NC State aiming for sixth straight at Wake Forest
North Carolina State has been dominant during a five-game win streak over Wake Forest.
The No. 18 Wolfpack will have to battle fatigue from a quick turnaround to maintain that run when they visit the Demon Deacons on Tuesday night.
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North Carolina State (15-3, 4-1 ACC) has won the last five meetings by an average of 21.4 points. The Wolfpack have taken the last two games at Wake Forest (9-8, 2-3) by a total of 61 points, with last season's 76-40 rout nearly surpassing a 112-72 victory over Clemson in 1954 as their most lopsided ACC road win in school history.
Coach Mark Gottfried is concerned ahead of this trip after his team won 66-62 over Clemson on Sunday night behind reserve T.J. Warren's 21 points. Now the Wolfpack must regroup just 48 hours later.
"We've got to get our legs back underneath us," Gottfried said. "Get ready to go on the road and play a very good Wake Forest team who is a lot better than I think they were a year ago."
The Demon Deacons, who have won both ACC home games, will be the more rested squad. They seek to bounce back from Saturday's 66-65 defeat at Virginia Tech, as they fell despite two go-ahead 3-pointers by Travis McKie in the final 1:54.
"Every time you wake up in the morning and look at the scores in college basketball, there are teams that suffer one- or two-point losses," coach Jeff Bzdelik said. "It's how those teams respond that ultimately determines their destiny. So these are things we talk about."
McKie posted his second straight double-double with 20 points and 15 rebounds, but C.J. Harris continued his woes by scoring 10 on 3-of-14 shooting. Harris, who averages 14.9 points, has 18 points on 5-of-21 shooting in consecutive losses for Wake Forest.
Harris, a senior guard, is averaging 8.7 points on 28.6 percent shooting in three previous home games against the Wolfpack.
A key battle to watch inside is between NC State's Richard Howell, second in the ACC with an average of 10.6 rebounds, and Wake Forest's Devin Thomas, who tops all conference freshmen with 6.9 per game.
"Devin Thomas is a terrific young player," Bzdelik said. "He's probably a young Richard Howell to be honest with you. So it's a great experience for Devin to learn from one of the best rebounders in the ACC, if not the best rebounder in the ACC."
The Wolfpack are shooting 51.1 percent to remain among the nation's best, but two of their worst performances came last week. They shot 31.1 percent in Wednesday's 51-50 defeat at Maryland before finishing at 45.1 percent against the Tigers.
"We are kind of in an offensive funk right now where we are missing some shots that we normally make around the basket," Gottfried said.
The coach would like to get C.J. Leslie more involved. Leslie, averaging a team-high 15.4 points, totaled 19 last week.
ACC assist leader Lorenzo Brown, a junior, has the edge in experience at point guard over Wake Forest counterpart Codi Miller-McIntyre.
Wake Forest preview
Game facts
No. 18 NC State (15-3, 4-1 ACC) at Wake Forest (9-8, 2-3 ACC)
Game time: Tuesday, Jan. 22, 7 p.m. — Joel Coliseum, Winston-Salem, N.C.
Television: RSN/ESPN3.com
Probable starters
NC State
PG — 2 Lorenzo Brown (6-5, 186, Jr., 12.8 ppg, 4.5 rpg, 6.8 apg, 2.1 spg)
SG — 0 Rodney Purvis (6-3, 195, Fr., 9.5 ppg, 2.6 rpg, 1.7 apg)
SF — 15 Scott Wood (6-6, 169, Sr., 12.0 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.2 apg)
PF — 5 C.J. Leslie (6-9, 200, Jr., 15.4 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.1 bpg)
C — 1 Richard Howell (6-8, 257, Sr., 12.6 ppg, 10.6 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.0 bpg)
Wake Forest
PG — 0 Codi Miller-McIntyre (6-3, 195, Fr., 7.8 ppg, 2.7 rpg, 2.8 apg)
SG — 11 C.J. Harris (6-3, 190, Sr., 14.9 ppg, 1.9 rpg, 1.9 apg)
SG — 30 Travis McKie (6-7, 220, Jr., 15.3 ppg, 8.2 rpg, 1.4 apg, 1.6 spg)
PF — 45 Arnaud Adala Moto (6-6, 225, Fr., 5.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg, 0.2 apg)
C — 2 Devin Thomas (6-9, 240, Fr., 6.5 ppg, 6.9 rpg, 1.3 apg, 1.2 bpg)
Wake Forest
Location: Winston-Salem, N.C.
Nickname: Demon Deacons
2011-12 record: 13-18 overall, 4-12 ACC
2012 postseason: None
Coach: Jeff Bzdelik, 10th season overall (141-155) and third season at Wake Forest (30-50)
Series: NC State leads 136-99
Last meeting: NC State won 87-76 on Feb. 4, 2012, in Raleigh
Notes
Wake Forest: McKie has been a productive three-year starter for the Demon Deacons. He has scored between 12 and 22 points over his last nine games. He has four double-doubles this season, including 23 points and 15 rebounds in a 74-71 win over Mercer Nov. 19. McKie had 20 points and 15 boards in a 66-65 loss at Virginia Tech, and 22 points and 11 rebounds in a 80-62 loss at Duke on Jan. 5 … Harris complements McKie and is a four-year starter for Wake Forest. The combo guard from Winston-Salem exploded for 28 points and went 7 of 10 from three-point land in a 71-67 loss against Seton Hall on Dec. 8. He also had 29 points and four three-pointers in a 75-72 win over Boston College on Jan. 12. Harris has scored in double figures in all but three games this season, and is shooting 44.6 percent from three-point land and 83.3 from the free-throw line … Harris has helped out Miller-McIntyre in the backcourt. The freshman from Concord, N.C., had a season-high 21 points in a 77-71 loss against Connecticut on Nov. 16. He has scored in double figures in four contests … Thomas is the younger brother of Maryland women's basketball star Alyssa Thomas. He has scored in double figures in five games, and grabbed at least 11 rebounds in three of them, but is still looking for his first double-double of the season … Moto, who NC State recruited, had a season-high 10 points against Radford in the season opener. He has started the last eight games … Sophomore wing Chase Fischer, freshman power forward Tyler Cavanaugh and freshman point guard Madison Jones (a Raleigh native) have been regulars off the bench … The 6-9, 230-pound Cavanaugh had a season-high 12 points and five rebounds in a 79-55 win over Furman on Dec. 18. Cavanaugh is averaging 5.8 points and 2.8 rebounds per game … Jones scored a career-high 14 points in a 79-63 loss vs. Nebraska on Nov. 27, and had 10 in a 94-68 loss against Iona on Nov. 17. Jones is averaging 4.2 points and 1.8 assists per game … Fischer went 5 of 8 from three-point land for 15 points in a 71-60 win over High Point on Dec. 5. Fischer is averaging 4.6 points per game and is shooting 44.4 percent from three-point land … Wilson, N.C., native Aaron Rountree, a freshman forward, has played in all but one game this season off the bench, averaging 3.1 points per contest.