WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

N.C. State looks to bounce back against Boston College

By Pack Pride

Mar 4, 2009

N.C. State looks to bounce back from Sunday's loss to Maryland with a win against Boston College on Senior Night. Pack Pride takes a closer look at Wednesday's opponent -- tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.

PROJECTED STARTERS
G Tyrese Rice (17.5 ppg, 5.3 apg)
G Rakim Sanders (1.32 ppg, 4.4 rpg)
F Corey Raji (10.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg)
F Joe Trapani (14.1 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
C Josh Southern (5.6 ppg, 4.9 rpg)

KEY RESERVES
G Reggie Jackson (7.4 ppg, 3.4 rpg)
F Tyler Roche (4.0 ppg, 1.5 rpg)
G Biko Paris (3.4 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. Over the years he has been a big problem for NC State.

Boston College Game Notes

RICE REACHES MILESTONE
Senior Tyrese Rice scored 21 points in the Eagles’ win over Duke on Feb. 15.

His three-point field goal 16 seconds into the second half of that game raised his career point total to 2,000 ...He became the seventh player in Boston College history to reach this milestone ... Rice enters tonight’s game with 2,033 points.

THE SERIES AGAINST NC STATE
Boston College has a 6-1 all-time record against North Carolina State, including a 3-0 mark in the RBC Center ... BC has won each of the last three meetings ... Last year, BC earned an 82-65 home win over the Wolfpack on Valentine’s Day ... BC defeated the Wolfpack, 74-58, in the RBC Center in Raleigh, N.C., on Jan. 6, 2007 ... The two teams split their two conference meetings during the 2005-06 season. NC State earned a 78-60 win in Conte Forum on Jan. 10, 2006. BC gained a 74-72 double-overtime victory in the RBC Center on Feb. 25, 2006 ... The two teams played a home-and-home series in 2002-03 and 2003-04. BC captured a 93-81 victory over the Wolfpack in the RBC Center on Jan. 16, 2003. One year later -- on Jan. 20, 2004 -- BC earned a 66-65 overtime win over the Wolfpack in Conte Forum.

ACC HONORS
Senior Tyrese Rice was honored as the ACC Player of the Week for the week ending Jan. 4. Rice averaged 21.3 points, 5.7 rebounds and 8.3 assists per game in the Eagles’ 3-0 week ... Freshman Reggie Jackson was honored as the ACC Rookie of the Week for the week ending Jan. 25. Jackson averaged 9.0 points, 5.5 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.0 blocked shot per game in the Eagles’ wins over Georgia Tech and NC State. He shot 50.0 percent from the field in the two games.

OFFENSIVELY SPEAKING
Boston College is averaging 75.7 points per game. The Eagles have four players -- Tyrese Rice, Joe Trapani, Corey Raji and Rakim Sanders -- with double-figure scoring averages.

THE "THREE BALL"
Boston College has attempted 19.2 three-point field goals per game, making 6.6 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 with 57 treys.

THEY REALLY ARE FREE
Boston College has made the most of its trips to the free-throw line in ACC contests this season. Through 14 league games, BC is shooting 76.7 percent from the foul line (221-for-288), the second-highest percentage among league schools ... BC is shooting 72.1 percent from the foul line in all games this season (454-for-630).

ACTING DEFENSIVELY
Boston College is allowing 70.9 points per game. The Eagles are forcing 12.6 turnovers per game and making 6.2 steals per game ... The opponents’ field-goal percentage is a cumulative 42.1 percent.

REBOUNDING
Boston College has outrebounded its opponent in 16 of 29 games this season. BC has a plus-3.0 rebounding margin ... The Eagles have enjoyed double-digit rebounding advantages in eight 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, 10 months).

BENCH STRENGTH
Boston College’s reserves have played a key role in the Eagles’ success this season. Freshman Reggie Jackson is the top-scoring reserve, averaging 7.4 points per game (and 3.4 rebounds per game) ... The reserves combined for 23 points in consecutive games against Clemson (Feb. 10) and Duke (Feb. 15) ... In the team’s Feb. 4 win at Virginia, BC’s reserves scored 22 points. Paris tallied 12 points, three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes, while Roche totaled eight points and three rebounds ... One game earlier -- a home win over Virginia Tech -- Roche posted 10 points, four rebounds and one steal (in 21 minutes). Jackson added five points and five rebounds, while Dunn grabbed seven rebounds and blocked one shot (in 23 minutes) ... In the win at Maryland (Jan. 27), Jackson scored 10 points, Paris scored five, Roche sank a trey, and Dunn contributed three rebounds, two blocked shots and one steal.

THE COACH
Al Skinner is in his 21st season as a head coach, his 12th season at Boston College. Already Boston College’s all-time winningest coach, he has led the Eagles to postseason tournament berths in seven of the last eight seasons. BC participated in the 2001, 2002, 2004, 2005, 2006 and 2007 NCAA Tournaments and the 2003 National Invitation Tournament ... Skinner enters tonight’s game with a 368-272 career record, including a 230-146 record at Boston College. Skinner is a 1974 graduate of the University of Massachusetts, where he enjoyed a stellar basketball career (1971-74).