N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe expects forward Richard Howell to play against North Carolina on Wednesday.
Howell, a 6-8, 261-pound sophomore, played only two minutes in Sunday’s 87-80 State loss Maryland after suffering a head injury early in the game. Lowe said Howell did not suffer a concussion but was dizzy after catching an elbow from teammate DeShawn Painter while going for a defensive rebound.
DURHAM — N.C. State's last three ACC losses have been doomed by poor first halves. It couldn't have gotten much worse than the first 20 minutes in Saturday's 76-52 loss at Duke.
Duke scored 53 points and shot 64.5 percent (20-31) while State finished the first half with 16 fouls, 12 turnovers and 11 field goals.
GREENSBORO -- Winners of four of the past five after Thursday’s first-round upset of Clemson, N.C. State may be playing its best basketball of the season. Not coincidentally, so is forward Richard Howell.
Howell had 11 rebounds, one short of his career high, and nine points in the 59-57 win while helping Tracy Smith defend Clemson star Trevor Booker as the 11th-seeded Pack pulled off the third upset of the ACC tournament’s opening day.
If you told Sidney Lowe before Tuesday's game with Florida State that Tracy Smith and Dennis Horner would combine for 17 points and even the Wolfpack coach would have had a hard time believing his team would leave Tallahassee with a win.
"It would have been very, very tough without those two guys," Lowe said.
N.C. State will likely start the basketball season without freshman forward Richard Howell, who injured his left knee in preseason workouts.
Howell, State's top-rated freshman, had surgery to repair the meniscus in his left knee and is still on crutches, Wolfpack coach Sidney Lowe said Friday at the team's media day.
Sidney Lowe's fourth team at N.C. State will be the first with his players.
The challenge of recovering from consecutive disappointing seasons with a young roster, filled with players he recruited, appeals to Lowe.
"I'm excited about seeing our young guys and seeing them grow," Lowe said before the Wolfpack Caravan stop in Raleigh on Wednesday night.
