WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

Lack of consistent play still an issue for N.C. State

By Dane Huffman

Jan 26, 2009

Raleigh, N.C. — N.C. State coach Sidney Lowe is looking for consistency on his team as it hurtles through the ACC season looking for a victory.

The Wolfpack played well – at times – in Saturday’s loss at Boston College. State is at home Tuesday night against Miami.

Injuries and erratic play have made it difficult for State to come up with victories. The Wolfpack is now 10-7 overall and 1-4 in ACC games.

Lowe said he’s looking for a consistent rotation of seven or eight players he can depend on.

One option he will continue to explore is having Tracy Smith on the court with Brandon Costner and Ben McCauley. That puts Costner at small forward and Courtney Fells at shooting guard, but Lowe said he is comfortable with that lineup.

“It gives us, hopefully, a little more rebounding power. More physical play inside is what we’ve been seeing in our conference,” Lowe said Monday. “Teams have been very physical on those boards.

“With Ben and Tracy, it gives us two guys on either block who can score the ball down there. That’s where they do their best damage.”

Smith played 24 minutes off the bench in the 79-68 loss at Boston College.

The liability with the bigger lineup is that State gives up some speed.

“So maybe from a quickness standpoint, getting out on the wings and running, we won’t be as good, but the pros hopefully outweigh the cons, where we have that board power,” he said.

Lowe wouldn’t say if he would start the bigger lineup against Miami Tuesday at the RBC Center.

The lack of productivity across the lineup was evident Saturday. C.J. Williams started at shooting guard but was 0-for-2 in 11 minutes. Trevor Ferguson continues to be bothered by a pad on his injured hand and was also 0-for-2 from the field.

Julius Mays (three points, three fouls), Johnny Thomas (five points) and Dennis Horner (0-for-4 from the field) had little impact off the bench.