By Jerry Ratcliffe
Ryan Odom is anticipating NC State’s best shot when the Wolfpack takes on 11th-ranked Virginia tonight. Will Wade is hoping Odom is right.
The host Cavaliers are riding an eight-game winning streak and are 13-1 within the friendly confines of John Paul Jones Arena. State has been on a rollercoaster the past two weeks: clobbering rival UNC (82-58), losing a close one at home to Miami (77-76), getting blown out at Louisville (118-77) and beating Virginia Tech (82-73).
While UVA blew out the Wolfpack in Raleigh (76-61) in early January, Odom knows it won’t be that easy this time. In the first meeting, the Cavaliers jumped all over the ‘Pack from the get-go, got up by 20 at the break, and it was never really a game.
“They’re going to be ready to play,” Odom said Monday. “There’s no question about it, and they have a history with us from the last game and so they’re going to be motivated to do really well here in JPJ, and so we’ve got to be up for the fight.”
On TV details, odds and other facts and figures, check out our “How to Watch NC State at Virginia” in a related piece on this site.
Certainly Wade will have his team ready to do just that, fight from the beginning and not get steamrolled out of the gate. Still, State will have to contend with several factors, such as UVA’s perimeter shooting, rebounding, solid defense and physicality.
“Virginia is playing great, got great personnel,” Wade said Monday. “They’re huge. They’re kind of the opposite of we are. Their physicality poses a lot of issues for us. It’ll be a monumental task and hopefully we can play better, get off to a better start than we got off to in the first game.”
While the Cavaliers boast length, particularly with a pair of 7-foot shotblockers in Ugonna Onyenso and Johann Grünloh, State is a smaller group: Darrion Williams (6-6, senior, 14.2 ppg), Qadir Copeland (6-6, senior, 14.0), Ven-Allen Lubin (6-9, senior, 13.6), Paul McNeil (6-5, sophomore, 13.4).
State has evolved a bit since that first meeting with players settling into roles, such as Williams and Copeland becoming the primary ballhandlers, which has produced more control offensively. The team has improved on the other end of the floor as well, but hasn’t found the consistency Wade desires.
“Everything’s in theory until we see if we can do it [Tuesday night],” Wade said. “We have to match or exceed their physicality. I’m very worried about that. They’re extremely physical. They’re one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the conference. They were No. 1 going into the Miami game on offensive rebounding, and defensive rebounding is certainly an area that we’ve struggled.”
The physicality is something Virginia boasts, particularly with the Twin Towers, along with 6-9 Thijs De Ridder and Devon Tillis, both hulkish figures on the block.
State isn’t the only team that has changed since the early encounter. UVA was without sharpshooter Jacari White in that game after breaking his wrist on Dec. 20 vs. Maryland. White is a lethal shooter, particularly from the 3-point arc.
In the Cavaliers’ most recent outing, an 86-83 triumph over Miami, White was 6 of 9 from the field and 5 for 8 from the arc for 17 points.
Chance Mallory, whom Odom said “is no longer a freshman,” was a freshman in early January. Since then, Mallory has become one of the most aggressive players in the ACC on both ends of the floor.
Miami coach Jai Lucas said of Mallory after Saturday’s game: “I was telling the guys before the game, when we were going through [UVA’s] personnel, Chance Mallory is kind of their swagger, he’s kind of their personality.”
Mallory, who comes off the bench, finished with 12 points, 6 rebounds (he’s the smallest player on the floor at 5-10), 6 assists and 2 turnovers.
Oh, and he made the winning play of the game, dashing down the floor before Miami could call timeout, and forced a foul from the 3-point line. Mallory coolly sank all three free throws with 3.6 seconds to play.
“It’s going to be tough sledding,” Wade said of the trip to Charlottesville. “They’re the best defensive team in the league and we can’t let our offense affect our defense. Any chance we have, we’re going to have to be better defensively and get a few more stops than we’ve been getting.”
This Week’s ACC Scoreboard
Monday
North Carolina 77, Louisville 74
Tuesday
NC State at Virginia, 7 p.m. (ACCN)
Duke at Notre Dame, 7 p.m. (ESPN)
Miami at Florida State, 9 p.m. (ACCN)
Wednesday
Wake Forest at Boston College, 6 p.m. (ACCN)
Pitt at Stanford, 8 p.m. (ACCN)
SMU at California, 10 p.m. (ACCN)
Saturday
Virginia at Duke, Noon (ESPN)
NC State at Notre Dame, Noon (The CW)
Florida State at Georgia Tech, Noon (ACCN)
Louisville at Clemson, 2 p.m. (ESPN2)
Boston College at Miami, 2 p.m. (ACCN)
Pitt at California, 4 p.m. (ACCN)
Syracuse at Wake Forest, 5:45 p.m. (The CW)
SMU at Stanford, 6 p.m. (ACCN)
Virginia Tech at North Carolina, 8:30 p.m. (ESPN2)
