RALEIGH — Richard Howell and C.J. Leslie took advantage of an undersized Cleveland State team to lead N.C. State to a 80-63 win at Reynolds Coliseum on Saturday.

Howell had 17 points and 10 rebounds and Leslie had 19 points and eight boards. The No. 25 Wolfpack put together perhaps its best half of the season, taking a 47-32 lead at the break and then closed out the Vikings in the second half.

Howell had a double-double for the third time in four games as Cleveland State's bigs, both listed at 6-7, couldn't keep up with either Howell or Leslie.

It took time, and some technological sleight hand, but Tor Ramsey, with the help of Chris and Stewart Corchiani, boiled 60 years of N.C. State basketball into a three-hour DVD.

The 3-year old project became a reality on Thursday with the release of "Running With The Pack," a DVD directed by Ramsey, a former team manager, and produced by Corchiani, the former star point guard, and his wife.

The subtitle of the project, "A Complete History of N.C. State Basketball," is no exaggeration.

NEW YORK — Jim Valvano made a career, and won a national title, out of winning close games for N.C. State.

In only its second appearance in the Jimmy V Classic, N.C. State honored Valvano in the most appropriate way possible, a close win over Connecticut at Madison Square Garden.

Richard Howell scored 13 points and Lorenzo Brown added 16 to lead the No. 25 Wolfpack to a 69-65 win over the Huskies on Tuesday night.

N.C. State's football team will end up on the same field as James Franklin after all.

The Wolfpack will face Franklin's Vanderbilt team in the Music City Bowl on Dec. 31 (noon, ESPN) in Nashville, Tenn.

N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow has described Franklin as a "good friend" and previously hired him at Maryland. Early speculation after Tom O'Brien was fired focused on Franklin but Yow eliminated him from the process a week ago and hired Dave Doeren from Northern Illinois on Saturday night.

RALEIGH — When Dave Doeren walked out of his introductory press conference at N.C. State on Sunday, he was told his former team, Northern Illinois, was headed to a BCS bowl.

Doeren, who led the Huskies to 23 wins in two years and a spot in this season's Orange Bowl, believes he can turn N.C. State into a "special" program.

"I wasn't going to leave (Northern Illinois) for just anything," Doeren said.

Three Points from N.C. State's 79-72 loss at Michigan on Tuesday:

1) Better but not good enough

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried and some of the players were encouraged by the moral value of Tuesday's loss. Compared to the effort in a loss to Oklahoma State and a even win over UNC-Asheville, there's some validity to that interpretation.

"I think they are a legitimate top 3, top 5 team in the country," Gottfried said after the game. "Our team is not that far off."

And senior guard Scott Wood theorized, "If they are the third-best team, I think we'll be all right."
 

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried wanted his team to live up to the "Challenge" part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

After falling behind by 14 points in the second half to No. 3 Michigan, N.C. State did respond, but it was too late. The 18th-ranked Wolfpack dropped a 79-72 road game to the sharper Wolverines.
 
No. 3 Michigan got playmaking from its slick point guard, (11 assists and 18 points from Trey Burke), post scoring from its athletic forward (11 points for Glenn Robinson III), and 3-pointers from its sharpshooter (20 points from Nik Stauskas).

Sophomore forward Thomas de Thaey left the N.C. State basketball team on Monday, the school announced.

De Thaey did not play in Friday's 82-80 win over UNC-Asheville and made reference to his unhappiness with his role on Twitter before Monday's announcement.

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said Monday morning he was supposed to talk with de Thaey about his future on Monday. A few hours later, the school put out a release that said de Thaey informed the coaches on Sunday that he was leaving the team and would pursue a pro career in his native Belgium.

RALEIGH — Tom O'Brien has led N.C. State to three straight bowl games, and four in five seasons, but it wasn't enough to save his job. O'Brien will not return for a seventh season, the school announced on Sunday.

O'Brien compiled a 40-35 record in six seasons with a 22-26 mark in the ACC. O'Brien's contract runs through Dec. 2015 and he will be paid at least $1.2 million over the next three years.

The Wolfpack completed a 7-5 regular season on Saturday with a home win over Boston College and will play in a bowl game with offensive coordinator Dana Bible as interim coach.

RALEIGH — Quarterback Mike Glennon passed for three touchdowns, two to fellow senior Tobais Palmer, to lead N.C. State to a 27-10 win over Boston College on Saturday to close the regular season with a 7-5 record.

The Wolfpack will play in a bowl game for the third straight season, and fourth time in five years, with Saturday's win. State's season could end where it began — in Atlanta.