WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Previewing N.C. State at Boston College

By Pack Pride

Jan 23, 2009

BOSTON COLLEGE

PROJECTED STARTERS
G Tyrese Rice (18 ppg, 5.9 apg)
G Rakim Sanders (12 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
F Corey Raji (11.4 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
F Joe Trapani (14.1 ppg, 7 rpg)
C Josh Southern (5.4 ppg, 5.2 rpg)

KEY RESERVES
G Reggie Jackson (7.9 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
F Tyler Roche (3.5 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
G Paris Biko (3.0 ppg, 1.0 rpg)

STAR WATCH
Tyrese Rice - One of the top players in the ACC, Rice is having a strong senior season as he leads BC in scoring and assists. He torched the Wolfpack last season and could be a matchup problem for the Pack's trio of point guards.

Boston College Game Notes

THE SERIES AGAINST NC STATE
Boston College has a 6-1 all-time record against North Carolina State, including a 2-1 mark in Conte Forum ... Last year, BC defeated the Wolfpack, 82- 65, in Conte Forum (Feb. 14, 2008) ... BC has won each of the teams’ last three meetings. NC State’s last series victory was a 78-60 win in Conte Forum on Jan. 10, 2006.

PLAYERS VS. NC STATE
Tyrese Rice is averaging 14.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists per game in four career games against the Wolfpack ... Rakim Sanders totaled 14 points and 12 rebounds in his only career game against NC State (Feb. 14, 2008).

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Boston College is averaging 76.6 points per game. The Eagles have four players -- Tyrese Rice, Joe Trapani, Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders -- with double-figure scoring averages.

80 POINTS
BC has scored 80 or more points in 12 of its first 20 games. BC is undefeated in those 12 contests.

THE "THREE BALL"
Boston College has attempted 19.7 three-point field goals per game, making 6.8 per game ... The Eagles have made a season-best 11 treys in each of two games -- against USC Upstate (Dec. 14) and against San Francisco (Dec. 29) ... Tyrese Rice leads the team (and ranks fifth among ACC players) with 39 treys.

ACTING DEFENSIVELY
Boston College is allowing 69.8 points per game. The Eagles are forcing 13.4 turnovers per game and making 6.7 steals per game ... The opponents’ field-goal percentage is a cumulative 41.6 percent.

REBOUNDING
Boston College has outrebounded its opponent in 12 of 20 games this season. BC has a plus-3.1 rebounding margin ... The Eagles have enjoyed double-digit rebounding advantages in six games this season.

QUICK ROSTER CHECK
The 2008-09 BC roster features one senior, one junior, seven sophomores and three freshmen ... The roster features seven returning lettermen — Tyrese Rice, Tyler Roche, Corey Raji, Biko Paris, Josh Southern, Rakim Sanders and Cortney Dunn ... BC’s 12 players come from 11 different states. Colorado is the lone state with two players on the BC roster (Dallas Elmore and Reggie Jackson) ... BC roster by age: Two 21- year-olds, five 20-year-olds, three 19-year-olds and two 18-year-olds. Freshman Reggie Jackson is the youngest player (18 years, nine months).

BALANCED ATTACK
The Eagles are far from a one-man team. In fact, through the season’s first 20 games, BC has benefited greatly from a balanced attack. So far, five different players have topped the team in scoring at least once -- led by Tyrese Rice (10 times), Joe Trapani (four times), Rakim Sanders (three times) and Corey Raji (three times). Four players -- Sanders, Josh Southern, Trapani and Raji -- have recorded at least one double-digit rebounding effort. Trapani has registered five double-figure rebounding games.

TYRESE RICE
Senior Tyrese Rice has scored 20 or more points in 10 games this season, including in seven of the last 10 games. Most recently, he posted 26 points -- including 18 second-half and six overtime points -- at Georgia Tech (Jan. 20). Rice tallied 20 points against Wake Forest (Jan. 18), 21 points against Miami (Jan. 10) and 25 points at North Carolina (Jan. 4). He netted 21 points against both Maine (Dec. 23) and San Francisco (Dec. 29). He scored 20 points against Providence (Dec. 20) ... Earlier in the season, Rice scored 28 points against St. John’s, 24 points against Alabama-Birmingham and 21 points at Massachusetts ... Rice shot 5-for-5 from three-point range against UAB. The game marked the sixth time in his collegiate career that he’d made five or more treys in one game. Rice has made four treys in 11 more games.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTIONS
The Eagles are getting solid contributions from their freshman class. Through 20 games, the freshman trio combines to average 10.7 points, 5.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steal per game ... Reggie Jackson is the top-scoring freshman, averaging 7.9 ppg. He has scored in double figures in seven games, including each of his first two ACC games. Jackson scored 17 points in his ACC debut -- at North Carolina (Jan. 4). Evan Ravenel has been a steady contributor, averaging 2.0 ppg and 1.4 rpg. He grabbed a season-best five rebounds at Saint Louis ... Dallas Elmore recorded nine points in the season opener against Central Connecticut, logged 19 minutes against Alabama-Birmingham (contributing two rebounds, two assists and one blocked shot) and 21 minutes against Iowa (four points, two rebounds and two assists).