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College-Basketball Update

The Associated Press

Published: November 20, 2009

Updated: 11/20/2009 01:00 am

Game day

ASU at Arkansas

• Site, time: Walton Arena, Fayetteville, Ark., 8 p.m.

• Radio: WKBC 97.3, WBLO 790

• Of note: Appalachian State, sparked by 24 points from Donald Sims, upset Arkansas 74-68 in the first meeting between the teams, in 2007 in Little Rock. Arkansas (1-1) is coming off a 96-66 loss to No. 20 Louisville and is without two starters. Coach John Pelphrey announced Nov. 10 that sophomore guard Courtney Fortson and senior guard Stefan Welsh were among five players suspended for violating team rules. Sophomore guard Rotnei Clarke scored a school-record 51 points and set an SEC record with 13 3-pointers in the Razorbacks' 130-68 season-opening win over Alcorn State. Freshman forward Marshawn Powell has had double-figures scoring and rebounding totals in both games. Ike Butts, a 6-10, 285-pound junior, leads Appalachian (2-1) with 13.3 points and 9.3 rebounds and is shooting 82.6 percent (19 of 23) from the field.

N.C. State vs. Akron

• Site, time: Ocean Center Arena; Daytona Beach, Fla.; 3:30

• Radio: WSJS 600; WIFM 100.9

• Of note: This will be N.C. State's opener in the Glenn Wilkes Classic, a three-day tournament in which State also will play Austin Peay (8 p.m. Saturday) and Auburn (8 p.m. Sunday). State is a combined 6-3 all-time against those opponents (2-0 vs. Akron, 4-3 vs. Auburn, 0-0 vs. Austin Peay) but hasn't played Akron since 1989 and Auburn since 1976. Saturday's game will be Coach Sidney Lowe's 100th with the Wolfpack (he's 52-46 before today's game). The Wolfpack won its only game so far, 69-53 over Georgia State last week. Tracy Smith had game highs of 18 points and 11 rebounds in the win, Julius Mays scored 14 of his 16 in the second half, and Dennis Horner had 15 points. Akron is 0-1 after an 80-77 loss to Austin Peay. The Zips had a 15-point lead with 7:36 left Sunday, but the Governors had a 17-0 run over the last 5:26. Reserve guard Steve McNees scored a team-high 14 for Akron, and freshman center Zeke Marshall had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

Of note

■ Sophomore Konner Tucker of Wake Forest sprained an ankle in the second half of Wednesday's game against High Point but is not expected to be sidelined long.

Basketball trainer Greg Collins said yesterday that the X-rays of the ankle were negative. No prognosis was given for Tucker's return, but the Deacons will not play again until Tuesday's game against Winston-Salem State at Joel Coliseum.

-- Dan Collins

■ Hall of Famers John Thompson and the late Kay Yow, and Jack Curran, a New York City high-school coaching legend, have received the second annual Lapchick Character Awards. They were honored Thursday at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The award recognizes coaches who have shown the character traits and coaching skills of Joe Lapchick, a Hall of Famer who coached St. John's and the New York Knicks.

Yow led N.C. to the Final Four in 1998, and her 22-year fight with breast cancer became part of her legacy. Thompson led Georgetown to three Final Four appearances and the 1984 national championship.