HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
Mark Gottfried has brought a fast-paced, high energy offense to NC State as evidenced by the
team’s scoring numbers. The Wolfpack currently ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference
and is 12th nationally in scoring with 78.5 points per game.
The Pack’s offensive production has improved dramatically since Gottfried took over the program
prior to last season. In 2010-11, the campaign prior to his arrival, State ranked 115th nationally
and sixth in the ACC in scoring with 70.7 point per game. Last year, his first season with the
Wolfpack, the average was up slightly to 72.9 points per game - the nation’s 59th-best mark at
season’s end.
The NC State single season record for points per game is 92.9, set in 1973. State has already
scored at least 80 points in 12 contests this season - the highest total for a Wolfpack squad since
2005-06 (13).
RECRUITING PROWESS
Mark Gottfried is bringing top-level talent to Raleigh, as both of his recruiting classes have been
ranked in the top-10 nationally. Last year, having just seven months till the fall signing period,
Gottfried brought in the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, including three McDonald’s All-Americans.
It marked the first time the Wolfpack had three McDonald’s All-Americans in the same class
since 1979. Gottfried followed up with three more recruits signed in November and that class
currently ranks ninth nationally.
Gottfried came to NC State with the reputation of being a first-class recruiter. In three of his final
four seasons at Alabama, Gottfried’s recruiting classes were nationally ranked: 10th in 2005, 27th
in 2007, and 16th in 2008.
THE DUKE SERIES
Thursday’s meeting will mark the 79th time that NC State has faced a top-
10 Duke squad, as the Blue Devils are currently ranked fourth. It marks
the seventh straight trip to Cameron Indoor Stadium when NC State will
face a top 5 Blue Devil squad. The 2003 matchup is the last time Duke was
not ranked in the top 5 when NC State came to town (the Blue Devils were
No. 8 that season).
In two of the Pack’s last three trips to Cameron Indoor Stadium, NC State
held the halftime lead. In 2009, the Wolfpack was up in a defensive battle
26-22. Last season, the Pack held a 46-30 lead at the break.
The Pack is 18-60 against Duke when the Blue Devils are ranked in the top
five, but is 1-0 this season.
SECOND TIME’S THE CHARM
Duke is the first opponent that NC State will be facing twice this season.
Last year, the Pack was 6-2 when facing a conference foe the second time
around (or third time for Boston College and North Carolina in the ACC
Tournament). Take out two losses to UNC when State faced them for the
second and third time last season and the Pack was a perfect 6-0 when
facing ACC opponents for the second time in Mark Gottfried’s first season.
FRONT COURT LIKES BLUE DEVILS
NC State’s starting front court duo of C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell have
played some of their best games when facing off against Duke. The pair
helped the Pack to the upset of top-ranked Duke back on Jan. 12, as they
combined for 41 points and 24 rebounds with each playing 38 minutes.
For their careers, Leslie has averaged 16.7 points and 7.7 rebounds in
three career games against the Blue Devils, while Howell has posted 12.8
points and 9.3 rebounds in his four career games.
Going back to a 2003 home win against Duke, one of the Pack’s biggest
keys to knocking off the Blue Devils has been the play of its post players.
EARLIER THIS SEASON VS. THE BLUE DEVILS
The last time NC State and top-ranked Duke met on Jan. 12 at PNC Arena,
the Wolfpack toppled the Blue Devils, 84-76.
The NC State victory also snapped Duke’s season-opening 15-game winning
streak and marked the second time that the Wolfpack had beaten the
Blue Devils when they held the top spot in the polls.
Junior C.J. Leslie scored a game-high 25 points and grabbed six boards
to lead the Pack. Senior Richard Howell registered a double double of
16 points and 18 rebounds, while Lorenzo Brown also notched a double
double of 12 points and all 13 of the Wolfpack assists in the contest.
Rounding out the scoring for NC State was senior Scott Wood and freshman
T.J. Warren with 14 and 10 points, respectively.
The Pack shot 50 percent from the floor and was 87 percent from the
charity stripe. NC State also doubled up Duke at the free throw line, making
20, while the Blue Devils only made 10.
LAST SEASON VS. THE BLUE DEVILS
NC State played Duke only once last season at Cameron Indoor Stadium
on Feb. 16, 2012. The Wolfpack got off to a fast start before the Blue Devils
stormed back to take a 78-73 victory in the closing moments.
Then-sophomore Lorenzo Brown had a team-best 19 points and five assists
for the Wolfpack, which led by as many as 20 points in the first half.
Duke cut NC State’s 13-point second-half lead down to two points with
three minutes to play and then scored the final five points of the contest to
take the dramatic come-from-behind victory.
C.J. Leslie had 12 points, nine rebounds and a career-high six blocks for
the Wolfpack. It marked the third time in the four years that the Wolfpack
and Blue Devils met only once in the regular season.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
NC State leads the ACC with 24 individual double-doubles this season - the
next closest team is Duke with 14.
Richard Howell leads the ACC with 13 double-doubles on the season,
posting six in conference play. Duke’s Mason Plumlee is second in both
categories, with 12 on the season and four in ACC games. Howell’s mark
ranks fourth nationally.
Howell had posted double-digit point and rebound totals in four straight
games before being held to just eight caroms to go with 15 points versus
Miami on Saturday.
For the season, Howell has posted 13 double-doubles, which ranks as the
most for a Wolfpack player since center Todd Fuller had 13 as a junior in
1994-95 and ties as the eighth-highest mark in school history.
The most for any Wolfpack player over the last four decades is 7-foot-2
center Tommy Burleson’s 26 during the Wolfpack’s 1974 NCAA championship
season. Burleson also had 21 as a sophomore and 19 as a junior for a
total of 66 in his three-year career.
CUTTING IT CLOSE
Seven points. That’s all that separates the 2012-
13 Wolfpack from its current 5-4 mark in ACC
action and a perfect 9-0 slate.
NC State’s ACC losses at Maryland, at Wake
Forest, at Virginia and vs. Miami were decided by
a combined seven points, and all were decided in
the final 10 seconds.
DOWN WITHOUT BROWN
Junior point guard Lorenzo Brown went down
with an ankle injury midway through the first half
at Virginia on Jan. 29, and missed the rest of
that game and the Pack’s home loss to Miami on
Saturday.
The Miami contest marked the first game of
Brown’s career that he has missed, breaking a
string of 59 straight starts.
Over the last two games in Brown’s absence,
NC State has gone from averaging 79.7 points
to 67.0 points, while assists are also down from
15.3 in the first 20 games to 10.5.
A pair of freshmen have handled the point guard
duties in his absence: Tyler Lewis and Rodney Purvis. Although Purvis got the starting nod
against Miami, it was Lewis off the bench that
sparked the offense with a career-high16 points
in 36 minutes. He also added five assists.
STARTING OUT STRONG
Over the last five games, the Pack has come out
firing and grabbed first-half leads. In the 100
minutes of action in the first half over the last
five games, the Pack has only trailed for 13:13.
Even more impressive, in the four games prior to
the Miami contest, the Pack trialed only for 1:29
in 80 minutes of action.
In each of the last five games, the Pack has built
at least an eight-point first half lead (Clemson
11, Wake Forest 16, North Carolina 23, Virginia
11, Miami 8), and has gone into the half ahead
in each game, by an average of 10.4 points
(197-145).
In the second half, the numbers have been a
little different. The Pack has been outscored in
the second half each of the last five games by an
average margin of 8.8 points (177-223).
In those five contests, the opponents have combined
to shoot just 39.8 percent (64-161) in first
half action, but that percentage jumps to 54.5
percent (84-154) after the break. The opponents
have averaged 29.0 points in the first half, but
increased that amount to 44.6 points after the
break.
LESLIE PULLS TRIPLE DUTY
NC State’s C.J. Leslie is definitely counted on by
his team for his scoring. Leslie leads the Wolfpack
with 15.7 points per game, the fifth-best
mark in the ACC heading into the game at Duke.
He has posted the Pack’s high point total in eight
contests this season.
Leslie is also counted on for rebounding.
Although his rebounding numbers sometime go
unnoticed because of Richard Howell’s prowess
in that category, he ranks ninth in the league with
7.5 boards per game.
The junior has also been counted on for accuracy.
His .554 field goal percentage ranks fourth
in the current league rankings.
Leslie, BC’s Ryan Anderson and Duke’s Mason
Plumlee are the only players in the ACC to rank
in the top 10 in scoring, rebounding and field
goal percentage.
EARLY AND OFTEN
Senior sharpshooter Scott Wood has played in a
team-high 125 career games and has started 123
of those contests.
In NC State history, only 2004 ACC Player of the
Year Julius Hodge started more contests. Hodge
got the nod 125 times.
ALL ABOUT THE OFFENSE
NC State currently ranks second in the ACC in
scoring at 78.5 points per game, which ties as
the 12th-best mark nationally. The Pack is one
of six teams with five double-figure scorers, so
it’s probably safe to say that the offense is the
driving force behind State’s success.
In the Pack’s 16 wins, Mark Gottfried’s squad is
averaging 83.3 points per game while shooting
53.1 percent from the field (474-893). In those
16 wins, NC State has been held under 70 points
only once.
However, when the Pack’s offense has stalled,
the results have not been positive. In its six losses, NC State averaged just 65.8 points a
game, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor (127-
302). In three of those six games, NC State was
held under 60 points.