Struggling N.C. State will try to regroup tonight against Virginia Tech at the RBC Center.
The Wolfpack (14-10, 2-7 ACC) is tied for last in the ACC with Miami and has lost four of its last five. The Hokies (18-4, 5-3) are tied for fourth with Virginia. Tipoff will be at 9 o'clock (ESPNU Ch. 143).
Coach Sidney Lowe's Wolfpack is coming off another close loss -- 73-71 at Georgia Tech on Saturday in a game that ended after Julius Mays missed a 3-point shot with one second left. It appeared that Mays was fouled on the shot, but there was no call.
Lowe argued with the officials, then in a move he called out of character, ran off the floor without shaking the hand of Coach Paul Hewitt of Tech. Lowe later found Hewitt in the Tech locker room.
"I've never done that before," Lowe said of the emotional outburst.... "I just got caught up, and I've never reacted that way before."
The Wolfpack has had its share of tough-luck losses, but the Hokies have been on the other side, winning three games in overtime this season to extend their streak of overtime victories to six straight.
Lowe said that the biggest problem of late is not hitting enough shots -- State has been inconsistent since an 88-74 win against Duke on Jan. 20.
"The last five or six games, we've not been shooting well," Lowe said. "We really go cold. We've been OK on defense, but sometimes our defense wears down, especially when teams are running at you too much."
Lowe also has had to tweak his lineup because of injury. Guard Farnold Degand didn't play against Georgia Tech (thigh bruise), and Lowe went with freshman Richard Howell and Josh Davis among the starting five. Davis played the wing, and Scott Wood moved to shooting guard.
"I think in rebounding, it really helped us because Georgia Tech is a good on the boards, and they are big and strong," Lowe said.
Virginia Tech has shown the ability to win close games, and Coach Seth Greenberg is hoping that will translate into an NCAA Tournament bid. Tech has won two in a row at home, defeating North Carolina (74-70) and Clemson (70-59), and remains in the thick of the ACC's regular-season race.
Greenberg has an experienced point guard in Malcolm Delaney, who scored 30 against Clemson, and rugged post players in Jeff Allen and J.T. Thompson.
Lowe is most impressed with Delaney's ability to get to the foul line.
"That's a tough thing to deal with because not only is he getting free shots, he's taking fouls away from your players," Lowe said. "Not many guards we have faced this season can do that."
The Hokies, despite shooting 15 percent in the first half against Clemson, did enough in the second half to win. Greenberg knows his team isn't always pretty to watch, but he loves the way Allen has come around.
"I'm really pleased with where Jeff is at, and he's having fun playing basketball," Greenberg said. "He had a great week and is really excited about the next four weeks."
Delaney leads the Hokies in scoring (20.3 ppg), Dorenzo Hudson is next (13.3 ppg), and Allen averages 11.4 points and a team-best 7.5 rebounds.
jdell@wsjournal.com
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