Wolfpack needs more Trevor Fergusons

Some thoughts after Wednesday night’s games:

Coach Mike Krzyzewski, who will visit the RBC Center with Duke on Saturday, said N.C. State has a lot of talent, and he’s right.

You won’t find many teams with as strong a collection as J.J. Hickson, Gavin Grant, Courtney Fells, Ben McCauley, Brandon Costner and Tracy Smith at the positions other than point guard.
That’s why it’s mystifying that Trevor Ferguson – perhaps the team’s least athletic player – led the team with 17 points against Florida State after posting a career-high 11 points Sunday at Virginia.

If everybody else on the team played as hard as Ferguson, N.C. State wouldn’t have six losses in a row that have put the Wolfpack in danger of missing the NIT.

That’s right. If N.C. State loses its final two ACC games to Duke and Wake Forest, and then falls in the first round of the ACC tournament, it will finish 15-16 – short of the .500 overall record necessary for NIT consideration.

That would be an incredible disappointment for a team picked third in the ACC preseason media poll.

- Duke (24-3, 11-2 ACC) and North Carolina (26-2, 11-2) are on a collision course for one of the most significant regular season meetings in the history of the storied series.

If both teams win their next two conference games, their meeting March 8 at Cameron Indoor Stadium will decide which team finishes atop the ACC standings. This will be the first time that’s happened since 2001, when Duke won at North Carolina to tie the Tar Heels for first place in the ACC.

After Wednesday’s 71-58 win over Georgia Tech, it still doesn’t seem as though the Blue Devils are playing as well as North Carolina at this point in the season. But the Tar Heels might face a period of adjustment whenever point guard Ty Lawson returns to the lineup.

- It’s just about time for Clemson fans to celebrate.

The Tigers are 8-5 in the ACC and might need one more win to lock up their first NCAA tournament bid in 10 years. But even if they don’t get that win, their resume looks strong after stopping Miami’s four-game winning streak with a 79-69 win Wednesday night.

Junior guard K.C. Rivers of Charlotte has established himself as one of the best clutch players in the league. He shot 4-for-5 from 3-point range against the Hurricanes and made some big shots late after Miami rallied from a double-digit deficit for a 60-59 lead.

-- Ken Tysiac