If the names of 2007 starters Ben McCauley, Courtney Fells and Gavin Grant sound ancient to Wolfpack fans, State’s lackluster play against its archrival down I-40 West is probably the main reason why.
After posting a 1-15 mark in its past 16 contests versus Carolina, N.C. State (14-12, 4-8 ACC) will try to breakthrough versus No. 19 North Carolina (20-6, 10-2 ACC) at 9 p.m. from what is expected to be a near-capacity crowd at RBC Center. With Feb. 3, 2007 marking the last occasion in which State was able to defeat the Heels, no player on the current roster has been a part of a winning effort against UNC-Chapel Hill.
For junior guard C.J. Williams, the recent difficulties against the Tar Heels are overshadowed by what the team aims to accomplish in the present moment. While Williams acknowledges that the rivalry has turned into a lopsided affair, the Fayetteville native said the team is solely concentrated on picking up a quality win.
“They’re a ranked opponent, and that’s the one I look at the most,” Williams said. “We need a big win to at least have a couple good wins on our resume for this year. We still have a slight opportunity to make the NCAA tournament and we have to win the rest of our games pretty much. We just have to take it one game at a time.”
“It’s the next game, so that makes it a big game.”
Echoing his teammates statements, senior Javier Gonzalez quickly dismissed the notion that beating UNC would merely put a bow on a self-admitted disappointing campaign. With four regular season games remaining, Gonzalez said that gaining momentum within the clustered ACC has the group’s attention.
“To get the next couple of wins heading towards the ACC Tournament like we did last year, that would give us a lot of confidence as a team,” Gonzalez said. “We just need to concentrate and take it one game at a time.”
While the Pack focuses on game-by-game improvement rather than the historic rivalry, containing North Carolina’s star forward John Henson will be a major key in determining State’s success on Wednesday night. The dynamic 6’10” sophomore out of Tampa, Fl. had 16 points, 16 rebounds, and seven blocked shots when the two teams met on January 29.
“We have to keep him off the boards,” Gonzalez said. “He lives by trying to get offensive rebounds and put them back, so if we could try to keep him off the glass, that would help a lot. We can’t let him hang around the paint.”
Fifth year head coach Sidney Lowe noted that being successful against Henson will involve smarter decision making than the Pack displayed earlier in the year at Chapel Hill. Henson is 14th in the NCAA in blocks per game, which leads all ACC players.
“You have to be a moving target,” Lowe said. “You can’t change the situation. If I’m 6’4″ and Henson’s guarding me, and I try to shoot it over him 10 times, he’s probably going to block it 10 times. I think you have to be realistic about who he is. Every player has strengths, and that’s his. You can’t play to his strength. You have to keep him moving around, and if he comes over for a block we need to keep our heads up and find the open man.”
As Henson and the Tar Heels visit Raleigh winning eight of its past nine games, the Wolfpack’s ability to gain confidence early in the match up will be crucial. Despite State’s balanced offensive performance in an 87-80 loss on the road at Maryland, Lowe said that playing smart with the ball is still the biggest key to reversing the Pack’s fortune against North Carolina.
“I think we forced some shots (when playing Carolina earlier in the season),” Lowe said. “Before you know it, it’s 11-2 and it becomes an uphill battle. The quick shots, the one-pass shots, the no-pass shots… when you play against a good team, you have to be willing to make the extra pass. They’re not going to allow you to get a quick, open shot.”
Unfortunately for N.C. State, the 219th edition of the Carolina-State rivalry will not feature talented sophomore forward Richard Howell on either side of the court. Howell is the third member of the Pack to miss action due to injury or illness this season.
“It’s frustrating, and disappointing for our team and for Richard,” Lowe said. “He was starting to really play well and fit in to his role. He was realizing how effective he can be at doing certain things for us to help this team win. He was a major piece to our team. We’re going to miss his rebounding, his passing, his defense, we’re going to miss that.”
To finish off the season, the Pack will host three of its final four regular season games, including a pair of Sunday match ups against Georgia Tech and Florida State. The ACC Tournament will begin in Greensboro on March 10.
