Saturday
NSU at No. 25 North Carolina State, 7 p.m., PNC Arena
ESPN3 | Live Stats | Live Audio | Game Notes
NORFOLK, Va. - Coming off a loss at No. 10 Illinois in which the Spartans trailed by just three with less than three minutes left, the Norfolk State men's basketball team will turn right around and face its second ranked opponent in as many games Saturday night at No. 25 North Carolina State. Tip-off at PNC Arena is slated for 7 p.m.
Media Coverage: The game against the Wolfpack will be broadcast live on ESPN3, with Mike Gleason and Stan Lewter on the call. NSU fans can listen to the radio broadcast on WNSB Hot 91.1 online, available here, with Ross Gordon on the call. Fans can also follow along with the live stats.
Last Time Out: NSU held a normally potent Fighting Illini offense in check, but No. 10 Illinois got some key stops late in the game to stifle the Spartans' upset bid in a 64-54 victory Tuesday night in Assembly Hall. Illinois made 8-of-10 free throws in the final minute of play to ice the win. Brandon Paul led Illinois with 14 points and eight rebounds, while D.J. Richardson added 11.
Rashid Gaston led the Spartans with 12 points and eight rebounds, while Pendarvis Williams joined him in double figures with 11, all in the first half. Rob Johnson and Jamel Fuentes each had five assists, while Fuentes and Williams each added three steals.
Series History: North Carolina State leads the all-time series with NSU, 1-0. The Wolfpack defeated the Spartans, 81-63, on Feb. 14, 1998, in NSU's transition season in Division I.
About N.C. State: The Wolfpack shoot a blistering 52.1 percent from the field, a mark that ranks second in the nation to Gonzaga. Their only losses have come against Oklahoma State by 20 and No. 3 Michigan by seven. Six different players average at least 9.8 points a game for a team that scores nearly 78 per game, led by Richard Howell at 14.4. T.J. Warren and C.J. Leslie tally 13.8 and 13.1, respectively, while Lorenzo Brown has posted 11.1 points, 5.9 assists and 2.1 steals. Howell (8.4) and Leslie (8.3) lead in rebounding.
Solid 3-Point Defense: NSU held a potent Fighting Illini 3-point shooting squad in check after limiting UMBC to a 0-of-16 effort from beyond the arc in the prior game. Since the 1998-99 season, NSU had never held an opponent to without a 3-point field goal until doing so against the Retrievers on Dec. 9.
The Illinois, meanwhile, entered the contest with NSU ranked first in the nation in 3-point field goals per game (10.8) and 14th in 3-point field goal percentage (40.8). Against the Spartans, Illinois hit just 6-of-23 from beyond the arc, a 26.1 percent clip. Illinois also shot 21-of-60 (35.0 percent) overall for the game, below the team's 46.0 percent average coming into the contest.
The Spartans ranked first in the MEAC and 52nd in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage defense at 28.6 heading into the week.
NSU vs. Ranked Opponents: The Spartans have played five ranked opponents since the start of the 2011-12 season. One of those games, of course, was the upset of No. 3 Missouri in last year's NCAA tournament second round. NSU also fell to No. 16 Marquette, 59-57, in the 2011 Paradise Jam final, and most recently dropped a 64-54 decision to No. 10 Illlinois on Tuesday.
The Spartans' two other games against ranked opponents include a 31-point loss at then-No. 21 Marquette to start the 2011-12 campaign and a 34-point setback against No. 25 Florida in the NCAA tournament third round last year.
Phelps, Mallory, Pugh Ready to Go: After sitting out the fall semester due to academics, the trio of Marese Phelps, Steven Mallory and Quasim Pugh became available for the Dec. 15 contest at North Carolina State.
Best Since Missouri: NSU hit nine 3-pointers and shot 54.0 percent from the floor against UMBC, the best marks since hitting 10 3-pointers and shooting 54.2 percent in the NCAA tournament upset of Missouri on March 16.
Spartans Stepping Up: Several players have stepped up their production recently for the Spartans. Rob Johnson (20) and Brandon Goode (16) both recorded career highs in points at South Carolina State, while Malcolm Hawkins (20) did the same in the next game against UMBC. Kris Brown (13) recorded a career high against Morehead State, and Johnson also had a big game, adding career highs of six assists and four steals.
Then against St. Francis Brooklyn, Jamel Fuentes topped his career high with 18 points. Brown (12) came up one point short of tying his career high as well but did reach double figures for the second time in his career.
Program Milestone: NSU's victory at South Carolina State was win No. 1,100 for the Spartan program.
Good From the Line: Pendarvis Williams ranks second in the MEAC and 14th in the nation in free throw shooting, hitting 93.5 percent of his charity stripe attempts on the year (29-of-31).
March to 1,000: Now with 794 career points, Pendarvis Williams needs just 206 more to become NSU's 30th all-time 1,000-point scorer. He is on course to accomplish the feat in late February.
Johnson Earns Back-to-Back Defensive Player of the Week Honors: Rob Johnson earned MEAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on Dec. 3 after posting 6.3 rebounds and 2.7 steals in three games the previous week. He then repeated the performance on Dec. 10, earning the honor again after posting 9.0 rebounds and 1.5 steals in two games.
