Horner, Degand have Senior Day today
Senior power forward Dennis Horner and fifth-year senior point guard Farnold Degand have both had roller coaster careers at NC State, but both play their last home game at 2 p.m. today against Boston College at the RBC Center. The game will be televised on Raycom.
NC State has already clinched the No. 11 seed for Thurdsay's ACC Tournament in Greensboro, N.C., and will play the loser of today's game between Clemson and Wake Forest. The 16-14 Wolfpack split the season series with Wake Forest, and lost against Clemson in their lone meeting.
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Horner, the last of the Herb Sendek recruits, though he never played for him, has started 40 games out of 122 in his Wolfpack career. He's enjoying his best season, averaging 11.7 points and 4.9 rebounds, well above his junior year averages of 6.4 points and 2.8 rebounds. He also has 33 blocks and 31 steals this season, to up his career total to 64 blocks and steals apiece.
Degand transferred to NC State from Iowa State, and has started 33 out of 57 games. He missed two-thirds of his redshirt sophomore year because of a serious knee injury, that also affected his redshirt junior season.
Degand is averaging 5.9 points per game, and has set career highs with 60 assists, 57 rebounds and 17 steals this season.
Boston College preview
Game facts
Boston College (15-14 overall, 6-9 ACC) at NC State (16-14 overall, 4-11 ACC)
Game time: Today, March 7, 2 p.m. - RBC Center, Raleigh
Television: Raycom
Probable starters
NC State
PG - 10 Javi Gonzalez (6-0, Jr., 10.2 ppg, 3.3 rpg, 3.9 apg, 1.2 spg)
SG - 12 Farnold Degand (6-3, R-Sr., 5.9 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 2.6 apg)
SF - 15 Scott Wood (6-7, Fr., 7.9 ppg, 3.0 rpg, 1.5 apg)
PF - 31 Dennis Horner (6-9, Sr., 11.7 ppg, 4.9 rpg, 1.5 apg, 1.0 spg, 1.1 bpg)
C - 23 Tracy Smith (6-8, Jr., 17.0 ppg, 7.8 rpg, 1.2 apg, 1.1 spg, 1.1 bpg)
Boston College
PG - 0 Reggie Jackson (6-3, Soph., 12.9 ppg, 5.6 rpg, 4.6 apg)
SG - 15 Rakim Sanders (6-5, Jr., 10.8 ppg, 3.6 rpg, 2.0 apg, 1.0 spg)
SF - 11 Corey Raji (6-6, Jr., 11.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg, 1.1 apg)
PF - 12 Joe Trapani (6-8, Jr., 14.8 ppg, 6.5 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.0 spg)
C - 52 Josh Southern (6-10, Jr., 4.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 0.8 apg)
Scouting Boston College
Location: Chestnut Hill, Mass.
Nickname: Eagles
2008-09 record: 22-12 overall, 9-7 ACC
2009 postseason: Lost 72-55 to USC in the first round of the NCAA Tournament
Coach: Al Skinner, 13th season at Boston College (247-163) and 22nd overall (385-289)
The all-time series with NC State: Boston College leads 7-2
Last meeting: NC State won 74-69 on March 4, 2009, in Raleigh
Notes
Boston College: Sanders missed eight of BC's first nine games this season with an ankle injury, and managed just four scoreless minutes in the ninth game. He scored a season-high 22 against Maine, 21 versus New Jersey Institute of Technology and an ACC high of 17 against Florida State. He has reached double figures in nine out of the last 10 games, but has been inconsistent from three-point land, shooting 29.4 percent on the season ... Joe Trapani, a transfer from Vermont, missed the Wake Forest game Feb. 9 with an illness, and has been held to single digits in six ACC games. However, he exploded for 31 points and five three-pointers at Miami on Jan. 19. He also had 26 points and went 6 of 9 from three-point land against Georgia Tech on Feb. 27 ... Senior forward Tyler Roche has also scored at least 30 points on two occasions - having a season-high 31 and six three-pointers against Wake Forest in place of Trapani, and 30 points on 5-of-6 three-point shooting against Dartmouth in the season opener Nov. 13. He started both games, and his third start ended with a 19-point effort against St. Francis (N.Y.) Nov. 17. He recorded his first double-digit scoring game off the bench with 10 in 19 minutes against Virginia Tech Wednesday. He is shooting 43.2 percent from beyond the arc ... Raji has four double-doubles for points and rebounds, and he is the younger brother of current Green Bay Packers defensive tackle and former Eagles football standout B.J. Raji ... Jackson has tried to fill the void left by the graduation of Tyrese Rice. He scored a season-high 20 points in two games - at Duke on Jan. 13 and at Providence on Nov. 28 - plus had a season-best 12 rebounds against the Friars. He has dished out seven assists in four different games, and had a season-high 11 against the Hokies on Feb. 24, followed by 10 against Georgia Tech ... Freshman guard Brady Heslip, who is originally from Burlington, Ont., joined the team at mid-semester but is redshirting.
NC State: The Wolfpack went 5:02 without a basket last Wednesday against Virginia Tech, failing to score on eight straight possessions. The Hokies went on a 11-0 run to build a 45-32 lead with 11:36 remaining … NC State committed 20 turnovers against Virginia Tech and shot 4 of 16 from three-point land … Gonzalez had a team-high 16 points against the Hokies, Smith had 12 and Horner had 11 points and eight rebounds … Gonzalez has averaged 15.3 points over the last three games, including tying a career-high with 19 points at Miami … In the Wolfpack's last three ACC games, NCSU has shot 49.3 percent (35 of 71) in the second half. During the seven-game ACC losing streak, NC State shot 30.7 percent in those second halves of play … Freshman power forward Richard Howell has tailed off since suffering a gash prior to the Virginia Tech game Feb. 10. He has 16 points and 14 rebounds over the last six games. He had two points and nine rebounds in his first collegiate start Feb. 6, just prior to playing the Hokies … NC State former center Ben McCauley celebrated Senior Night with 20 points and six boards last year against Boston College in the 74-69 win March 4 … Julius Hodge, Kenny Carr, and the families of Ronnie Shavlik, Bobby Speight and Dick Dickey, will all be honored during the game or at halftime. Hodge will be coming in from Australia.