GAME NOTES: The Northeastern Huskies hope to turn it around as they head to Raleigh for a non-conference bout with the NC State Wolfpack at the RBC Center.
This will be just the second meeting between NC State and Northeastern. The Wolfpack won the only previous encounter.
Northeastern enters tonight's game on a five-game losing streak. The Huskies lost to La Salle, Old Dominion, Bradley, Princeton, and most recently Louisiana Tech. Northeastern led with 6:43 left to play before falling 56-53 to Louisiana Tech. The Huskies picked up a pair of wins before their losing streak began over Southern Illinois and Saint John's, but have not been impressive since as they have been held under 60 points three times during their losing streak. Northeastern is averaging 64.9 ppg on 41.5 percent shooting from the field.
Northeastern is led by the duo of Jonathan Lee and Joel Smith. Lee leads the team with 13.9 ppg on 42.4 percent shooting from the field. The junior guard scored nine points and pulled down 10 rebounds in his last outing. Smith is having a streaky season. After scoring just eight points total in his two previous games, Smith posted 17 points and pulled down seven rebounds against Bradley. Since the stellar performance against Bradley, Smith has averaged just seven ppg. Northeastern is very tough to beat if Smith is scoring, but his inconsistency has hurt the team so far.
NC State comes in with a 7-4 record after taking down St. Bonaventure 67-65 on Tuesday as C.J. Leslie drained a game-winning shot with less than a second remaining. The Wolfpack have not lost to a mid-major conference team yet this year. NC State has a very good offense as it is averaging 74.9 ppg on 47.2 percent shooting. The Wolfpack are very good at moving the ball as their 16.8 assists per game ranked 19th in the nation. NC State is allowing 72.4 ppg on 43.5 percent shooting from the field.
Leslie and Scott Wood lead five NC State players with double-digit scoring averages with 12.8 ppg each. C.J. Williams is third on the team with 12.5 ppg and Richard Howell and Lorenzo Brown are each contributing 11.6 ppg. Howell leads the team in rebounding with 8.5 rpg and Brown is the top assist man with 6.4 apg, which is second best in the ACC. Wood leads the ACC in three-point percentage with a 50 percent rate from beyond the arc and has gone 25-of-25 from the free throw line this year.
NC State's long list of contributors is a huge asset. There are only a few teams that have multiple players waiting in the wings if the top performers are having an off night. Northeastern's struggles will continue as they face a more athletic and skilled opponent.
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