RALEIGH—Rodney Purvis said he earned a 3.0 GPA this semester, and he did have to pull a few all-nighters to cram for final exams last week. But he did enjoy some of his free time, too.
“During the school year, we’re always in tutoring or something like that,” he said. “Once I got on the break, I felt like I was free a little bit. I walked around the mall a lot, so my legs weren’t really under me. But I’m enjoying it. I’m all right. I’m young.”
— Junior center Jordan Vandenberg tweaked his knee and was unavailable Saturday. Head coach Mark Gottfried said after the game that his MRI was negative and he might have been able to play, but he sat out as a precaution.
“Hopefully he will be ready to play Tuesday,” Gottfried said. “We’ll see in the next day or two how he feels.
— While N.C. State did start the game with a 14-4 lead that positive momentum died quickly with a series of ineffective offensive possessions. This was the Wolfpack’s offensive state line for a 2:30 stretch during the first half: turnover (Lorenzo Brown), air ball (C.J. Leslie), turnover (Leslie), offensive foul (Leslie), two missed free throws (Leslie), turnover (Brown), turnover (Richard Howell).
