Virginia Tech takes to the road again Wednesday for the first of two straight ACC road games. The Hokies face another struggling team in Raleigh, the NC State Wolfpack, who have stumbled to a disappointing 2-5 start. Virginia Tech has won 3 straight against the Wolfpack, but NC State has traditionally had Tech’s number since joining the ACC. The Hokies will be looking to move to +1 in the ACC at the midway point with a tough second half of the schedule coming up.
| Starting Lineups | ||||||||||
| Virginia Tech | NC State | |||||||||
| Pos. | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG | Player | Ht. | Cl. | PPG | RPG |
| G | Green | 6’4” | So. | 10.8 | 2.2 | Harrow | 6’1” | Fr. | 11.0 | 1.5 |
| G | Delaney | 6’3” | Sr. | 18.1 | 3.1 | Williams | 6’5” | Jr. | 4.6 | 2.4 |
| G/F | Bell | 6’7” | Sr. | 6.3 | 5.8 | Wood | 6’7” | So. | 10.3 | 3.0 |
| F | Allen | 6’7” | Sr. | 12.5 | 9.5 | Howell | 6’8” | So. | 7.7 | 6.7 |
| F | Davila | 6’8” | Jr. | 7.8 | 5.0 | T. Smith | 6’8” | Sr. | 15.0 | 5.4 |
Game notes:
- NC State is 2-1 against ACC foes at home this season (Wake[+21], Duke[-14], Miami[+2]).
- In 5 ACC losses, the Wolfpack have averaged only 25.6 points in the first half. They went on to score 40+ in all but one of the second halves in each game.
- Freshmen and sophomores account for 75.2% of NC State’s scoring.
Team VT NCST Conf. Record 4-3 2-5 PPG 71.0 72.0 Opp. PPG 60.7 69.7 Reb. Margin +1.2 +2.0 Turn. Margin +2.3 -0.9 FG% 47.1% 44.5% Def. FG% 40.1% 41.7% 3PT% 33.4% 34.8% - Jeff Allen needs just 2 points to be the 16th player to reach 1,500 points. Jeff currently has 1,498 points (16th), 971 rebounds (5th), 214 steals (5th), and 146 blocks (5th).
- Malcolm Delaney is 20 points shy of becoming the 4th player in Virginia Tech history to reach 2,000 points. Malcolm needs 4 assists to become just the 3rd Tech player to reach 500.
Sidney Lowe has started 8 different lineups this season, and sophomore forward Scott Wood is the only player to have started every game for the Wolfpack. Senior Tracy Smith leads the Wolfpack with 15 points per game despite missing 10 games after undergoing knee surgery in November. Smith is joined in the frontcourt by 6-8 261 lb Richard Howell, who brings down nearly 7 boards per game. Highly touted freshman C.J. Leslie bolsters the frontcourt off the bench, forming a group that is ferocious on the offensive glass. All in all, NC State gets a lot of production off their bench, which scores 37.5% of the team’s points.
After being picked to finish fourth in the conference, NC State has struggled, partly thanks to losing star Tracy Smith right in the heart of their out-of-conference schedule. However, despite having Smith back for the last nine games, the Wolfpack have only gone 4-5, with three of those wins coming off lowly San Diego, Elon, and Wake Forest. The Wolfpack have been excellent on the offensive glass, however they give up nearly as much as they get on the defensive end. Despite being young, NC State does a good job of taking care of the ball, but defensively they do not force turnovers. To make things worse, opponents are shooting nearly 49% against them over the last 5 games. This is a game in which I believe the Hokies can control the tempo and force NC State to pick their poison defensively with either Jeff Allen or Malcolm Delaney. Look for the Hokies to put points up at a high rate in this one to make it 4 in a row versus the red jacket.
Prediction: Hokies 75 Miami 68
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