stats
Leader Points: Warren (24)
Leader Rebounds: Warren (9)
Leader Assists: Barber (6)
Team FG: 24-59 (40.7%)
Team 3 Pt: 1-6 (16.7%)
Team FT: 19-33 (57.6%)
Rebounds: 35
Turnovers: 12

Thoughts
To think at 35 years of age, I was that close to storming the court for the first time. I'm partially joking, of course. It wouldn't be my first time. But I digress ...

UNCG came very close to pulling off their second shocker in 48 hours. And quite frankly, they are playing the best ball of any team in the Southern Conference right now. Wes Miller noted in his press conference (I'll link it in a few) That during a tough stretch against 3 ACC programs in a row that the team not only stayed composed, but got better with each game. Against NC State, UNCG was much better than they were against Virginia Tech. Unfortunately , NC State is better than Virginia Tech. So playing better did not equate to a win.

On the tough side, UNCG struggled with turning the ball over. Eleven 2nd half turnovers really helped to put UNCG in a hole that they spent most of the second half fighting through. 3 point shooting has been tough the last few games. I think you can attribute a lot of that to Nicholas Paulos having to spend all of his energy guarding tremendous opposing players. I believe that his shots will start to fall more frequently in conference play. Free throw shooting wasn't particularly good for the Spartans either. NC State was worse, but I'll get to that in a minute.

On the bright side, Paulos and Diante Baldwin did a great job chasing TJ Warren all night. Warren got his average, but he has to work for it and really did very little in the last 10 minutes. I thought it was another night of everyone that got in the game contributing something to help the cause. I thought coach Wes Miller and his coaching staff made a great call at the end too. UNCG did the right thing by going for the quick 2 with 21 seconds left. Sure, they could have held on and took a late clock 3. But with NC State shooting awful at the line, it made sense to take the 2 and foul. It was just unfortunate the shot didn't go down. It was still the correct call in my mind.

Okay, well that was certainly a fun little ACC stretch. UNCG went 1-2, with it's 2 losses by a combined 12 points. Now the games count. Starting Thursday at Western this thing gets serious. To quote Major League, "I guess there's only one thing left to do. Win the whole. Fucking. Thing." Go Spartans !!!

NC State (9-3) @ UNCG (7-7)

When: Monday, December 30 7:00 pm
Where: Greensboro Coliseum (7,617)^
TV: ESPN3

^ - Greensboro Coliseum is undergoing renovations and will not be using the upper deck for any seating at UNCG games this season. I do not have the official seat totals with these changes.

NC State Athletics

Preseason Preview

UNCG Stats
Last game: @ Va Tech (W 55-52) Recap
PPG: 72.1
RPG: 37.0
APG: 13.6
Leader Points: Kyle Cain (16.1)
Leader Rebounds: Kyle Cain (8.6)
Leader Assist: Tevon Saddler (3.5)
FG %: 45.4
3 Pt %: 36.5
FT %: 68.3

NC State Stats
Last Game: Missouri (L 64-68) Recap
PPG: 75.9
RPG: 36.6
APG: 14.5
Leader Points: TJ Warren (23.9)
Leader Rebounds: TJ Warren (7.8)
Leader Assist: Anthony Barber (4.4)
FG %: 49.0
3 Pt %: 30.5
FT %: 65.2

Thoughts
48 hours after the first UNCG win against an ACC team in 6 years is a game against another ACC team. Thanks to the magic of the Greensboro Coliseum schedule makers deciding to put the Elon-Duke game on New Year's Eve, the Spartans have a super quick turnaround to face a team that they don't particularly match up well against. Shooting, and particularly the type of shots each team takes, could be the key to this one.

NC State is again one of the best teams at shooting inside the arc. Their kryptonite, however, is the zone defense. Teams have been daring the Wolfpack to beat them from behind the arc. So far, NC State really hasn't proven to be a team that can make a boatload of 3's. However, their freshman PG Cat Barber can use his quickness to be a zone breaker all by himself. Keeping Barber out of the lane is a must if the Spartans want to have any success.

TJ Warren is the best individual player UNCG will face all year. He's a scorer that finds about a billion different ways to light up the scoreboard. He's not a proficient shooter, but he'll make a few. He makes his living around the rim. He find all kinds of ways to put the ball in the basket and he rarely doesn't finish plays. The Wolfpack have 7'-0 Jordan Vandenberg on the back line. His job is to dunk the ball and block shots. It will be up to UNCG's post players to pull him away from the basket with their face up game.

This game is going to require that UNCG hit some 3 pointers. In order to open driving lanes up against the bigger Wolfpack, the outside shots will have to go in with some frequency. Beyond that, it wouldn't hurt to see Barber and Vandenberg get into some foul trouble. It goes without saying that UNCG will have to limit their turnovers and continue to build on 5 straight halves of solid team defense.

If G can again limit the number of possessions in this game and keep the score in the 60's, they will stand a much better chance of pulling off a second straight shocker. Go Spartans !!!

Exhibition Results

Exhibition results from future opponents.

SoCon Teams
Lenior-Rhyne 57 - Davidson 108 Recap
North Greenville 61 - Furman 85 Recap
Thomas University 49 - Georgia Southern 88 Recap
Lees-McRae 76 - UNCG 104 Recap
Lynchburg 57 - Elon 100 Recap
Miles College 52 - Samford 90 Recap

OOC Teams
Bridgewater 53 - High Point 96 Recap
Arkansas-Monticello 64 - La Tech 85 Recap
Southern Arkansas 49 - La Tech 100 Recap
UNC-Pembroke 63 - UNC-CH 82 Recap
Caldwell 60 - Rutgers 90 Recap
Philadelphia Univ. 69 - James Madison 73 OT Recap
Brevard 66 - Wake Forest 93 Recap
UNC-Pembroke 85 - NC State 96 Recap
Morehouse 62 - NC State 87 Recap

Wolfpack Surge Past Shorthanded Spartans

UNCG 68 - #23 NC State 89

UNCG Athletics
NC State Athletics

Halftime: UNCG 36 - NC State 43

UNCG Stats
Leader points: Kayel Locke (21)
Leader Rebounds: Kelvin McNeil (10)
Leader Assists: Drew Parker (3)
Team FG: 29-67 (43.3%)
Team 3 Pt: 2-17 (11.8%)
Team FT: 8-13 (61.5%)
Rebounds: 34
Turnovers: 10

NC State Stats
Leader Points: CJ Leslie (21)
Leader Rebounds: Richard Howell (13)
Leader Assists: Lorenzo Brown (9)
Team FG: 32-60 (53.3%)
Team 3 Pt: 8-18 (44.4%)
Team FT: 17-22 (77.3%)
Rebounds: 37
Turnovers: 11

Thoughts
With no Trevis Simpson (sprained ankle - day-to-day) against a team that was absolutely a bad match up for the Spartans, this game had the potential to really get ugly quickly. Instead, the Spartans came together and played their best half of the season. The starters played with a lot of energy and Kayel Locke came in to provide an offensive spark. Even freshman Jordan Potts, who hadn't seen a lot of playing time, came off the bench to make several nice shots.

As I said in my preview, NC State leads the country in FG % and doesn't stray much from their strengths. The Wolfpack feed Leslie and Howell the ball and them work their way to open shots. So, the Spartans needed a huge scoring effort from a lot of people and having the 15th leading scorer in the country not available just left the Spartans with no enough firepower.

However, I've talked in the past few games about how UNCG spent way too much time Simpson watching. Well, not having Simpson forced a lot of different UNCG players to get involved in the game. I think in the long run, this might be a good thing. Go Spartans !!!

Huge Second Half Sinks Spartans

UNCG 67- NC State 89

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It was a familiar feeling game for UNCG fans against NC State. Play tough and watch the other team's fans look nervous, but wither in the end. The Spartans dug themselves another big hole right out of the gate. UNCG showed plenty of heart, though as they battled back to being down just 4 at halftime. A 57 point outburst by the Wolfpack in the second half turned back any thoughts of an upset.

Positives:
- Scoring help --- It was good to see more than one Spartan in double figures. Brian Cole (10 pts)did a great job of keeping UNCG in the game in the first half. While Korey Van Dussen's (12 pts) scoring in the second half helped the Spartans fight deep into the second half. Of course, Ben Stywall (18 pts) and Brandon Evans (14 pts) did their normal scoring too.
- Rebounding --- Again, UNCG did a great job of out rebounding an ACC opponent. Stywall led the charge with 13 rebounds.
- Free throws --- The Spartans shot over 80% from the line and are shooting over 70% for the year. Hopefully, this is something that UNCG can take advantage of by getting to the line more often.

Negatives:
- Defense --- NC State scored over 50 points in the second half and shot close to 70% in the half. For the game the Wolfpack shot over 50%. It seems like everyone UNCG has played has shot really well. Some of that is just luck, but some of it is poor defense. The Spartans need to get better at this in league play.
Turnovers and assists --- It was another rough night for turning the ball over. However, it is starting to become obvious that UNCG is dribbling too much and not passing enough. This is leading to very few assists. Spartan guards are creating a lot of shots for themselves, but very few openings for their teammates. Again let's hope that the assist numbers start to go up (and turnovers down) when SoCon play begins next week.

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

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

NC State Athletics
PackPride (forum)
StateFans Nation (blog)
Backing the Pack (blog)

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 !!!

Seeing Red

UNCG 52 - NC State 79


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UNCG
NC State

A 16-4 run after the halftime took what had been a competitive game and turned into a rout. UNCG whittled down a 17 point Wolfpack lead down to 11 by the half, but got no closer. Courtney Fells had 22 points and Ben McCauley had a double-double (17 pts and 15 rebs) for NC State. Damian Eargle scored 10 fro UNCG.


The Good:
- Kendall Toney - If NC State were on the team on UNCG's schedule, Kendall Toney would go down as the greatest player ever at UNCG. Toney led UNCG in points (16) and rebounds (8). After not playing particularly well in his first three games this season, maybe this will get Kendall going and playing with a high level of confidence.
- Turnovers - After turning the ball over a ton in the first 3 games (20+), UNCG limited it's turnovers to 13. However, 4 of them came in the second half spurt that knocked the Spartans out.

The Bad:
- "Paging Landon Clement" - UNCG could really use the version of you that came out firing to start the year.
- Assists - UNCG had 8, compared to NC State's 22. Part of this is based on the fact that NC State made more baskets. However, part of it is that UNCG's offense doesn't look good at all .. all leading back to the point guard issues that have been plaguing the team.

The Ugly:
- UNCG's record falls to 1-3 for the year. That's not completely unexpected. 2-2 would be better, but the team has played 3 road games and 1 home game. This team is young. Young teams tend to struggle on the road. But a 27-point loss to an ACC team that isn't supposed to be a great team hurts. If this NC State team beats Davidson next weekend, then this doesn't look quite as ugly. However, I really wish the Spartans would have been more competitive.

Other blog recaps:
Section Six
850 the Buzz

UNCG (1-2) @ NC State (3-0)

When: Sunday, Nov. 30 2 pm
Where: RBC Center (19,722)
TV: None/ACC Select


NC State Athletics
NC State Forum
NC State Blog - Section Six
NC State Blog - State Fans Nation


Spartan Notes:
- UNCG is coming off a 73-60 loss at Central Arkansas on Saturday. Mikko Koivisto scored 24 points and Ben Stywall had 8 rebounds. It was the third straight game for UNCG with 20+ turnovers. Also, UNCG shot just 50% (12-24) from the free throw line. Landon Clement was held scoreless.
- Mikko Koivisto leads UNCG in scoring (18.0 points) and assists (3.0). Ben Stywall leads the team in rebounding (8.3).
- On the year, UNCG is shooting 41.6% from the field, 36.7% from 3 point range and 60.6 % from the free throw line. The Spartans are averaging an amazing 23.7 turnovers a game.
- In their last meeting, NC State defeated the Spartans in overtime (95-93). The game took place on January 2, 2007. Kyle Hines led UNCG with 27 points as the Spartans hit a school record 18 three pointers. Ben McCauley led the Wolfpack with 26 points.

Wolfpack Notes:
- The Wolfpack crushed Winthrop 74-48 in their last outing. NC State was led by Ben McCauley (15 pts and 11 rebs) but had three other players in double figures.
- NC State lost 2 starters from last years squad ... JJ Hickson (declared for the draft) and Gavin Grant (graduation). Grant hit a three pointer 2 years ago to send the game against the Spartans into overtime.
- There are 3 Wolfpack players averaging in double figures ... Ben McCauley(14.7) , Courtney Fells (14.0) and Brandon Costner (13.3). Costner (7.7) and McCauley (7.3) are the leading rebounders.
-On the year NC State is shooting 44.5% from the field, 34.5% from 3 point range and 74.6% from the free throw line. They are averaging a meager 9.7 turnovers a game and have 5 players with a positive assist-to-turnover ratio.

My Thoughts:
NC State lost a lot of "star power" when JJ Hickson left for the NBA. However, they have a lot a quality players returning. The Wolfpack big men have some interesting skill sets. Ben McCauley is a tremendous passer with a knack for find open shooters. Brandon Costner can shoot from all over the court. Reserve F/C Tracy Smith is the closest thing NC State has to a traditional low post player.

NC State's "lock down" defender, Courtney Fells, will probably stay with Mikko the entire game. Fells' size (6'4") and athleticism tend to bother most guards that he's called upon to shut down. Hopefully Mikko's size (6'4") will keep that from being a problem.

The one area where NC State is thin is at PG. Reserve PG Farnold Degand is re-injured after returning from a season ending ACL tear last season. Unfortunately, UNCG's troubles at this position are also well documented. It might be to the Spartans advantage to play a more controlled pace b/c none of the guards seem to value the basketball.

I do think that this will be the first time this season that UNCG can play lineups without worrying about size match ups. Mikko, Ben, Kendall and Landon can all be on the court at the same time against most NC State lineup combos.

NC State is not a particularly tall team and is not known (lately) for its rebounding. UNCG will need to do well in rebounding in order to stay competitive. Also, the Spartans must limit their turnovers or this game could get ugly in a hurry.

In the end, the Spartans need to play well and gain some confidence. A win is not exactly necessary, but they do need to stay in the game to feel like they can compete on the road. Three years ago, the Spartans were hammered in back-to-back games against @NC State and @Duke and a promising season spiraled out of control. UNCG needs to avoid a similar outcome.

The rest of the OOC schedule

Just figured I'd put up some info on the other 6 of UNCG's out-of-conference opponents. These are current as I write this post. I'll try to update it every few days. So, check back often. All of my RPI numbers come from RealtimeRPI.

*Red - Where they were when UNCG lost to them.
*Green - Where they were when UNCG defeated them.

NC State (3-0)
Current RPI: 227
Wins: @ New Orleans, High Point, Winthrop.
Losses: None.

East Carolina (7-1)
Current RPI: 126
Wins: Coker, St. Andrews, Campbell, VCU, @Winthrop, @UNCW, Limestone.
Losses: George Mason.

Kent St (4-5)
Current RPI: 216
Wins: NC Central, St. Louis, UNCW, Youngstown St.
Losses: Illinois, Texas A&M, @Kansas, St. Mary's, Western Carolina.

Dayton (9-1)
Current RPI: 36
Wins: Wofford, Deleware St, Bethune-Cookman, Mercer, Auburn, Marquette, Troy St., @Akron, Coppin State.
Losses: @Creighton.

Akron (7-4)
Current RPI: 102
Wins: Canisius, Winthrop, Urbana, @Niagra, @Fairleigh Dickinson, NC A&T St. Francis (NY).
Losses: @ Pitt, Eastern Kentucky, Dayton, @VCU.

Princeton (2-8)
Current RPI: 323
Wins: @ Army, @Fordham.
Losses: Maine, Central Michigan, South Carolina, @St. Bonnie, Rutgers, Manhattan, Central Conn State, Lafayette.

Last updated: 12/30/08