NCCU at NC State Game Notes (PDF)
THE GAME
North Carolina Central University looks to get back on track after the disappointing 75-62 loss to Eastern Kentucky on Tuesday night in the first contest of the six-game road swing. The Eagles have yet to win on the road, and will take on North Carolina State University for the first time at historic Reynolds Coliseum in the fourth meeting between the two schools.
THE SERIES
NCCU and NC State have met on three previous occasions with the Wolfpack owning a 3-0 record over the Eagles. The last meeting took place on Jan. 30, 2010 at the RBC Center where the Wolfpack won 77-42 during a horrendous winter storm that nearly shut down the Raleigh area. NCCU is 0-12 against current members of the Atlantic Coast Conference, including a 93-79 loss at Wake Forest on Nov. 20.
NCCU SPORTS NETWORK
Eagle Gameday built by Dayeco Construction Co. begins at 2:45 p.m. (EST) on Sunday afternoon and can be heard only online at www.NCCUEaglePride.com. Play-by-play voice of the NCCU Sports Network, Chris Hooks, and Hall-of-Famer, Joe Simmons, will be on the call from Reynolds Coliseum. Fans can also follow Sunday's contest on twiiter by using the hashtag #NCCUNCSU to stay up-to-date on the contest.
NC STATE UNIVERSITY "WOLFPACK"
NC State enters Sunday’s fourth matchup with NCCU with a 5-3 record overall under the tutelage of first year head coach Mark Gottfried, who has been charged with bringing the Wolfpack program back to national prominence after five disappointing years under former head coach Sidney Lowe. Gottfried enters this weekend’s affair with a 283-157 record during 14 season as a collegiate head coach. During his tenure at Alabama, he took the Crimson Tide to the "Elite Eight" in 2004 and compiled a record of 210-130 including an 84-83 mark in SEC (Southeastern Conference) play. His current squad has six players that average double figures and is second in the ACC in scoring averaging 77.5 points per game, and NC State shares the ball really well sitting second in the league with 16.0 assists per game. The Wolfpack are led by Raleigh native, sophomore C.J. Leslie, who leads the team averaging 14.8 points a game, but has missed three games due to suspension so he is ineligible to be included in the league stats at this point because he has not participated in 75 percent of the team’s games. If he had he’s be ninth in the league in scoring. Leslie’s teammate and point guard Lorenzo Brown sits in the 12th spot in the league averaging 13.8 points a game. The sophomore is second in the conference to UNC’s Kendall Marshall in assists dishing out 5.9 helpers per game. 6-8 junior forward, Richard Howell, sits tied for18th in the league dropping in 12.0 points per game. Howell is also sixth in the league grabbing 8.4 boards a game. The final Pack player in the ACC‘s top-30 in scoring is junior sharpshooter Scott Wood who despite missing just one game with an injured ankle is shooting 20-for-35 from three-point range (57.1 percent) and averaging 11.6 points a game good enough for 22nd in the league. Senior guard C.J. Williams (10.9 ppg) and junior forward DeShawn Painter (10.4 ppg) are the last of the double figure scorers for NC State. Painter is 13th in the ACC in rebounding grabbing 5.9 boards a game. At 5-3, NCSU is coming off a tough 76-72 loss at Stanford, where the Wolfpack built leads of 11 and 12 points only to see them both disappear. Williams scored 18 pts and Leslie added 14 to lead the Pack charge. NC State enters Sunday non-conference affair with a two-game losing streak, but has an impressive win against Texas (77-74 on Nov. 21) under their belts, but led in both their last two losses against Indiana and Stanford.
UP NEXT
Nine days after NCCU’s fourth battle against NC State, the Eagles will head out west to Eugene, Ore., to take part in the 2011 Global Sports Hoops Showcase hosted by the University of Oregon from Dec. 20-22. NCCU will take on tournament host Oregon on Dec. 20 at 10:00 p.m. (EST) from brand-new Matthew Knight Arena. The Eagles will then take on Stephen F. Austin on Dec. 21 (7:30 p.m. EST), and Prairie View A&M on Dec. 22 (7:30 p.m. EST) to end the three-day round-robin format.
