Who: Virginia Tech Hokies (14-6, 4-3 ACC) @ NC State Wolfpack (12-9, 2-5 ACC)
When: Wednesday, February 2 @ 7:00 p.m.
TV: ESPN2
Where: RBC Center, Raleigh, NC
The Opponent: The Hokies head down to Raleigh Wednesday to face a young NC State squad full of raw talent. The Wolfpack had a great recruiting class this year, but have yet to do anything with it. State has lost five of its last six, with the lone win being a two-point victory over Miami at home.
State fans have been agitated with head coach Sidney Lowe, with some even calling for him to be fired. Losing by 20 at North Carolina Saturday and blowing a 19-point advantage at Clemson last Tuesday obviously didn’t help Lowe’s credibility. The Pack haven’t played in awhile and this is basically a must-win game for them.
Here’s a look at their probable starting lineup:
| No. | Name | Pos. | Ht. | Wt. | Yr. | PPG | RPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Ryan Harrow | G | 6-1 | 160 | Fr. | 11.0 | 1.5 |
| 21 | C.J. Williams | G | 6-5 | 218 | Jr. | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| 23 | Tracy Smith | F | 6-8 | 255 | Sr. | 15.0 | 5.4 |
| 15 | Scott Wood | F | 6-7 | 177 | So. | 10.3 | 3.0 |
| 1 | Richard Howell | F | 6-8 | 261 | So. | 7.7 | 6.7 |
The Wolfpack are still lacking an identity, having used eight starting lineups this season. Tracy Smith is State’s best player, but has missed 10 games this season due to knee surgery. When he is in the game, he’s one of the best post players in the conference, averaging 17.1 points in five ACC contests. Smith scored just 12 points in each of the matchups with Tech last year, a key to the Hokies coming out victorious in both games.
Ryan Harrow is a gametime decision after missing the UNC game with the flu. If he does play, he will split point guard duties with senior Javier Gonzalez (6-0, 176). Harrow only has three starts in the season, all in ACC play, and has seen an increase in minutes lately. Coming out of high school, Harrow was named the Georgia State Player of the Year and was the No. 19 recruit in the nation according to Rivals.com. Gonzalez, meanwhile has disappointed for NC State, averaging just 4.9 ppg.
C.J. Williams and Lorenzo Brown (6-5, 186) will split time at the 2-guard. Williams has started the last three games for State, but still plays just a little over 17 minutes per game. He played a season-high 31 minutes in the loss at UNC this weekend. Brown was also part of this highly-rated freshman class, but has really failed to produce. After attending a year at Hargrave Military Academy, Brown has averaged 9.5 ppg, and that’s with a season-high 20 against Carolina on Saturday.
Much like the rest of the starting lineup, Richard Howell has recently entered the starting five in the past three games. After scoring 17 against Miami in his first ACC start, Howell has gone a combined 0-for-9, scoring two points total against Clemson and UNC. C.J. Leslie (6-8, 206) was the main cog in this freshman recruiting class and will backup Howell at power forward. Leslie started the first four ACC games, averaging 14.3 ppg and 8 rpg. Since being moved to the bench, the former No. 11 prospect in the nation, according to Rivals.com, has averaged just 5.7 ppg.
The only NC State player to start every single game this season has been small forward Scott Wood. The sophomore sharpshooter is the Wolfpack’s main three-point shooter, taking 45 percent of the team’s trey’s. For the season, Wood is shooting 43.7 percent (55/126) from beyond the arc and has only attempted 34 two-pointers.
Keys to VicTory:
- Defense? What do you mean Defense?
- If Sidney Lowe teams have a specific characteristic, aside from underperforming of course, it would be their lack of defense. State is terrible defensively in conference games, allowing opponents to shoot a league-high 47.1 percent. The Wolfpack are also giving up 76.3 ppg in league play, second-worst in the ACC. On the flip side, Tech has the the best shooting percentage (46.7 percent) in conference games so far.
- Inside Game
- The Pack has just one legitimate outside threat in Scott Wood. Therefore, expect a lot of 2-3 zone from Seth Greenberg in order to slow down Tracy Smith, C.J. Leslie and company. State averages nearly 14 offensive rebounds per ACC contest, something the Hokies need to quell in order to come out victorious. Jeff Allen and Victor Davila have played good defense recently, and will need to continue that trend Wednesday.
- Don’t Overthink
- In all honesty, the Wolfpack aren’t a very good team and the Hokies need to win this game. Tech has won just once in Raleigh since 1917, a 72-52 win last season. Keys to that win were forcing turnovers and poor State shooting (20/70). The Hokies forced 15 turnovers and were dominant throughout the night. If I was Seth Greenberg, I would attempt to recreate that plan for victory.
Tech got a much needed victory on Sunday against Miami and needs to keep the momentum going, especially with a trip to Boston upcoming on Saturday. Four of Tech’s next six games are on the road, but all six are winnable (@ NC State, @ Boston College, vs Georgia Tech, vs Maryland, @ Virgina, @ Wake Forest). The Hokies already have two sub-150 RPI losses, and they can ill-afford to take another bad loss to a NC State team that ranks 97th in the RPI as of Tuesday night.
