#18 N.C. State At #15 Boston College

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Hot time for Pack, Eagles

Chip Alexander, Staff Writer
It's too early to be feeling a little heat, isn't it?
The ACC season is young. There are so many games still to be played. Why fret now?

Here's why if you're Boston College coach Al Skinner: the Eagles are 0-2 in their first year in the ACC and face No. 18 N.C. State tonight at Conte Forum with just one day of preparation.

Here's why if you're State coach Herb Sendek: the Pack was beaten 82-69 at North Carolina on Saturday and two of its next three ACC games are on the road, with a trip to top-ranked Duke coming up Jan. 18.

WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN2

WHO: N.C. State at Boston College

WHEN: 9 p.m.

TV: WRAL, WCTI

Both coaches predictably tried to downplay such things Monday. Both talked about the need of using their time wisely in a tight turnaround after weekend road losses.
"The less time you have, the quicker you have to move forward," Sendek said.

State had two days to prepare for BC. But two days might seem like an eternity to Skinner after the Eagles' 60-58 loss Sunday at Georgia Tech.

"I can't overly concern myself with it," Skinner said. "We don't make the schedule, we just play the games. But N.C. State is a very difficult team to prepare for. It'll take a lot of concentration."

For BC, tonight's matchup will mark the school's first ACC men's game at home. The last thing Skinner and the Eagles (11-3) want is to be on the wrong side of such history while falling to 0-3 in the league.

The Pack (12-2, 1-1) has been through this kind of thing before. A year ago, NCSU played at Miami in the Hurricanes' first ACC home game, losing 67-66.

BC features senior forward Craig Smith, who made nearly everyone's preseason All-America lists, and Jared Dudley, a 6-foot-7 junior who also was first-team All-Big East last year. The Eagles have experienced, savvy guards in Louis Hinnant and Sean Marshall.

Yet, Skinner said his team still is "searching and trying to get a better feel for who are we."

Sean Williams, a 6-10 sophomore center, has rejoined the team after being suspended by the school in the fall semester for unannounced reasons. Sophomore Akida McLain and freshmen Tyrese Rice and Marquez Haynes are also being mixed into the rotation.

BC lost its first ACC game at Maryland, 73-71, on Dec. 11.

"We just need to stay patient," Skinner said. "We can't get too disappointed if we take a step backward because of a loss on the road. We've finally got our full team together. Now we have to figure out a way to win."

Skinner noted the Pack employs an intricate motion offense that the Eagles don't see against the likes of a Rhode Island or Massachusetts. But Boston College did have N.C. State on its schedule in 2003 and 2004 before making the jump from the Big East to the ACC.

The Eagles outlasted State 66-65 in overtime in the January 2004 game at Conte Forum behind Smith's 20 points and 10 rebounds. The year before, the Eagles came to the RBC Center and beat the Pack 93-81 -- a rare nonconference loss at home for Sendek.

"We're a little familiar with what they do," Skinner said. "They do have a different cast of characters. They have four individuals scoring in double figures. They move the ball well. They just play great team basketball."

Both teams came away from the weekend losses intent on improving their end-of-game efficiency.

Against Georgia Tech, the Eagles went 10-of-19 at the foul line and missed 12 of 16 shots from 3-point range.

State was outscored 13-0 in the final three minutes in Chapel Hill.

"Obviously, we wanted to handle the situation better," Sendek said. "We had a couple of shots we needed to make -- two corner 3s where we did execute but just did not make the shots. On some possessions we did not execute ...

"Was it a function of poise? I don't think we came unglued. We just did not execute as well as we need to."
 

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http://www.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/gamecenter/preview/NCAAB_20060110_NCST@BC

Preview
Boston College vs. North Carolina State

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Preview


North Carolina State's first ACC loss ended its seven-game winning streak. Another league defeat for Boston College halted its five-game run.

The 15th-ranked Eagles seek their first ACC win, and try to remain undefeated against the No. 18 Wolfpack when the teams meet at the Conte Forum on Tuesday.

N.C. State (12-2) fell to 1-1 in ACC play with an 82-69 loss at No. 20 North Carolina on Saturday. It was the Wolfpack's first loss since a 45-42 defeat at then-No. 14 Iowa on Nov. 30.

Boston College (11-3), meanwhile, lost its second conference game of the season Sunday, 60-58 to Georgia Tech. The Eagles' other ACC defeat was at then-No. 21 Maryland on Dec. 11.

The Eagles are 3-0 all-time against the Wolfpack, and are hoping to continue that trend and not fall further back in the conference standings.

"N.C. State is a difficult team to prepare for so it's going to take a lot of concentration on our part to get ready for them," Boston College coach Al Skinner said. "You would like to think that over the course of the season there's going to be a time where it will be favorable to us. Right now, we're at a little disadvantage and we have to deal with it."

The Eagles went more than 11 minutes without a field goal at one point against Georgia Tech, and struggled to make anything from beyond the lane.

Boston College jumped out to a 21-13 lead on Jared Dudley's short jumper in the lane with 9:06 left in the first half. The Eagles then didn't make another field goal the rest of the period, going nearly 5 1/2 minutes without scoring and finally resorting to powering the ball inside in an attempt to draw fouls.

Craig Smith tried his best to carry Boston College by himself, scoring 26 points. The forward went 10-of-13 from the field and played all but a minute.

Smith leads the team with 17.1 points and 7.4 rebounds per game.

"He's a consensus first-team All-American because he's really good," Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said of Smith. "He has awesome strength, terrific hands and balance; he's very agile on his feet and plays really hard."

Ilian Evtimov finished with 15 points and Tony Bethel had 13 to lead N.C. State on Saturday.

It was the first time this season the Wolfpack had an opponent make at least half its shots as the Tar Heels shot 53 percent from the field. N.C. State also yielded a season-high in points.

"We have to learn from it," Evtimov said. "We have a great coach and even when we win, we take good lessons from the wins, because you never play the perfect game. We are going to watch film and we are going to get better and we are going to get prepared for Boston College."
 

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Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Boston College
Wolfpack hits the road once again.


Jan. 10, 2006

No. 18/18 NC STATE (12-2, 1-1) at. No. 15/14 BOSTON COLLEGE (11-3, 0-2)

DATE:Tuesday, January 10, 2006 @ Silvio Conte Forum (8,606)

TIME: Tip-off: 9:00 p.m. EST

RADIO: Wolfpack Radio Network.

AIRTIME: 8:30 p.m. EST

TELEVISION: Raycom-Jefferson Pilot (ACC Network)

OPPONENT-- Zam Fredrick hit a tiebreaking 3-pointer with 33.5 seconds left and Georgia Tech hung on for a 60-58 victory Sunday at home over No. 11 Boston College. The Eagles had trouble offensively going more than 11 minutes without a field goal while struggling to make shots outside the lane.

Craig Smith did all he could for BC. He not only scored a season-high 26 points, but tied the game with a free throw with 55 seconds to play. On the next possession, Tech's Anthony Morrow was stopped on a baseline drive, but hurled a long pass to Frederick on the opposite wing and the point guard sank the open three-point shot.

Boston College still had chances to win, but came up short. An offensive rebound off a missed shot by Tyrese Rice gave the Eagles another opportunity. Rice tried another shot with Morrow in his face, but it was also off the mark and Georgia Tech got the rebound.

The Yellow Jackets essentially sealed the victory when Jeremis Smith, who led Tech with 16 points and 9 rebounds, made one of two free throws with 5.9 seconds left. Craig Smith hit a running 3-pointer at the top of the key-- one of only five shots the Eagles made from outside the lane-- but it wasn't enough.

The Eagles went 11:04 without a field goal, but managed to shoot 45.8 percent by scoring off dunks, layups and short jumpers. BC was 4-of-16 from 3-point range. Tech shot 50 percent from long-range (6-12), including 4-of-7 in the second half. The Yellow Jackets also outrebounded the Eagles 33-23.

Dudley had 14 points and Rice 10, but no other BC player scored more than three. Morrow finished with 14 points for Tech.

BC has won 5 of its last 6 games, but suffered its first ACC loss at Maryland 73-71 on December 11th. It's only non-conference loss was at home to Michigan State 77-70.

The Eagles are a veteran team with four starters returning from last season's 25-5 team that went 13-3 in the Big East and was undefeated at home. Smith, an All-American candidate, and Dudley are two of the top forwards in the ACC. Most of the Eagles efficient "Flex Offense" goes through them and combined they average nearly 34 points and 15 rebounds. Both Smith and Dudley rank in the ACC's top-10 in scoring and rebounding.

Center John Oates is a first-year starter, but is now getting help from Sean Williams. The 6-10 sophomore, who led the team in blocks last season, became eligible after the first semester and has played in the last 5 games.

Point guard, Louis Hinnant, and Sean Marshall form a talented, veteran backcourt. Hinnant leads the team in assists while Marshall has attempted more field goals than any BC player this season and leads the Eagles in three-point percentage. Rice provides a spark off the bench and tops the team in three-point attempts and field goals.

BC has outrebounded 7 of its last 9 opponents and gets back 44 percent of its missed shots. The Eagles lead the ACC in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.40) with NC State right behind (1.32). If BC has a weakness it might be inconsistent outside shooting. The Eagles shoot 50 percent from the field, but only 28 percent of their shots come from three-point range.

This game will be the first between the two schools as members of the ACC. However, BC beat the Wolfpack 66-65 at home in 2004 and 93-81 at the RBC Center in 2003.

PROBABLE BOSTON COLLEGE STARTERS

No. Name Pos. Ht. Class PPG RPG APG 11 Louis Hinnant G 6'4 Sr. 6.5 2.4 4.2 23 Sean Marshall G 6'6 Jr. 13.9 4.4 2.9 32 John Oates C 6'10 So. 4.2 3.4 -- 01 Craig Smith F 6'7 Sr. 17.1 7.4 1.0* 03 Jared Dudley F 6'7 Jr. 16.6 7.4 3.6

TOP RESERVES:

00 Marquez Haynes G 6'3 Fr. 3.0 1.4 1.8 05 Akida McLain G 6-8 So. 8.0 3.9 -- 04 Tyrese Rice G 6'0 Fr. 10.4 0.9 2.7 51 Sean Williams C 6'10 So. 1.6 2.6 1.8* * Blocked shots per game

A WIN--Would give the Wolfpack's 8 victories in its last 9 games and its second win over a top-25 ranked opponent this season. State would improve to 13-2 overall and 2-1 in the ACC while sending BC to its second straight loss overall and third in-a-row in the ACC. The Pack stops a 2-game losing streak to Boston College in the series and improves to 2-2 in road games this season.

A LOSS--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack and mark the first time State has had back-to-back losses this season. The Wolfpack would drop to 12-3 overall, 1-2 in the ACC and to 1-3 against opponents ranked in the top-25. State's road record would drop to 1-3. Boston College would win its first-ever ACC game and improve to 12-3 overall and 1-2 in the league. The Eagles victory would be their third straight over NC State in the series.

IT ALL STARTS BY STOPPING `EM --The Wolfpack is holding opponents to an ACC best 59.7 points a game. State also leads the league in field goal percentage defense (.375) and is second in three-point percentage defense (.294).

THE BEAUTY OF BETHEL --Senior guard Tony Bethel has averaged 16.5 points and has shot a combined 13-of-19 from the field over the last two games. Bethel is NC State's best on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and impressive rebounder.

THE TURK IS TERRIFIC -- Engin Atsur, a native of Istanbul, Turkey, leads the Pack in assists (64), steals (25), 3-point percentage (.465) and minutes (31.3). The junior has only 13 turnovers in his last 8 games. He's scored in double-figures in his last 7 games, averaging 13.0 (91) points and 5.1 assists (36) while shooting 55 percent from the three-point line (21-38).

BOMBS AWAY --During its recent seven-game winning streak, the Pack shot 42 percent from the three-point arc (74-177).

A TALE OF TURNOVERS --The Wolfpack turned the ball over 18 times against UNC-Greensboro on Jan. 3rd, but for the season is averaging only 13 turnovers a game. State had a season-low 5 turnovers against New Hampshire on Dec. 30th.

CAM'S THE MAN --After a slow start, Cameron Bennerman has elevated his game. In his last 8 appearances, the senior has averaged 13.9 points a game (111) while shooting 59 percent during that span (50-85). Bennerman led the Pack with 17 points in the win over then 12th-ranked George Washington.

SIMMONS STEPS UP --The most improved player on the NC State team is Cedrick Simmons. The sophomore center played in 31 games last season and averaged 3.5 points and 1.8 rebounds. This season, Simmons leads the team in rebounding (6.9) and blocked shots (2.9) while shooting a team high .618 from the field. He's also the Pack's No.2 scorer (11.7).

MAY I HELP YOU? --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 68 percent of its field goals (244-of-358) this season.

CLEANER GLASS-- The Pack's rebounding margin of +1.0 may be 10th in the ACC, but it is a big improvement from earlier this season. State is 4th in the ACC in defensive rebounds (25.2) per game.

INJURIES --Freshman forward Brandon Costner could miss his 9th straight game with a leg injury.
 

ajoytoy

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pitiful 0-fer on Sat took record to 12-16

leaning to the Under (again), but will wait closer to game time :mj21:
 

joe67

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I saw boston college on tv and they looked awful against georgia tech, if boston college can lose to maryland and gerorgia tech they can lose to state, no way will state lose two in a row big, this game should be close. I am going with the wolfpack! good luck tonight
 

stwoody

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Hmmmm.............good info. I had a lean to the over but I respect your opinion and you talked off of it! Good Luck in whatever you play
 

ajoytoy

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Won't be around later tonight, so posting these now:

Won't be around later tonight, so posting these now:

Heels -1
Pack Under 139

so the Hokies and the Over should hit with no problem tonight :mj07:
 

saint

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Lets see if my prognostication from the other night rings true. State loses a game they should win (UNC) and then beats a team they probably shouldn't (BC tonight).

I almost want to play NCSU ML because of this but won't.
 
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