Wake destroyed Elon 90-50 last Sunday night. State struggled to defeat the Phoenix 79-76 on Thursday. The combination of outcomes suggests a blowout in the Demon Deacons favor.
Don’t bet on it. Wolfpack players admitted they took the Phoenix for granted after seeing how easily they were beaten by Wake.
“We didn’t give them the respect they deserved,” State head coach Sidney Lowe said. ”Elon determined that they could beat us. Anytime you fight a bigger opponent and throw the first punch, you can get some confidence. I told the coaches before the game I wasn’t feeling it. I could see it in the players’ eyes. You have to come to play every game. This is the first time this year we didn’t do that.”
Sophomore center Tracy Smith, who leads the Wolfpack in scoring with an 18.3 average, realizes State can’t play the same way against Wake and win.
“We can’t do this against Wake Forest, an ACC school,” Smith said. “We talked about it in the locker room after the Elon game. If we do, we are going to lose by 30.”
State, picked to finish near the bottom of the ACC, stands 8-1. Wake is 7-2 heading into the 230th meeting in the series that dates to the 1910-11 season. State has won nine of the last 15 games against Wake, including a 4-2 mark in Lowe’s three seasons. The teams have split the past two seasons, with each team winning on its home floor.
“It’s a conference game and we’re going to be fired up for that,” said Dennis Horner, who is second on the State scoring list with a 15.0 average. “We’re going to keep playing and come out with a victory.”
gsmith@hpe.com | 888-3519
Post a Comment
