NC State vs. Stanford
This is the second meeting between NC State
and Stanford.
The Cardinal lead the series 1-0 after capturing
the initial meeting, 76-72, last season in Palo
Alto.
The Pack led by as much as 12 in the second
half, but it saw its lead disappear and Stanford
take control when C.J. Leslie exited the game
with cramping issues at the 10 minute mark and
Scott Wood fouled out with five minutes remaining
in the contest. Leslie left the game with 14
points, shooting 6-for-8 from the field, including
1-for-1 from 3-point range, and 1-for-1 from the
line.
Stanford’s Josh Owens made a pair of free
throws with three minutes remaining to give the
Cardinal the lead for good.
C.J. Williams finished with a team-high 18
points to lead the Wolfpack.
NC State vs. The Pac-12
All-time, the Wolfpack is 14-12 versus the Pac-
12 Conference.
In addition to Stanford, NC State has faced Pac-
12 members Arizona, Arizona State, California,
Oregon State, Southern Cal, UCLA, Utah and
Washington.
The Pack vs. the Pac-12 At Home
Stanford is the first Pac-12 opponent to play in
Raleigh since the 2010-11 season.
Arizona was the last Pac-12 foe to play NC
State at home, coming away with a 72-62
victory at PNC Arena on Dec. 19, 2010. Scott Wood scored a team-high 16 points for the Pack
in the loss.
Oregon State was the first Pac-12 opponent to
play in Raleigh when it participated in the 1955
Dixie Classic with NC State coming away with a
59-54 victory.
All-time the Wolfpack is 6-1 when facing a Pac-
12 team at home.
Gottfried vs. Stanford
NC State coach Mark Gottfried is 1-1 against
Stanford as a head coach following the Wolfpack’s
76-72 setback in Palo Alto last year.
During his tenure at Alabama, Gottfried guided
the Crimson Tide to a 70-67 upset victory over
top-seeded Stanford in the second round of the
2004 NCAA Tournament.
Following its win over the Cardinal, the Crimson
Tide defeated defending national champion
Syracuse to advance to the school’s first appearance
in the Elite Eight.
During his seven seasons as a UCLA assistant
(1988-95) to Jim Harrick, Mark Gottfried helped
the Bruins to a 10-4 record against Stanford.
Gottfried and UCLA sported a 2-4 record after
the first six meetings with the Cardinal before
the Bruins reeled off eight straight victories in
the series.
Home for the Holidays
After starting the year with five of its first seven
contests away from home, the Wolfpack will
play its remaining 2012 contests at home.
NC State is 2-0 on its current six-game
homestand after an 80-63 victory over Cleveland
State at Reynolds Coliseum on Dec. 8, in
its only appearance at the historic venue this
season and an 84-62 win over Norfolk State last
Saturday.
Tuesday’s contest with Stanford and Saturday’s
game with St. Bonaventure (Dec. 22) are the
Pack’s final games before a break for Christmas.
The Pack then closes out the year by entertaining
Western Michigan on Dec. 29 and facing
UNC Greensboro on New Year’s Eve.
Double-Trouble
Richard Howell has had double-digit points and
rebounds in each of his last three games and in
four of the Wolfpack’s last five contests. He has
a total of five in the Wolfpack’s first nine games
this season.
He now has 18 career double-doubles, which
matches former ACC Player of the Year
Julius Hodge for the most of any Wolfpack
player since forward Kenny Inge recorded 23
double-doubles from 1998-2001. Inge had 11
double-doubles as a freshman in 1997-98,
while center J.J. Hickson had 10 in 2007-08,
his only season with the Wolfpack. Howell and
Hickson both attended Wheeler High School in
Marietta, Ga.
Howell is averaging 14.1 points and 9.6
rebounds this season, and is looking to
become the first Wolfpack player since Kenny
Carr, who averaged 10.3 boards per game in
1975-76, to average double-digit rebounds.
Last season, Howell averaged 9.2 rebounds
per game, the most of any Wolfpack player
since Todd Fuller averaged 9.9 as a senior in
1995-96.
In his last three games, Howell has averaged
14 points and 13 rebounds.
Three former Wolfpack All-Americans – Ronnie
Shavlik, John Richter and Tommy Burleson
– averaged double-doubles in each of their
three varsity seasons. All three are ranked in
the to five of career rebounders. Shavlik owns
the school record with 1,598 career boards,
followed by Burleson with 1,066 and Richter
with 936.
In its history, six NC State players have averaged
double-doubles in their careers: Ronnie
Shavlik (18.5 ppg, 16.8 rpg), Tommy Burleson
(19.0 ppg, 12.7 rpg), John Richter (15.0 ppg,
12.6 rpg), Mel Thompson (16.2 ppg, 10.9 rpg),
Bobby Speight (14.0 ppg, 10.4 rpg) and Pete
Coker (14.1 ppg, 10.0 rpg).
On The Break
One of the points of emphasis in NC State’s
offensive style is to score points in transition.
This season, the Pack has outscored its opponents,
170-54, on fastbreak points.
Through its nine games, NC State is averaging
13.0 points per game on the fastbreak,
compared to 5.3 points per contest for its
competition.
In The Rankings
NC State has been ranked in the Associated
Press poll since the preseason, opening the
year at No. 6.
The Pack currently is ranked 25th in the AP
poll, marking the seventh straight week it has
been ranked.
It is the longest stretch that NC State has been
ranked by AP since spending 15 weeks in the
poll during the 2005-06 season.
Sharing The Wealth
The Pack has evenly shared the scoring load
this season with four players averaging double
figures.
The Pack is led by freshman T.J. Warren,
who is averaging a team-best 14.8 points per game.
Senior Richard Howell is second on the team
in scoring with an average of 14.1 points per
contest.
Junior C.J. Leslie is contributing 12.9 ppg,
while junior Lorenzo Brown is averaging 11.7
ppg.
Freshman Rodney Purvis Senior Scott Wood
are on the cusp of averaging double figures at
9.8 and 9.3 ppg, respectively.
NC State is one of four ACC schools with four
or more players averaging in double figures.
The others are Duke (5), Miami (5) and North
Carolina (4).
The Freshman 20
In just nine games this season, freshman forward
T.J. Warren has already hit the 20-point
mark on three occasions, becoming the
Wolfpack’s first freshman since J.J. Hickson
in 2007-08 to score 20 or more points multiple
times in a season.
Hickson scored at least 20 points on seven
occasions in his only season with the Pack,
including 33 in his first game.
C.J. Leslie had a season-high 21 in his first
game with the Wolfpack in 2010-11 and Scott
Wood surpassed 20 once with his 31-point
performance against Florida State in his inaugural
season.
Brandon Costner had nine 20-point performances
as a redshirt freshman in 2006-07.
Head Of The Freshman Class
T.J. Warren is the ACC’s leading freshman
scorer with an average of 14.6 points per
game.
He owns the top two scoring games in the
conference among freshmen this year with 22
against Penn State (tied with BC’s Oliver Hanlon,
who also had 22 versus Penn State) and
21 versus Massachusetts and Norfolk State.
A team-best four times, Warren has led the
Pack in scoring with three of those performances
coming in a reserve role.
The Higher, The Better
In all of the Wolfpack’s wins, it is averaging
82.6 points per game and shooting .548 (211-
385) from the field.
Twice NC State has topped the 90-point barrier,
scoring a season-high 97 points in the opener versus
Miami of Ohio and posting 94 against UMass in
the Puerto Rico Tip-Off.
In its Miami victory, the Pack shot a season best
.614 (35-of-57) from the floor.
In its two losses, NC State is averaging 64.0 points
per game and shooting .458 (54-of-118) from the
field.
In seven of its nine contests this season, the Wolfpack
has shot .500 or better from the floor.
NC State’s .527 field goal percentage leads the
nation.
Paint Production
The Pack has outscored its opposition, 378-267,
in the paint this season. That’s 42.0 points per
game for NC State coming off of shots around the
rim, while its opponents are scoring 29.7 points a
contest in the lane, giving the Pack a 12.3-point
advantage.
That equates to .535 of the Wolfpack’s scoring production coming from in the post, compared to
.434 of the scoring output for its opponents’ post
players.
One-Two Punch
Freshman T.J. Warren and senior Richard Howell
are one and two in the ACC statistics in field goal
percentage.
Warren is connecting on .691 of his shots from the
floor, which is third nationally. Howell’s .667 field
goal percentage is tied for the eighth-best nationally.
The last Wolfpack freshman to lead the ACC in field
goal percentage was J.J. Hickson, who shot .591
for the 2007-08 season. The duo are the only teammates
that rank in the top 10 nationally in shooting
percentage.
Lending A Helping Hand
Twice this season, junior Lorenzo Brown has
recorded double digits in assists, versus Michigan
and Massachusetts.
All of last season, Brown had two performances
with 10 or more assists, including a career-best 13 in the Pack’s loss to Syracuse. Against the Orange,
he also registered his first career double-double,
adding 10 points.
Against UMass this year, Brown posted his second
career double-double by scoring 11 points to go
with his assist tally.
Brown, who leads the ACC in assists per game at
6.0, is the conference’s active leader for double-digit
assist games with three.
Chairmen Of The Boards
Senior Richard Howell and junior C.J. Leslie are
the only teammates on the ACC list of career
double-digit rebound games.
Howell is second among active players with 28 10-
plus rebound contests, while Leslie is fifth with 17.
Howell is also second in the league for career
rebounds with 761 and Leslie is sixth with 534.
Howell’s rebounding total ranks 14th all-time in
program history.
Block Party
Junior C.J. Leslie’s recorded his 100th career block
in the Wolfpack’s 69-65 victory over Connecticut on
Dec. 4.
Leslie’s block total ranks him 11th all-time in Wolfpack
history.