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Wolfpack Ready for Anything at Virginia
Cavaliers caught NC State by surprise with slowdown tactic in first game.
March 1, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - Prior to his team's home game against Virginia on February 5, NC State head basketball coach Herb Sendek figured he had seen everything. Just a few weeks earlier, he was forced to come up with new practice plans to compensate for a severe shortage of players due to injury and illness. The Pack had already dropped a pair of ACC games by one-point, and was struggling at the free throw line after setting a new league mark just the year before. But just when Sendek thought he had seen it all, the Cavaliers came to the RBC Center and employed a style of play that not even the amazing Kreskin could have predicted.
A fast-paced, running team during Pete Gillen's six-plus years as head coach, Virginia decided to try something totally different against the Wolfpack. Using a smaller line-up featuring four perimeter players, the Cavaliers basically took the air out of the ball, holding it for 25 to 30 seconds on many possessions before finally looking for a shot. The element of surprise paid off, especially when UVa started making shots to build a 34-23 advantage at the break. And although it blew a 14-point lead after NC State had made adjustments in the second half, the Cavaliers came back and snatched a 64-62 victory when freshman guard Sean Singletary successfully followed his own miss with just seconds remaining.
So effective was the slowdown tactic that Virginia continued to use it in two more wins against Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Obviously, Sendek and his team must be ready for just about anything when NC State (16-11, 5-8) travels to Charlottesville for a 9:00 p.m. meeting with the Cavaliers (13-12, 4-10) on Wednesday night.
"Our game was the first game that they showcased a dramatic change in style of play, so certainly we didn't have any time to prepare for it and had to adjust as the game went along," Sendek said. "Although they continue to employ a very similar strategy, they will strike and look to attack in transition. And they do present some very difficult matchup problems."
The slowdown strategy Gillen used in the first game was complimented by the smaller line-up that often forced the Wolfpack to defend guards with frontcourt players. Previously, during a seven-game winning streak over the Cavaliers, NC State often exploited the inability of Virginia's big men to go out and guard 3-point shooters like Ilian Evtimov and Marcus Melvin. Back on February fifth, UVa's smaller line-up helped to offset those mismatches on the defensive end of the court.
"We had a pretty good game and we made some shots down the stretch," Gillen said when reflecting back on the first meeting with NC State. "We did some decent things and played some pretty good defense. We had some cold spells offensively, but down the stretch we made some big shots and some big free throws."
The Cavaliers were clutch at the free throw line, hitting 20-of-24 to win at the RBC Center for the first time.
Heading into Wednesday's rematch, NC State seems to be playing its best basketball of the year. Saturday's 20-point blowout of Virginia Tech was the Wolfpack's third win in its last four games. The biggest difference between NC State now and the team that fell to Virginia on February 5th is defense. In the first game, the Wolfpack yielded quite a bit of dribble penetration to the UVa guards. Lately, however, the Pack has tightened up its perimeter defense. The result has been its best stretch of basketball this season.
"I think so," Sendek said. "We got out of the gates on a pretty good first step. Since that point, this most recent stretch has been our best. You could certainly make the case that it's been our best basketball of the year."
And not a moment too soon. The Virginia game begins a crucial week for the Wolfpack, which must win in Charlottesville to give itself an opportunity to finish with a .500 record in the ACC, a mark that could possibly send NC State back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.
A victory on Wednesday would certainly set up a dramatic season finale against Wake Forest on Sunday night in a contest that will also be the final home appearance at the RBC Center for seniors Julius Hodge, Levi Watkins and Jordan Collins. But before that can happen, the Pack must be ready for just about anything when it takes to the University Hall floor on Wednesday.
1* (3-2)
2* (1-1)
3* (1-0)
Wolfpack Ready for Anything at Virginia
Cavaliers caught NC State by surprise with slowdown tactic in first game.
March 1, 2005
By Tony Haynes
Raleigh, N.C. - Prior to his team's home game against Virginia on February 5, NC State head basketball coach Herb Sendek figured he had seen everything. Just a few weeks earlier, he was forced to come up with new practice plans to compensate for a severe shortage of players due to injury and illness. The Pack had already dropped a pair of ACC games by one-point, and was struggling at the free throw line after setting a new league mark just the year before. But just when Sendek thought he had seen it all, the Cavaliers came to the RBC Center and employed a style of play that not even the amazing Kreskin could have predicted.
A fast-paced, running team during Pete Gillen's six-plus years as head coach, Virginia decided to try something totally different against the Wolfpack. Using a smaller line-up featuring four perimeter players, the Cavaliers basically took the air out of the ball, holding it for 25 to 30 seconds on many possessions before finally looking for a shot. The element of surprise paid off, especially when UVa started making shots to build a 34-23 advantage at the break. And although it blew a 14-point lead after NC State had made adjustments in the second half, the Cavaliers came back and snatched a 64-62 victory when freshman guard Sean Singletary successfully followed his own miss with just seconds remaining.
So effective was the slowdown tactic that Virginia continued to use it in two more wins against Florida State and Virginia Tech.
Obviously, Sendek and his team must be ready for just about anything when NC State (16-11, 5-8) travels to Charlottesville for a 9:00 p.m. meeting with the Cavaliers (13-12, 4-10) on Wednesday night.
"Our game was the first game that they showcased a dramatic change in style of play, so certainly we didn't have any time to prepare for it and had to adjust as the game went along," Sendek said. "Although they continue to employ a very similar strategy, they will strike and look to attack in transition. And they do present some very difficult matchup problems."
The slowdown strategy Gillen used in the first game was complimented by the smaller line-up that often forced the Wolfpack to defend guards with frontcourt players. Previously, during a seven-game winning streak over the Cavaliers, NC State often exploited the inability of Virginia's big men to go out and guard 3-point shooters like Ilian Evtimov and Marcus Melvin. Back on February fifth, UVa's smaller line-up helped to offset those mismatches on the defensive end of the court.
"We had a pretty good game and we made some shots down the stretch," Gillen said when reflecting back on the first meeting with NC State. "We did some decent things and played some pretty good defense. We had some cold spells offensively, but down the stretch we made some big shots and some big free throws."
The Cavaliers were clutch at the free throw line, hitting 20-of-24 to win at the RBC Center for the first time.
Heading into Wednesday's rematch, NC State seems to be playing its best basketball of the year. Saturday's 20-point blowout of Virginia Tech was the Wolfpack's third win in its last four games. The biggest difference between NC State now and the team that fell to Virginia on February 5th is defense. In the first game, the Wolfpack yielded quite a bit of dribble penetration to the UVa guards. Lately, however, the Pack has tightened up its perimeter defense. The result has been its best stretch of basketball this season.
"I think so," Sendek said. "We got out of the gates on a pretty good first step. Since that point, this most recent stretch has been our best. You could certainly make the case that it's been our best basketball of the year."
And not a moment too soon. The Virginia game begins a crucial week for the Wolfpack, which must win in Charlottesville to give itself an opportunity to finish with a .500 record in the ACC, a mark that could possibly send NC State back to the NCAA Tournament for a fourth straight year.
A victory on Wednesday would certainly set up a dramatic season finale against Wake Forest on Sunday night in a contest that will also be the final home appearance at the RBC Center for seniors Julius Hodge, Levi Watkins and Jordan Collins. But before that can happen, the Pack must be ready for just about anything when it takes to the University Hall floor on Wednesday.