Premium Chat
Location: Coleman Coliseum (15,043) in Tuscaloosa, Alabama
Tip-Off: 9:00 p.m.
Television: Fox Sports
Radio: Airtime begins @ 8:30 PM on the Wolfpack Radio Network
NC State Information
ROSTER
SCHEDULE
Alabama Information
SCHEDULE
ROSTER
STATS
Probable NC State Starters
03 Ilian Evtimov F 6-7 222 Sr.
13 Cameron Bennerman F 6-4 205 Sr.
33 Cedric Simmons C 6-9 233 So.
14 Engin Atsur G 6-3 200 Jr.
22 Tony Bethel G 6-2 185 Sr.
Probable Alabama Starters
F- 01 Chuck Davis 6-8, 230, SR 18.1 ppg. 5.6 rpg.
F- 23 Jean Felix 6-7, 205, SR 5.9 ppg. 3.1 rpg.
C- 33 Jermareo Davidson 6-10, 220, JR 12.1 ppg. 10.5 rpg.
F- 12 Alonzo Gee 6-6, 215, FR 7.9ppg. 3.0 rpg.
PG-22 Ronald Steele 6-3, 185, SO 9.5 ppg. 3.3 rpg. 3.8 apg.
Players to Watch
NC State
Cedric Simmons -- Simmons has emerged as NC State's go-to player, and is a dominating defender, as he currently ranks second in the ACC in blocks, averaging 3.11 per game.
Alabama
Chuck Davis -- A versatile star, Davis is the emotional leader for Alabama. The Tide's leading scorer, Davis can do damage in the paint and on the perimeter.
NC State Game Notes
PACK HEADS TO ALABAMA
NC
State's game in Tuscaloosa on Thursday
night will mark the Wolfpack's first trip
there in 75 years. Although Alabama
and NC State have faced each other
five times on the hardwood, the only
time the teams played on the Crimson
Tide's home court was in 1930-31. That
season, the Pack fell in what was surely
a scintillating game - with a final score
of 22-15.
For some reason, the Pack and the
Tide ALSO played in Raleigh that season
(in the very next game in fact). That
game was MUCH more exciting, with
Alabama winning 23-17.
The teams have met three other times
on neutral courts - in Fayetteville, N.C.
in December of 1969, in Denver in the
NCAA regional semifinals in March of
1986, and in Charlotte in December of
1991.
WOLFPACK WINS LEAGUE OPENER
NC State got its ACC season off to an
auspicious beginning on Sunday night,
posting an 81-69 win over Miami.
The Wolfpack now posts a 5-5 mark
in ACC openers under Herb Sendek,
and has won three of its four conference
openers played in December. Overall,
NC State is 31-22 in ACC openers.
After the Miami game, the Wolfpack will
be back in non-conference action four
times before heading to Chapel Hill on
January 7 to face the defending national
champions.
SCORING IS A TEAM EFFORT
The
Wolfpack's team concept is certainly evident
when looking at the squad's scoring
this season. NC State currently has five
players averaging double figures this
season and the team's leading scorer
and the team's fifth-leading scorer are
only separated by 2.1 points per game.
Six different players have led the team
in scoring in 2004-05 (a couple have tied
for the team-lead). Five or more players
have reached double figures in five of the
Pack's nine games.
D-ING IT UP....
NC State currently
leads the nation in field goal percentage
defense, as the Wolfpack's opponents
are hitting just 35% of their shots.
NC State also leads the ACC in scoring
defense with a 57.6 mark and ranks second
in the ACC in three-point field goal
percentage defense at .272.
The Wolfpack has held six of its nine
opponents to less than 60 points this
season (two to less than 50 points).
Miami's 69 points on Sunday night was
the highest by a Pack opponent this season.
... AND THREE-ING IT UP
A third of
the Wolfpack's scoring (237 points) this
season has come from behind the three-point
arc. In the last three games, the
Wolfpack has been particularly hot on
three's, connecting on 52% (36-69) and
hitting double-figure three point totals in
all three contests.
NC State shot .667 (12-18) from behind
the arc in the win over Miami, its best
three-point shooting percentage since
a .722 (13-18) mark against Virginia on
March 8, 2002.
Those three outputs followed a 3-18
performance from behind the arc at
Iowa.
NC State has hit double-figure three's
in four games this season (14 vs. The
Citadel, 11 vs. App. State, 13 vs. UNCA
and a dozen versus Miami).
The Wolfpack leads the ACC in three-pointers
made per game with 8.78.
SENDEK COACHES 300th GAME
Herb Sendek coached his 300th game as
head coach of the Wolfpack on Sunday
against Miami. He now posts a 177-123
overall record (.590) at NC State. Only
three other coaches have ever coached
in more games at State: Everett Case,
Norm Sloan and Jim Valvano.
Sendek also boasts the third-longest
tenure among current ACC coaches,
as only Duke's Mike Krzyzewski and
Maryland Gary Williams have been at
their current schools longer.
In his last 100 games, Sendek has
posted a 63-37 record for a .630 winning
percentage. His winning percentage has
gone up in each increment of 100 games
since he's been at NC State.
SENIOR STARTERS
After starting the
same lineup in the first six games of the
season, Herb Sendek switched it up for
the Appalachian State contest and has
now started all three seniors in the last
three games.
The Pack's current lineup includes
seniors Tony Bethel, Cameron
Bennerman and Ilian Evtimov, junior
Engin Atsur and sophomore Cedric
Simmons.
The Wolfpack's seniors are accounting
for 37% of the team's points, as Evtimov
is the leading scorer with 12.4 per game,
Bennerman is tied for third at 10.3 and
Bethel is seventh at 7.6 ppg.
Noting the Pack
NC State's players will travel to their
homes from Birmingham following
Thursday night's game in Tuscaloosa.
The team will meet back in Raleigh on
Christmas afternoon.
The Wolfpack is looking to post its first
perfect record in the month of December
since 1997-98.
NC State has been leading the nation
in field goal percentage defense (the
NCAA stats were last updated on
12/12). NC State is allowing opponents
to shoot just .346.
Five Wolfpack players are averaging
double figures in terms of scoring and
only 2.1 points separates the averages
of the team's top five scorers.
The Wolfpack leads the ACC in scoring
defense at .576.
NC State leads the ACC in blocked
shots with 6.67 per game. Cedric
Simmons and Andrew Brackman have
combined to block 44 shots.
Junior guard Engin Atsür has posted a
5.25 assist-to-turnover ratio in the last
three games, dishing out 25 assists to
just four turnovers.
Cedric Simmons has posted two of
the top six single-game blocked shot
totals in school history this season.
Tony Bethel hit a career-high five
three-pointers in the win over Miami,
four in less than six minutes.
NC State ranks second in the ACC in
free throw shooting at .735, and third
in the league in trips to the line per
game (25.6). Two starters are shooting
90% or better (Ilian Evtimov, .944
and Cameron Bennerman, .905).
Freshman forward Brandon Costner
has missed the last three games with
a leg injury.
Alabama Game Notes
Key Notes
• Sixth meeting between Alabama & N.C. State with Alabama leading series 3-2 and last
meeting in 1992 in Tournament of Champions in Charlotte
• Tide senior forward Chuck Davis needs just 9 points to score his 1,000 UA career point
• Alonzo Gee is this week’s SEC Freshman of the Week
• Game features two freshmen who were 2005 McDonald’s All-Americans, Alabama’s
Richard Hendrix and N.C. State’s Brandon Costner
• Two “swat” teams go head-to-head as Alabama has blocked 57 shots in 8 games for an
average of 7.1 per game and N.C. State has blocked 60 in nine games for 6.7 bpg.
• Five N.C. State players average in double digit scoring, led by Evtimov’s 12.4
• Two Tide players average in double digit scoring, led by Chuck Davis’ 18.1; two more are
close with Ron Steele at 9.4 and Justin Jonus at 9.1
• Eight games into the season, Jermareo Davidson still averages the double-double with
12.1 points and 10.5 rebounds a game
• Six Tide opponents are ranked in the Top 25 this week, five more are receiving votes
Gee Is Feted By The SEC This Week
Tide freshman wing player Alonzo Gee received his first collegiate honor on
Monday, December 19. The Palm Beach, Fla., native was named Southeastern
Conference Player of the Week. Gee, who has started in the last two games,
scored 19 points, making 7 of 12 shots from the field, had five rebounds, two
assists and two steals in his 29 minutes of the floor against Georgia State on
December 17 to win the honor.
Seven Men in This Match-up Average Double Digits in Scoring
Seven men combined on Alabama and N.C. State’s teams go into Thursday
night’s game averaging in double digits in scoring. Bama’s Chuck Davis is the most
prolific of those scorers. He’s averaging 18.1 points a game. Bama’s Jermareo
Davidson is averaging 12.1 points (to go with 10.5 rebounds a game). Two more
Alabama players are close to averaging double digits as Ronald Steele is at 9.5
points a game and Justin Jonus averages 9.1 points a game.
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Chuck Davis
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Five men on N.C. State’s team average double digits, led by Ilian Evtimov’s
12.4, 11.8 from Cedric Simmons, 10.3 from both Engin Atsur and Cameron
Bennerman and 10.0 from Gavin Grant.
As a team after eight games, Alabama averages 74.0 points and is holding
opponents to 67.1 a game. N.C. State is averaging 76.9 points a game after nine
games and holding opponents to 57.6 a game. Its opponents include Stetson, The
Citadel, Delaware, VMI, Notre Dame, Iowa, Appalachian State, UNC Ashville and
Miami. Alabama’s opponents so far have included Miami of Ohio, top 10 ranked
Memphis, Alabama State, Louisiana Tech, Winthrop, Notre Dame, Temple and
Georgia State.
UA’s Hendrix & N.C. State’s Costner Were McDonald’s Teammates
They’ll be doing all they can to see the other’s team fail Thursday night, but last
March Alabama freshman Richard Hendrix and N.C. State freshman Brandon
Costner were teammates on the East team in the McDonald’s All-American game.
The two helped the East win 115-110 against the West. Hendrix started for the East
and scored six points, had four rebounds and two blocks. Costner came off the
bench and had seven rebounds, two points and three assists.
Six Tide Opponents Ranked
Six teams on Alabama’s schedule are ranked in this week’s AP top 25,
Memphis, Florida and Oklahoma among the top 10. Also ranked are N.C. State and
Tennessee. Kentucky is Top 25 in the coaches poll. Vanderbilt, Arkansas, LSU and
Notre Dame are receiving votes in the polls. Alabama is receiving votes in AP.
Davis Closing in on 1,000th Career Point: Needs Nine
Senior forward Chuck Davis is closing in on a career milestone, his 1,000th career
point. Going into the N.C. State game, Davis has 991 UA career points for a career average
of 11.5 points a game in 86 career games. After scoring 22 this past Saturday night
against Georgia State, the Selma native needs nine more points to reach 1,000. He’s averaging
18.1 points a game this season...Alabama has 38 former players, including its head
coach Mark Gottfried (1,056) who reached the 1,000 UA points milestone.
Tide Players Produce Some of SEC’s Best Stats
Going into this week’s round of games, Alabama’s players continued to produced some
of the Southeastern Conference’s best stats.
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Ronald Steele
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In rebounding, Jermareo Davidson ranks 2nd,
Richard Hendrix 14th and Chuck Davis 19th. Davis ranked 4th in scoring and 4th in field
goal percentage with his .585% accuracy rate. Ronald Steele was 9th in assists and second
in free throw percentage at .875%. Davidson ranked 7th in free throw percentage. In
3-point shooting stats, Justin Jonus ranked 3rd in 3-point field goal percentage (.528%)
and 5th in 3-point field goals shots made per game (2.38). In blocked shots, Davidson was
2nd, Davis 6th and Hendrix 9th. Steele was 2nd in assists/turnover ratio (2.73). Davidson
was 6th and Hendrix 9th in offensive rebounds and Davidson was 2nd in defensive
rebounds where he averages 7.63 defensive board a game. And in minutes played on all
12 SEC teams, Steele ranked 3rd with his average of 34.88 minutes in the game and
Davis ranked 9th with his average floor time of 31.88.
Last Time Out
Led by 22 points, seven rebounds and six blocks on graduation day from Chuck Davis,
the Tide snapped a two-game losing streak with a 85-58 home win against Georgia State
on Saturday, December 17.
Davis was one of four Alabama players who scored in double digits as freshman Alonzo
Gee scored 19, Jermareo Davidson 12 and Ronald Steele 11 points. Steele, who did not
practice all week as he’s nursing a back injury, started and had a game that included six
rebounds, five assists and four steals in his 31 minutes on the floor at point guard. The
game marked the second consecutive, and second career, start for Gee. Alabama took
the game’s lead for good at 12-11 with 13:39 remaining in the first half. It led 49-37 at the
break. The Tide shot .475% from the field, making 28 of 59. It was 6 of 15 (.400%) from 3-
point range, and, for the 2nd time this season, it shot 85% at the line, making 23 of 27 (for
.852%). It held Georgia State to .351% shooting (20 of 57). Alabama out-rebounded GSU
43 to 27, led by eight from both Jermareo Davidson and Richard Hendrix. Alabama
blocked 10 GSU shots, including Davis’ six. Hendrix blocked three and Davidson one.