The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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24 ■ THE WOLFPACKER TRACKING THE PACK MEN'S BASKETBALL TEAM'S EARLY-SEASON SLATE ANNOUNCED NC State will play 11 of its 13 non-conference men's basketball games in Raleigh this season. The Wolfpack opens its season against Jackson State Nov. 14 at PNC Arena, as part of the Global Sports Shootout. NCSU will host Hofstra, Jacksonville and South Florida in the event. NC State plays at Purdue Dec. 2 in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge and will battle West Virginia at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 20 in the Gotham Classic at Madison Square Garden in New York City. NC State also has a pair of games at historic Reyn - olds Coliseum — hosting Charleston Southern Dec. 12 and Wofford Dec. 14. The rundown of the ACC slate hasn't been fully an- nounced, but NC State hosts Wake Forest Dec. 6 to open up league action. NC State will play home and away against UNC, Wake Forest (road date still to be announced), Clem- son and Virginia; host Duke, Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh, Syracuse and Notre Dame; and play at FSU, Miami Georgia Tech, Louisville and Boston College. MEN'S BASKETBALL 2014-15 EARLY-SEASON SCHEDULE Date Opponent (2013-2014 record) Time Nov. 14 Jackson State (11-20, 7-11 SWAC) TBA Nov. 17 Hofstra (10-23, 5-11 Colonial) TBA Nov. 20 Jacksonville (12-18, 8-10 Atlantic Sun) TBA Nov. 23 South Florida (12-20, 3-15 AAC) TBA Nov. 26 Richmond (19-14, 8-8 Atlantic 10) TBA Nov. 28 Boise State (21-13, 9-9 Mountain West) TBA Dec. 2 At Purdue (15-17, 5-13 Big Ten) 9 p.m. Dec. 6 Wake Forest (17-16, 6-12 ACC) TBA Dec. 12 Charleston Southern (13-18, 6-10) TBA (Reynolds Coliseum) Dec. 14 Wofford (20-13, 11-5 Southern) TBA (Reynolds Coliseum) Dec. 17 Tennessee (24-13, 11-7 SEC) 7 p.m. Dec. 20 Vs. West Virginia (17-16, 9-9 Big 12) at Madison Square Garden in NYC 9:30 p.m. Dec. 23 Louisiana Tech (29-8, 13-3 Conf. USA) TBA Dec. 30 Cincinnati (27-7, 15-3 AAC) TBA WOMEN'S BASKETBALL PROGRAM FACES CHALLENGING NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE The NC State women's basketball team will have nine non-conference home games at Reynolds Coli- seum in head coach Wes Moore's second season. NCSU opens its season against Tennessee State at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Reynolds. The Wolfpack will take off Thanksgiving weekend to play in the Junkanoo Jam at Grand Bahama Island Nov. 28-29. NC State opens with George Washington, and then will face either Texas Tech or Purdue. NC State knows it will play one Big Ten opponent for sure, hosting Minnesota in the Big Ten/ACC Chal- lenge Dec. 3. NC State faces in-state foes High Point (Nov. 21), Elon (Dec. 7) and Davidson (Dec. 19), and travels to play at Charlotte (Nov. 19). The ACC schedule hasn't been announced, but NC State knows it will host North Carolina, Duke, Notre Dame, Wake Forest, Clemson, Miami, Pittsburgh and Virginia Tech in league play beginning in January. WOMEN'S BASKETBALL 2014-15 NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE Date Opponent (2013-14 record) Time Nov. 7 Lenoir-Rhyne (exhibition) 8 p.m. Nov. 14 Tennessee St. (12-18, 9-7 Ohio Valley) 6 p.m. Nov. 16 Coppin State (17-14, 12-4 MEAC) 2 p.m. Nov. 18 At Charlotte (15-16, 9-7 CUSA) TBA Nov. 21 High Point (22-11, 16-4 Big South) 7 p.m. Nov. 24 At Tulane (20-11, 11-5 CUSA) 8 p.m. Nov. 28 Vs. George Washington (23-11, 11-5 A10) at Grand Bahama Island 1 p.m. Nov. 29 Vs. Texas Tech or Purdue at Grand Bahama Island 1/3:15 p.m. Dec. 3 Minnesota (22-13, 8-8 Big Ten) 7 p.m. Dec. 7 Elon (15-16, 10-8 SoCon) 2 p.m. Dec. 13 Mt. St. Mary's (19-14, 13-5 Northeast) 7 p.m. Dec. 17 Liberty (20-11, 15-5 Big South) TBA Dec. 19 Davidson (16-16, 11-7 SoCon) 7 p.m. Dec. 30 At Villanova (23-9, 12-6 Big East) 7 p.m. BASEBALL HIRES NEW PITCHING COACH The NC State baseball program hired former Auburn pitching coach Scott Foxhall on June 30. Foxhall spent the 2014 season as pitching coach for the Tigers and also served as the architect of Auburn's most recent recruiting classes. His last four classes have been ranked in the Top 25 nationally, peaking with a ninth-place listing ahead of the 2013 season. Foxhall pieced together the 13th-best class in the NCAA last spring. Foxhall was part of John Pawloski's staff at Auburn, and then remained under new coach Sunny Galloway last year. Foxhall's contract wasn't renewed and Auburn hired NC State pitching coach Tom Holliday, who will also serve as recruiting coordinator and associate head coach for the Tigers. NCSU head coach Elliott Avent is excited about hiring Foxhall. "He brings a wealth of high-level experience, an unparalleled passion and a tireless work ethic to Wolf - pack baseball," Avent said. "Those qualities will help elevate the already impressive accomplishments of [assistant coach] Chris Hart and the rest of our staff." Foxhall has seen 29 of his pitchers selected in the MLB Draft, including seven in the first 10 rounds, in 17 years as a collegiate coach. Foxhall developed six major leaguers in his coaching career at both Auburn and College of Charleston. The Greer, S.C., native also pitched for both of those schools during his playing days. He started off at Auburn for two years, and then transferred and was a three-time letterwinner (1992-94) at College of Charleston, where he earned his degree in education. MEN'S GOLF HIRES ACCOMPLISHED ASSISTANT COACH The NC State men's golf program hired Nick Biersh- enk as an assistant coach July 18. Biershenk joins the Wolfpack after serving as an assistant coach and interim head coach at Ole Miss, where he helped the Rebels improve their Golfstat ranking from No. 84 in the nation to No. 68 in just one season. The Clemson graduate was also the Rebels' recruiting coordinator. Biershenk was also the head men's and women's golf coach at Limestone College in Gaffney, S.C., from 2011- 13. Both programs saw impressive gains, with the men's team improving from No. 124 nationally to No. 22, and the women's squad went from No. 132 to No. 10. "Nick is not only a very good player, but he's also had to run his own program at Limestone with both the men's and women's teams," NC State head coach Rich - ard Sykes said. "Then with his time at a top program like Ole Miss, he has all the experience we're looking for in someone who can help us run this program and make us better." Biershenk was part of Clemson's 2003 NCAA Divi- sion I national championship team during his playing days. He eventually became a professional golfer from 2008-11, and earned seven victories on mini-tours. ■ Red And White Notebook In December, head coach Mark Gottfried and the Wolfpack men's basketball team will play at Purdue, host Tennessee and travel to New York City to play West Virginia. PHOTO BY KEN MARTIN