Gary Hahn's Scouting Report: Florida State
Wolfpack hosts Seminoles Wednesday night at 7:00 p.m.
No. 21/18 NC STATE (19-5, 8-3) vs. FLORIDA STATE (15-6, 5-5)
DATE: Wednesday, February 15, 2006 @ RBC Center, Raleigh, NC (19,722)
TIME: Tip-off: 7:00 p.m. EST
RADIO: Wolfpack Sports Network.
AIRTIME: 6:30 p.m. EST
TELEVISION: ESPN-U
OPPONENT-- Florida State is showing signs of playing its best basketball of the season. The Seminoles have won 4 of their last 6 games and both losses during that stretch were in overtime to Miami and Duke by a total of six points.
On Sunday afternoon, Alexander Johnson, led FSU past Massachusetts 73-63 in Tallahassee. The 6-10 junior followed his own miss with a dunk to give the Seminoles a 47-45 lead they would not relinquish with 10:59 to play. Johnson, who finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds, has recorded double-doubles in four of the last five games.
The `Noles increased their lead to as many as 16-points with 2:53 left as they cruised to consecutive victories for the first time in a month. FSU shot nearly 49 percent from the field, but free throw shooting made the difference. FSU connected on 19 of 21 free throws, including 9 of 10 by Johnson. The Minutemen were only 8-of-13 from the foul line. UMass (10-11) shot 52 percent from the field, but was only 5-of-19 from three-point range
The Minutemen used a 14-4 run capped by James Life's 3-point shot that gave them a 45-42 lead with 13:13 left before the Seminoles took control. Life led UMass with 14 points. Al Thornton had 16 points for FSU while teammate, Todd Galloway added 11.
Florida State may be the deepest and most athletic team in the ACC. The Seminoles like to play fast and they can score, especially in transition. Against ACC teams, FSU is the No. 1 field goal shooting (.489) and No.2 scoring team in the league (78.1). From the three-point line, the `Noles are hitting at a .392 clip in ACC games. Lately, Johnson and Thornton have set the pace.
Over the last 5 games, Thornton has averaged 21 points and 7.3 rebounds, while Johnson has chipped in with a average of 14.6 points and 10 rebounds. He scored a career-high 37 points against Duke on Feb. 4. Jason Rich, one of three FSU starting guards, has also been hot, averaging 14.8 points over his last 5 games while shooting 32-of-52 from the field during that span (.615). He recorded 20-points against both Miami and Duke.
The 'Noles have five players shooting better than 39 percent from the bonusphere, including Thornton (.522) and reserve guard Andrew Wilson (.545). Isaiah Swann, Galloway and Wilson take the majority of FSU's 3-point shots. Combined, that trio shoots .421 from the arc (75-178). Galloway has made 9 of his last 18 three-point attempts.
Like NC State, the Seminoles have issues with rebounding and have a minus-3 rebounding margin in ACC games.
Defensively, FSU is still looking for consistency, but remains in the top-three of the ACC in steals (9.67) and against ACC opponents force nearly 18 turnovers a game. In ACC games, the `Noles are near the bottom of the league in scoring defense (76.9) and they've allowed ACC opponents to shoot .411 from the three-point arc.
Coach Leonard Hamilton substitutes liberally and his roster is one of the deepest in the league with 10 players averaging at least 8minutes a game.
The Wolfpack split two games last season with FSU, losing at home 70-64 and then beating the `Noles in the ACC Tournament 70-54. The Seminoles have beaten the Pack only once in the last 14 games of the series. The Wolfpack has not lost an ACC home game this season.
A WIN--Would be the Wolfpack's fifth in the last 6 games, improving NC State to 20-5 overall and 9-3 in the ACC. It would be the Pack's third straight season of 20-wins or more and would put State one victory away from equaling last season's win total. The Wolfpack would keep its home ACC record unblemished at 6-0 and improve to 15-1 at the RBC Center. NC State would beat the Seminoles for the 14th time in the last 15 games of the series (7 of the last 8 in Raleigh). The Pack would snap FSU's two-game winning streak and drop the `Noles to 15-7 overall and 5-6 in the ACC.
A LOSS--Would be the second straight for the Wolfpack and first at home this season against an ACC opponent. The Wolfpack would drop to 19-6 overall and 8-4 in the ACC. State's home record falls to 14-2 overall and 5-1 in ACC home games. The Seminoles would win for the second straight time in Raleigh and beat the Pack for the second time in the last 3 games of the series. FSU would record its third straight win for the first time since December and improve to 16-6 overall and 6-5 in the ACC. The `Noles would even their road record at 4-4.
A PACK OF SHOOTERS --The No.3 scoring and shooting team in the ACC against league competition is NC State. The Wolfpack is averaging 77.4 points a game while shooting .482 from the field in ACC games. The Pack shot 62.5 percent from the field in two overtime periods in its win at Miami on Wed.
BETHEL'S THE BOMBADIER --Guard Tony Bethel leads the ACC in 3-point field goal percentage (.538) versus league opponents (35-65), but he's more than just a shooter. Bethel is NC State's best perimeter on-the-ball defender and is also a highly skilled playmaker and rebounder. The redshirt senior has led the Wolfpack in scoring and rebounding in 2 of the last 4 games, averaging 12.0 points (48), 4.5 rebounds (18) and 4.0 assists (16) during that span. He recorded 5 steals in a win over Wake Forest on Jan. 21.
FIRING HOWITZERS --State leads the ACC in three-point shooting in league games (.446) and has made more three-points shots overall (224) than any ACC team this season. The Pack has made 12 three-pointers in each of its last 3 games and is shooting .456 from beyond the arc during that span (36-79).
STOP SIGNS --Consistent defense is a hallmark of Wolfpack basketball under Herb Sendek.. Overall, the Pack leads the ACC in field goal percentage defense (.399) and is allowing ACC opponents only .429 shooting from the field. The Pack is 8th in the ACC in scoring defense (73.4) in league games, but two contests went to double-overtime.
THE LINE HAS BEEN KIND-- The Wolfpack is shooting an impressive .763 from the foul line in ACC games (193-253). State was 22-of-25 in its double overtime win at Miami on 2/8/06.
THR IRON TURK-- Nobody on the Wolfpack team has played more minutes this season than Engin Atsur.. The native of Istanbul, Turkey, is one of the most versatile players in the ACC. The 6-4 junior leads the Pack in assists (93), steals (41) and minutes (32.9) while averaging 10.8 points a game. At Georgia Tech on Sunday, Atsur showed shigns of coming out of a recent offensive slump by scoring 15 points on 5-11 shooting from the field. However, in his last 8 games he's shot only 28 percent from the 3-point arc (12-42).
BALL SECURITY --With only a few exceptions, including 19 turnovers at Georgia Tech on Sunday, NC State has taken care of the basketball. The Pack is averaging only 13.8 turnovers a game.
BULGARIAN BOMBER --The veteran was excellent at Georgia Tech on Sunday with a team-leading 17 points, 9 rebounds and a career-high 9 assists. Not many forwards in the ACC shoot better than 40 percent from the three-point arc, but Ilian Evtimov is one of them (.429). He has made 9 of his last 16 three-point shots. The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is also an excellent free throw shooter, making 19 of his last 21 shots from the foul line. In his last 5 games, Evtimov has averaged 15.0 points (75) points and 7.0 rebounds (35).
R-B-C MEANS W-I-N-- State is 14-1 at the RBC Center, including a 5-0 ACC mark. Seton Hall is the only team to beat the Pack this season at home. Away from home the Pack is 4-4 (3-3 ACC).
THE CAM IS FOCUSED --Cameron Bennerman has played a major role in the Pack's success this season. The athletic senior scored 23 points to lead the Pack over Miami on 2/8 and made 8-of-9 free throws. Bennerman leads the team in scoring (13.2) and over his last 18 games has averaged 14.9 points (268) while shooting .543 from the field during that span (101-of-186). The Greensboro native sank a clutch 3-pointer to force overtime at Clemson on 1/29 and he's one of the Pack's better free throw shooters (.844).
AN UNSELFISH PACK --NC State is averaging an assist on an impressive 66 percent of its field goals (402-608) this season. The Pack had 20 assists on 26 field goals in the double overtime win at Miami on 2/8.
HEY, MR. POSTMAN --Cedric Simmons has given NC State a low post scoring threat that was missing the last two seasons. However, his production has dipped in recent games. In his last 3 games, the sophomore center has averaged 7.7 points (23), 5.7 rebounds (17) while shooting 6-of-15 from the field .400). He was in foul trouble throughout the Pack's loss at Georgia Tech on Sunday, finishing with 5 points and 3 rebounds before fouling out with 3:55 to play. Simmons recorded a career-high 28 points at Duke on Jan. 18th along with 9 rebounds, 7 blocked shots and 3 steals. This season, he is the team's No. 2 scorer (12.3) while leading the Pack in rebounding (6.89) and blocked shots (2.8). His field goal percent of .604 also leads the team.
HARD KNOCKS ON THE BOARDS--Rebounding has been a challenge for the Wolfpack this season, but the Pack outrebounded 2 of its previous 4 opponents before tying Georgia Tech on the boards on Sunday. On Feb. 5, State outrebounded Maryland 42-39 and won the offensive glass 17-15.
