Wolfpack's best trait: Sharing the basketball

Lorenzo Brown leads the Wolfpack in assists at 6.8 per game and is one of five N.C. State players averaging in double figures in scoring. Ethan Hyman photo.

N.C. State is the only ACC team with five players who average at least 10 points a game.

The Wolfpack's balance helped them in Sunday's 79-74 college basketball win over Maryland, which was essentially a one-man show in Terrell Stoglin (25 points).

C.J. Leslie led State with 20 points against the Terps, Scott Wood added 19, Lorenzo Brown had 11 and Richard Howell finished with 10.

N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said the Pack's scoring distribution is a product of the system he runs, UCLA's high-post offense, and the unselfish attitude of his players.

"John Wooden's style of play is a proven system that has won a number of national championships," Gottfried said Monday on the weekly ACC teleconference. "I think our guys have bought into it."

Leslie leads the Pack for the season with 13.5 points per game, followed by Wood (12.9), Brown (12.4), C.J. Williams (12.1) and Howell (12.1).

"The way we play, it creates opportunities for everybody," Gottfried said. "It doesn't rely on one guy to be our leading scorer."

N.C. State has shown a willingness to share the ball this season. The Pack ranks second in the ACC with 17.6 assists per game. Brown is second in the league in dimes (6.8 per game), behind UNC's Kendall Marshall, who is on an historic pace (10.1 per game, no one league history has average double-digits over the course of the season). Senior guard Alex Johnson ranks ninth in the ACC with 3.2 assists per game.

-- J.P. Giglio