By Will Vandervort.
In the six meetings Clemson has played NC State since Brad Brownell has been in Tigertown, the Tigers have beaten the Wolfpack three times. But all three of those wins have come at home.
In fact, Clemson, who plays the Wolfpack tonight (9 p.m.), has not won in Raleigh since the 2009-’10 season, a 73-70 victory that was the culmination of three straight wins at PNC Arena. Yet, this year’s Clemson team likes it chances of maybe knocking off the Wolfpack in spite of its recent play the last two times out.
The Tigers (11-8, 3-4 ACC) lost at home to Florida State in which they shot 36 percent from the field and were 16 of 31 from the foul line in a four-point loss.
Things were not much better against Wake Forest this past Saturday. Clemson shot just 35.1 percent from the floor and were 15 of 27 from the charity stripe. The only real difference in the two games is that the Tigers overcame a 12-point second-half deficit to beat the Demon Deacons thanks to a last-second putback by Josh Smith.
NC State (13-8, 4-4 ACC) on the other hand is coming of a three-point overtime loss to eighth-ranked Notre Dame. The Wolfpack have also beaten No. 4 Duke and has taken No. 13 North Carolina to the wire as well.
So why does Clemson feel like it can win in Raleigh? It’s because of the way it matches up. The Tigers ability to slow the game down and force NC State to play half-court basketball and shoot with contested shots has frustrated Mark Gottfried’s team.
“We have a very good opportunity. NC State is a very good team and it is going to be tough to go into their house and beat them, but I feel like we are capable of doing that,” Clemson forward Jaron Blossomgame said. “We have a lot of momentum coming from the last game, but moving forward, we have to play better than we have the last two games.
“We lost that ugly one to Florida State and the one against Wake Forest was not that much prettier, either. This week of practice has been very beneficial for us and we will put on a good show.”
Clemson is going to have to put on a good show. The Wolfpack averages 72.3 points per game, one of the best scoring offenses in the ACC.
“They are really just a powerful lineup,” Brownell said. “They have big bodies inside that can score around the rim.
Guards Trevor Lacey (16.5 ppg) and Ralston Turner (13.4 ppg) are two of the better scorers in the league as well.
“Lacey is fantastic out on the perimeter. Ralston Turner is one of the best shooters,” Brownell said. “Lacey can do it both ways. He can do it off the bounce and he can pull up into his shot. He can shoot off screens. They have a lot of guys that can score.”
Lacey led five Wolfpack players in double figures with 13 points in the Notre Dame game – it marked the fifth straight game he has scored at least 10 points and the 17th in the last 20. He also handed out a season-high seven assists.
“They have a lot of good pieces and playing at home they play with a lot of confidence,” Brownell said. “Certainly, getting back in position (defensively) is important. I think having good offensive possessions is important on the road. If you have bad offensive possessions, it leads to some transition basketball for the other team so we are going to have to have good possessions.
“We can’t turn it over. We have to take quality shots and we will have to make some threes and we need to get the ball down inside to Landry (Nnoko).”