HIGH-OCTANE OFFENSE
Mark Gottfried has brought a fast-paced, high energy offense to NC State as evidenced by the
team’s scoring numbers. The Wolfpack currently ranks second in the Atlantic Coast Conference
and is tied for 10th nationally in scoring with 78.6 points per game.
The Pack’s offensive production has improved dramatically since Gottfried took over the program
prior to last season. In 2010-11, the campaign prior to his arrival, State ranked 115th nationally
and sixth in the ACC in scoring with 70.7 point per game. Last year, his first season with the
Wolfpack, the average was up slightly to 72.9 points per game - the nation’s 59th-best mark at
season’s end.
The NC State single season record for points per game is 92.9, set in 1973. However, the Pack’s
current mark would rank as the highest in over 15 years (81.2 in 1996) if the season ended today.
State has already scored at least 80 points in 12 contests this season - the highest total for a
Wolfpack squad since 2005-06 (13).
RECRUITING PROWESS
Mark Gottfried is bringing top-level talent to Raleigh, as both of his recruiting classes have been
ranked in the top-10 nationally. Last year, having just seven months till the fall signing period,
Gottfried brought in the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, including three McDonald’s All-Americans.
It marked the first time the Wolfpack had three McDonald’s All-Americans in the same class
since 1979. Gottfried followed up with three more recruits signed in November and that class
currently ranks ninth nationally.
Gottfried came to NC State with the reputation of being a first-class recruiter. In three of his final
four seasons at Alabama, Gottfried’s recruiting classes were nationally ranked: 10th in 2005, 27th
in 2007, and 16th in 2008.
THE MIAMI SERIES
NC State has faced Miami fewer times than any other current member of
the ACC - just a dozen times. The two teams met for the first time in 1940
and the other eight meetings have all come since the Hurricanes joined the
league in 2004-05.
The Wolfpack has won four in a row in the series and all four games in the
PNC Arena. Miami is the only league opponent to have never won on NC
State’s home court.
A TREND WILL END
One streak will come to an end in the battle of ranked opponents, when NC
State hosts Miami at PNC Arena on Saturday.
NC State posts a perfect 4-0 record in home ACC games this season,
while Miami is 4-0 in road conference action. The Pack sits tied atop the
conference with three other teams that have already recorded four home
conference wins, while Miami has four of the ACC’s 12 total road victories
so far in 2012-13.
Both squads have improved in these categories from a year ago, as NC
State was 4-4 in home ACC action under first-year head coach Mark
Gottfried and Miami was 3-5 in road ACC action in Jim Larranaga’s first
season last year.
Another streak that will end on one side or another is that the Wolfpack
has won all 12 of its home games in 2012-13 and Miami has won eight
games in a row.
LAST SEASON VS. THE HURRICANES
NC State swept the two meetings with Miami last season - victories which
could have been the deciding factor in which team earned an NCAA Tournament
berth and which one received an NIT bid. The Wolfpack win also
gave State the tiebreaker with Miami for final seeding in the ACC Tournament.
In the first meeting, NC State made a January, 22 trip to Miami to face the
‘Canes at Bank United Center. Scott Wood was the Pack’s player of the
game with a contest-high 21 points, going 5-for-9 from the field, including
4-for-6 from 3-point range to help State to a 78-73 victory. Wood was
also 7-of-7 from the charity stripe, a performance that would help him set
the ACC consecutive free throw record at 58, four more than the previous
mark set by J.J. Redick (2003-04).
The Feb. 29 meeting in the Pack’s home finale was crucial, as NC State
entered the game with four consecutive losses. The Wolfpack came away
with a 77-73 victory shooting 5-of-8 from the free throw line in the final
minutes to secure the win.
HARBOWL HAS PACK CONNECTION
Not only will the Feb. 3 Super Bowl be a family affair between brothers Jim
and John Harbaugh as they coach the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore
Ravens, respectively, but it will also have a family connection with NC
State ties.
Wolfpack coach Mark Gottfried is the Harbaughs second cousin, as their
grandmothers were sisters. In other words, Gottfried’s father, Joe, and Jim
and John’s dad, Jack, are first cousins. Jack Harbaugh is the Wolfpack
head coach’s godfather.
Gottfried’s oldest son Brandon also played football for a season under Jim
Harbaugh at Stanford before he left to coach the 49ers. Gottfried’s uncle,
Mike, coached football at Pitt from 1986-89 and both John and Jack were
on his staff in 1987.
The Harbaughs have one other basketball connection: their sister, Joani, is
married to Indiana coach Tom Crean.
DOUBLE TROUBLE
Senior Richard Howell enters the Miami game tied for third nationally with
13 double-doubles this season, just two away from the top mark nationally
of 15 by Mike Muscala of Bucknell and Jerrelle Benimon of Towson.
Howell has posted double-digit point and rebound totals in each of the last
four games and is looking to become the first Wolfpack player since Kenny
Carr in 1977 to record a double-double in five straight contests. Carr is
also the last player to average double figures in both points and rebounds
in the same season (1976).
For the season, Howell has posted 13 double-doubles, which ranks as the
most for a Wolfpack player since center Todd Fuller had 13 as a junior in
1994-95 and ties as the eighth-highest mark in school history.
The most for any Wolfpack player over the last four decades is 7-foot-2
center Tommy Burleson’s 26 during the Wolfpack’s 1974 NCAA championship
season. Burleson also had 21 as a sophomore and 19 as a junior for a
total of 66 in his three-year career.
CUTTING IT CLOSE
Six points. That’s all that separates the 2012-13 Wolfpack from its current
5-3 mark in ACC action and a perfect 8-0 slate.
NC State’s ACC losses at Maryland, at Wake Forest and at Virginia were
decided by a combined six points, and all were decided in the final 10
seconds.
STARTING OUT STRONG
Over the last four
games, the Pack has
come out firing and
grabbed early leads. NC
State has led virtually
the entire way in each
of the last four first
halves of action.
In the
80 minutes of action in the first half of the last four games, the Pack
has only trailed for 1:29, when Wake Forest
scored the game’s first basket.
The Pack has shot 48.8 percent from the floor,
and an even more impressive 51.9 percent
from three-point range in the first half of those
contests. In each of the last four games, the
Pack has built a double digit lead (Clemson 11,
Wake Forest 16, North Carolina 23, Virginia
11), and has gone into the half up by an average
of 11.5 points.
In the second half, the numbers have been a
little different. The Pack has been outscored
in the second half of the last four games by an
average margin of 9.8 points.
In those four contests, the opponents have
combined to shoot just 38.8 percent (50-129)
in first half action, but that percentage jumps
to 52.1 percent (61-117) after the break.
LESLIE PULLS TRIPLE DUTY
NC State’s C.J. Leslie is definitely counted on
by his team for his scoring. Leslie leads the
Wolfpack with 15.6 points per game, the fifthbest
mark in the ACC heading into the game
with Miami. He has posted the Pack’s high
point total in seven contests this season.
Leslie is also counted on for rebounding.
Although his rebounding numbers sometime
go unnoticed because of Richard Howell’s
prowess in that category, he ranks 10th in the
league with 7.3 boards per game.
The junior has also been counted on for accuracy.
His .557 field goal percentage ranks
fourth in the current league rankings.
Leslie, Duke’s Mason Plumlee and UNC’s
James Michael McAdoo are the only players
in the ACC to rank in the top 10 in scoring,
rebounding and field goal percentage.
Leslie is tied with Howell for the team lead in
blocked shots with 21.
EARLY AND OFTEN
Senior sharpshooter Scott Wood has played in
a team-high 124 career games and has started
122 of those contests.
In NC State history, only 2004 ACC Player of
the Year Julius Hodge started more contests.
Hodge got the nod 125 times.
NC State currently ranks second in the ACC in
scoring at 78.6 points per game, which ties as
the 10th-best mark nationally. The Pack is one
of six teams with five double-figure scorers, so
it’s probably safe to say that the offense is the
driving force behind State’s success.
In the Pack’s 16 wins, Mark Gottfried’s squad
is averaging 83.3 points per game while shooting
53.1 percent from the field (474-893). In
those 16 wins, NC State has been held under
70 points only once.
However, when the Pack’s offense has stalled,
the results have not been positive. In its five
losses, NC State averaged just 63.4 points a
game, shooting 42.1 percent from the floor
(127-302). In three of those five games, NC
State was held under 60 points.
MILLENNIUM MEN
The game at Wake Forest on Jan. 22 may have
marked the first time in school history that two
players have reached the 1,000-point total for
their career in the same game. Senior Richard
Howell and junior Lorenzo Brown both reached
that milestone and now boast 1,036 and 1,025
career points respectively. Now, all four of the
Wolfpack’s upperclassmen are members of the
1,000-point club.
Scott Wood scored his 1,000th point in last
season’s opening-round win over San Diego
State in the NCAA Tournament and now has
1,270 career points.
Junior C.J. Leslie earned his place in the
fraternity in the first half in NC State’s win over
Western Michigan on Dec. 29. He became the
46th player in NC State’s storied basketball
history to score his 1,000th point and now
boasts 1,159 for his career.
The last time NC State had three 1,000-point
scorers on the same team was in 2008-09,
with Brandon Costner (1,273), Ben McCauley
(1,138) and Courtney Fells (1,060).
The 1982-83 squad also had a trio of 1,000
scorers led by Thurl Bailey (1,495), Dereck
Whittenburg (1,272) and Sidney Lowe (1,048).
That squad went on to win the national title.
Only 10 previous times have a pair of players in
the same recruiting class each scored 1,000 point
during their careers, the last was the trio of Costner,
Fells and McCauley. Howell and Wood became
the 11th and Brown and Leslie are the 12th.
THE CLEANER
Early in the Wolfpack’s win over top-ranked Duke
on Jan. 12, Mark Gottfried asked his team during
a time out if anyone was going to rebound.
Senior Richard Howell spoke up quickly and told
his head coach not to worry - that if nobody else
got any, he would get them all.
Howell lived up to his word in that game and in
the five games since, as he has been active on
the glass more than ever before. He currently
ranks a close second in the ACC in rebounds
per game with 11.0 (just behind Duke’s Mason
Plumlee at 11.1).
In games against ACC competition, his average
is an even more impressive 13.4, which leads all
league players. Howell also leads the conference
in offensive boards, pulling down 4.0 a contest,
5.4 vs. league opponents.
In each of the past nine games and 13 of the last 15, Howell has rebounded in double digits. That
nine-game streak of double-digit rebound games
is the the most for a Pack player since All-American
Tommy Burleson did it in 10 straight games
in 1972-73.
Howell also continues his climb in the NC State
record book. He now ranks sixth in school history
in that career category with 907. He ranks
second in school history in offensive rebounds
with 345, just 25 from tying the school record.
FREE WOOD
With the game close in the final minute, there
is nobody NC State coach Mark Gottfried wants
more to go to the free throw line than senior
Scott Wood.
Wood’s .912 mark from the line would lead the
ACC if he had enough makes to qualify (he averages
2.476 made FTs per game and the minimum
is 2.5).
Over the last 13 games, Wood has shot 38-of-40
(.950) from the charity stripe, and in the final
minute of ACC games this season, has sunk 18-
of-20 (.900) attempts.
For his career, Wood has hit 88.1 percent from
the free throw line. He is well ahead of the pace to establish a new school record, as the current
school record holder for career free throw
percentage is Terry Gannon (1982-85) at 85.4
percent.
Last season, Wood set the ACC record for consecutive
free throws made with 66 straight during
the season. That streak is the fourth longest
in NCAA history.
SHARP SHOOTERS
NC State continues to be among the national
leaders in field goal percentage. The Pack led the
nation for several weeks and now ranks fourth
with a .503 mark.
The Pack boasts three of the top five shooters in
the ACC. Freshman T.J. Warren leads the league
and ranks 11th nationally with a .633 mark, while
Richard Howell is third and C.J. Leslie is fourth
with marks of .575 and .557 respectively.
After posting a .529 (474-895) mark in the first
16 games of the season, State has shot just .423
(127-300) in the last five games - all versus ACC
competition.
In 14 of 21 contests this season, State has shot
.500 or better, including a season best .614 in its
season-opening victory over Miami of Ohio. In
its first three games against ACC competition,
State hit .500 from the field.
State has shot .531 (442-828) in its 16 wins and
just .421 (127-302) in its five losses.
Another common factor in the five losses has
been that they all occurred away from the friendly
confines of the PNC Arena.