As N.C. State seeks a second straight win over a ranked team, coach Sidney Lowe said slowing down will be the key for his players.
At noon Saturday, the Wolfpack (12-5, 1-2 ACC) will play host to No. 24 Clemson (14-3, 2-1). Both teams are coming off big wins.
N.C. State stunned No. 25 Florida State 88-81 on Tuesday in Tallahassee, Fla. Clemson crushed 12th-ranked North Carolina 83-64 on Wednesday in Clemson. The Tigers forced 26 North Carolina turnovers and are leading the ACC with 11.2 steals per game.
Under coach Oliver Purnell, Clemson plays a frenetic, full-court pressure defense.
"They do a great job of speeding up the game," Lowe said Friday during his weekly news conference. "… They force their opponents to speed up the game, and a lot of teams can't play that way."
Lowe hopes his players won't try. He's trying to get his players to slow down mentally and physically when they face the press.
During practice he showed his players where each of Clemson's traps come in a pressure defense that's called a "diamond trap." Lowe demonstrated which options will be open when Clemson traps.
Lowe also had his players practice against six defenders to simulate the intense pressure Clemson will bring.
"While they're trying to be going at one pace, we need to be going at a different pace," Lowe said. "… While they're speeding up our minds, we need to be able to slow our minds down."
The second key against Clemson's defense will be finding a quick way to score once N.C. State gets the ball over halfcourt. Because breaking the press usually eats away time on the 35-second clock, there's not a lot of time to work the ball around to look for a great shot.
"We've worked on some things we can get into quick to execute," Lowe said.
Comments
Going to the game later
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 07:55 — mad_maxGoing to the game later today, and very excited about it. State really has a chance to get things going here. I thought after losing to Virginia the way they did, that this season was doomed. But that surprising win in Talahassee has put State in a position to make some noise early on this year. 1-2 could easily turn into 4-12 in this league, but State might actually have some potential this year. Hoping Sid can prove that last game wasn't a fluke and that this team is really improving. Not really expecting a W today, but if it happens, then things will be looking brighter in Raleigh than they have in a long time. GO PACK!
MAD MAX
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 11:34 — bluecat69bluecat69U MUST LEAD A VERY SIMPLE LIFE, TO ADMIT THAT U ARE GOING TO A COW COLLEGE GAME, SKID CANT COACH, PACK CANT WIN, AND U ARE ADMITTING ON THIS BLOG SITE THAT U ARE GOING YO WATCH THEM GET BEAT AGAIN, GET A LIFE, OK , BECOME A DUKE FAN, OK, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!
DREAM ON SUFER GIRL
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 16:51 — bluecat69bluecat69U MAKE NO SENSE AT ALL, OK GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ignore
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 10:25 — SurferBlue idiot,
You are on my ignore list, so don't expect any further response unless you post something logical (good or bad) to add to the discussion at hand. Aloha.
Don't worry surfer, mommy
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 20:02 — unc098Don't worry surfer, mommy will come in soon and put him to bed. Wait!!!.... the parents must be out tonight and the babysitter is tied up on the phone with her boyfriend. bluecat must have slipped out of his room and got on the computer again. They will have to put him in time out again....
SUFER GIRL -HAWAII STYLE
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 11:39 — bluecat69bluecat69THATS 2 DOWN, YOU AND G-ALLIGATOR , U KNOW DAMN WELL THAT U CANT IGNORE ME, HAVE SOME BALLS, OK, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!
SUFER GIRL -HAWAII STYLE
Sat, 01/16/2010 - 11:39 — bluecat69bluecat69THATS 2 DOWN, YOU AND G-ALLIGATOR , U KNOW DAMN WELL THAT U CANT IGNORE ME, HAVE SOME BALLS, OK, GO DUKE!!!!!!!!!!!
State has a chance
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 13:18 — SurferIf State plays like they did against FSU and Clemson does not play like they did against UNC, then State has a shot in this game.
"We've worked on some things we can get into quick to execute," Lowe said. Yep, just get it to Wood and let him launch it.
Clemson has not typically brought the same intensity when not in Little John. But Brooker is a beast, so its time for T. Smith to step up.
State will have incentive though. The next best thing to beating UNC is beating a team that just beat UNC.
Agreed
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 18:14 — JPDOhioOn our way out of work Wednesday night, I told a Clemson fan on our staff that UNC was ripe for the picking that night. I thought the Tigers had a good shot at winning, but not like that.
Anyway, Clemson is streaky and I am glad the Pack has them after a big win instead of a frustrating loss. Hopefully, State won't have to rely on Scott Wood the way it did on Tuesday and Tracy and Javi will pick up their games. A Clemson let-down would help too, especially since they seem more vulnerable on the road.
State has had problems with the press this year. It will be interesting to see the results of the practice drills.
Foul trouble
Fri, 01/15/2010 - 21:06 — Heels20Javi Gonzalez will have to minimize his fouls if State has a shot against the press. Farnold Degand will turn it over and Julius Mays is too streaky to count on. If I had to guess, I'd say that Clemson gets this win, but if State plays like they did against FSU, then they definitely have a shot.