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 Wednesday, January 19
Wolfpack bare their teeth in ACC
 
By Andy Katz
ESPN.com

 North Carolina State proved Sunday that the Wolfpack finally are over the hump under Herb Sendek after three seasons of repeated injury problems and NIT berths.

Not only are the Pack (12-2, 3-1 ACC) poised for their first NCAA Tournament berth since 1991, but also for a run at the ACC title.

Damon Thornton
Damon Thornton averages 10.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game.
"We can win this thing," said senior guard Justin Gainey after Sunday's 20-point win over Wake Forest at the new Entertainment and Sports Arena -- a louder and more pristine setting than Reynolds Coliseum. "We saw the Duke-Virginia game and Duke had to score over 100 points to win. We know we're not going to give up 100 points."

That's because the Wolfpack have the stingiest defense in the ACC and 19th in the nation, giving up 59.3 points a game. But for the first time under Sendek they actually have a fluid offense.

Despite an unorthodox shot, Anthony Grundy has developed into a go-to scorer on the perimeter. He hung 30 points on the Demon Deacons, mostly within the offense. A midseason addition a year ago, Grundy has finally blossomed with more playing time.

The inside game of Kenny Inge, Ron Kelley, Damon Thornton, Damien Wilkins and Marshall Williams isn't going to wow you with scoring but all can finish in the post and keep the offense flowing. The ball goes inside enough to force the defense to respect the power game, opening the perimeter for Grundy and Gainey.

"If you leave guys open in our conference, they're going to make shots," Grundy said.

Sendek didn't want to put too much importance into Sunday's win over Wake Forest. But Gainey didn't hesitate. Previous Wolfpack teams have struggled to separate themselves from the middle of the ACC. Home wins over Wake Forest and Maryland have given the Wolfpack the appropriate lift two weeks into the conference season.

N.C. State's only conference loss was at North Carolina, when the Wolfpack gambled by focusing too much on point guard Ed Cota and allowed the Heels to shoot nearly 80 percent from the field in the second half. But they followed that loss with two straight home wins.

"I don't think we would have done that last year," Gainey said. "Every year we were just hoping to get to eight wins in the ACC. This year, we believe we can win it."

Yet a perception still exists that the Wolfpack aren't one of the elite teams in the ACC. N.C. State can't crack the AP top 25, sitting just outside the poll while No. 21 North Carolina (11-6) and No. 24 Maryland (11-5) are still in the poll. The Tar Heels are No. 21 in the coaches poll while the Terps and Wolfpack aren't ranked.

The next five games will tell if N.C. State can contend -- starting with a game at Duke on Wednesday, followed by Georgia Tech at home, at Clemson, Arizona State (non-conference) and Florida State at home. The Wolfpack could be 16-3 after that stretch, with an expected loss coming at Duke. Do that and the Wolfpack will finally avoid waiting for the bad news on Selection Sunday.

"We've never felt comfortable," Gainey said. "We still don't get the respect that Duke and Carolina get."

While the Wolfpack are finally feeling good about themselves, the Tar Heels and Demon Deacons are facing a critical week. North Carolina lost to surging Virginia on Tuesday and need to bounce back against Florida State on Saturday, while Wake Forest is at winless Maryland on Wednesday and then hosts first-place Duke on Saturday.

Andy Katz is a senior writer at ESPN.com.

 



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