Location: University Hall in Charlottesville, Virginia
Tip-Off: 9:00 p.m.
Television: FSN
Radio: Airtime begins @ 8:30 PM on the Wolfpack Radio Network
NC State Information
Roster
Schedule
Virginia Information
Roster
Schedule
NC State's Probable Starters
G Tony Bethel 8.1 ppg 3.9 rpg
G Engin Atsur 9.3 ppg 2.6 rpg
G Julius Hodge 17.5 ppg 7.1 rpg
F Ilian Evtimov 8.7 ppg 3.5 rpg
C Jordan Collins 6.7 ppg 2.5 rpg
Virginia's Probable Starters
15 G T.J. Bannister 4.6 ppg 3.1 apg
33 F Devin Smith 17.0 ppg 6.1 rpg
43 F/C Elton Brown 13.8 ppg 8.9 rpg
2 G J.R. Reynolds 10.3 ppg 2.6 rpg
44 G Sean Singletary 10.1 ppg 4.1 apg
Players to Watch
NC State
Julius Hodge -- With two games remaining, the Wolfpack must get a strong effort from their senior leader.
Virginia
Sean Singletary -- Freshman sensation was outstanding in the first game and he'll need to play well again for the Cavaliers to beat the Wolfpack.
NC State Notes
EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. VIRGINIA:
Feb. 5, 2005 in Raleigh: Sean Singletary
hit a layup with 2.2 seconds left on the
clock to lift Virginia to its first win in
Raleigh since 1997, 64-62. Julius Hodge
scored only six points and was held to under
double-digits in scoring for the first
time in 37 games. UVa outrebounded the
Wolfpack by 11 boards and collected 18
points from its bench, compared to
NCSU’s 5. Four Cavaliers scored in double-
digits, led by T.J. Bannister and Devin
Smith who both had 14. Tony Bethel led
the Pack with 20 points, while Cedric Simmons
added 16. The Pack shot a dismal
.250 from three, converting only five of 20
attempts. UVa built a strong lead early,
shooting near 61% in the first half. T h e
Cavaliers led by as much as 16, but two
free-throws from Andrew Brackman gave
NC State the lead with 9:45 remaining.
HODGE SHINES VERSUS VIRGINIA: Despite breaking a string of 36 straight
double-figure scoring games with just six
points in the two-point loss to Virginia earlier
this season, senior Julius Hodge posts
one of his best scoring averages against
any league school against the Cavaliers.
In his seven career games versus UVA,
State posts a 5-2 record.
Hodge has averaged 17.4 points per
game in seven starts versus Virginia, and
has tallied 20 or more points in four of
those contests. He has shot an incredible
60% from the field (41% from behind the
three-point arc) against Virginia.
D-ING IT UP...: In recent games, the
Wolfpack has used a tenacious defense to
earn victories in three of its last four outings:
at Georgia Tech, versus No. 22
Maryland and against Virginia Tech.
In the last four games combined (including
a 10-point loss to No. 2 North Carolina),
the opposition has averaged just
62.3 points. Tech entered the contest averaging
76.6 points per game before posting
the lowest scoring tally for a Wolfpack
league opponent in four years with 51
points (Florida State scored just 46 points
on Feb. 25, 2001). That total tied as the
fifth lowest by by an ACC team during
Herb Sendek’s nine years.
Maryland came into the RBC Center
averaging 83 points per game, but was
held 20 points under its normal total. Virginia
Tech, which came into the game at
State averaging 69.8 points, managed
just 54 points in that Wolfpack win.
Even North Carolina, which hung 81 on
the Pack, was held nine points under its
season average (90 points heading into
the contest).
The Wolfpack has given up 62.5 points
per game in its six league wins, 77.6 in the
eight losses.
ATSUR LIKES TO TRAVEL: Maybe being
thousands of miles away from home
makes playing away from the RBC Center
a not-so-daunting task. But whatever the
reason, Istanbul, Turkey native Engin Atsür
has been a warrior for NC State in its
ACC road games during his career.
In his 15 career ACC road games, the
sohpomore has averaged 11.5 (173 total) points
on 54% shooting (59-109) and shot 54%
(40-74) from behind the three-point arc.
BETTER AFTER THE BREAK: NC
State was outscored in the second half of
each of its first six games after the New
Year, a stretch which included the West
Virginia game and the first five ACC contests.
The Wolfpack, which posted a 2-4
mark in those six games, was outscored
199-243 in the second half, an average
of 33- 40.
In the last nine games,however, the
Wolfpack has reversed that trend.
Beginning after the win at Maryland on
Jan. 23, the Pack has outscored the
opposition 335-308, an average of 37-
34.
With the exception of the two losses to
North Carolina, the Pack has outscored
or tied its opponent in the second half in
every game in that time span.
HOME SWEET HOME: In the past two
months, NC State has taken 14 different
flights and has spent countless hours on
busses. The Feb. 13 game at Georgia
Tech marked NC State’s seventh ACC
road game in 11 contests, its 11th game
away from home in 16 games. Since
then, the Pack has played three in a row
at home for the first time since mid-December.
After opening the season with eight
home games, seven of the Pack’s first 11
conference matchups were on the opponents
home court.
N C State and Clemson are the only
ACC schools that played five of their first
eight league games on the road this season.
The game in Charlottesville will mark
NC State’s last road trip of the season.
At the end of the regular season, NC
State will have played back-to-back road
games on five separate occasions.
The good news, the Pack is closing out
the season with four of its last five games
at home - all ACC contests.
Virginia Notes
THE GAME:Virginia enters tonight's game with a 13-12 overall record and a 4-10 mark in the Atlantic Coast Conference. The Cavaliers are coming off a 90-68 loss to sixth-ranked Wake Forest (Feb. 27) in Winston-Salem, N.C.
NC State stands at 16-11 overall and 6-8 in the ACC. The Wolfpack is coming off a 74-54 victory over Virginia Tech (Feb. 26) in Raleigh, N.C.
SENIOR NIGHT: Tonight's game against NC State marks the final regular season home game at University Hall for two Cavaliers - captains Elton Brown and Devin Smith.
CAVALIERS AND WOLFPACK BATTLE TO THE WIRE: The history of the series between these two schools since the late 1970s has been one marked by many closely contested games. Since 1978, 40 of the 61 games have been decided by less than 10 points. UVa is 28-12 (.700) in those games.
Virginia's last 10 wins (going back 10 seasons) over the Wolfpack have been by a combined 45 points (4.5/g).
Since 1978, four games have been decided by one point, six by two points, seven by three points, three by four points and three by five points.
It's curious to note in the long history of the series going back to the first meeting 92 years ago that only three games have gone to overtime. Virginia has been victorious in all three overtime contests. UVa won the first overtime game 81-73 in 1977-78 and won 84-82 in double overtime in 1995-96. In the most recent overtime affair, the Cavaliers won 82-79 in 1998-99. During one stretch (1985-1988) nine consecutive games were decided by nine points or less.
In a bit of an aberration, 10 of the last 12 NC State wins in the series have been by double digits--67-54 in 1994, 74-55 in 1998, 82-72 in 1999, 76-65 in 2000, 90-80 in 2001, 85-68, 92-72 in 2002, 75-63 in 2003, and 86-69 and 79-63 last season. The exceptions were a 65-62 Wolfpack win on Jan. 12, 2000, and an 81-74 win on Jan. 5, 2002.
Photo Gallery
Elton Brown, Devin Smith
Sean Singletary, Gary Forbes
J.R. Reynolds, Pete Gillen