Wolfpack Take on Eagles In "Must Win" Match-Up

NC STATE WOLFPACK vs. BOSTON COLLEGE


GAME TIME: 2pm
LOCATION: Chestnut Hill, MA
TELEVISION: Raycom

If there ever was a must win road game in the ACC, this game is it. The Pack, coming off a hard fought loss against Duke, hope to carry over their effort today against the Eagles. If they hope to win they will need to, and this is no surprise, take care of the basketball. The Pack turned the ball over 19 times against Duke, and we will continue to sound like a broken record when we say that number must come down in order to win...especially on the road. Against Duke, the Pack had 10 points off turnovers while the Blue Devils raked up a clean 27...that is a 17 point difference, the final score was 73-56....a 17 point difference.

To beat the Eagles it is no secret that you need to stop Tyrese Rice, the senior leader and monster scoring guard for the Eagles. His 18 points and 6 assists per game are pretty gaudy for a point guard, but if Degand or Mays can slow down Rice, and Fells can hold their 6'5 combo player Rakim Sanders steady, NC State should walk out of Chestnut Hill with a victory.

The key for State is to realize the magnitude of this game. Win this and they still hold on hopes for a postseason, but lose this and the odds of playing deep into March slim down quite a bit. Hustle, intensity, and focus will be what the Pack need to go on the road at Chestnut Hill, where they are 1-2, and pull out a victory. Boston College likes to bomb from downtown where they shoot 34.4%. But it's the NC State frontcourt that has a big advantage, skill wise, over the Eagles and if NC State is to pull away, it's going to need to exploit that.


RECORD
NC State- 10-6 (1-3)
Boston College- 14-6 (2-3)

LEADING SCORER
NC State- Brandon Costner (14.6)
Boston College- Tyrese Rice (18)

LEADING REBOUNDER
NC State- Ben McCauley (7.7)
Boston College- Joe Trapani (7.0)

ASSIST LEADER
NC State- Javi Gonzalez (2.7)
Boston College- Tyrese Rice (5.9)

TEAM FG%
NC State- 46.1%
Boston College- 44.6%

TEAM REBOUNDING
NC State- 38
Boston College- 38.5

TURNOVERS PER GAME
NC State- 14.4
Boston College- 13