NC State opens at home with Georgia State in mid-November before heading down to Daytona for the Glenn Wilkes Litmus Test Classic.
Filling in the last few OOC blanks are:
Georgia Southern (at Reynolds Coliseum) -- With no rotation mainstay taller than 6-7, they were killed in the paint in terms of both FG% and rebounding. Theirs was one of the nation's ten worst defenses, and the offense wasn't a whole lot better. This is one team that won't be exploiting us in the blocks.
Elon -- They'll be without their two primary contributors from 2009--Brett James and Ola Atoyebi. In Atoyebi's case, that's a real shame, because he was an outstanding player in the SoCon last season and I really would have liked to hear Gary Hahn try to pronounce his name for two hours.
Winthrop -- Everybody's back, which is good and bad: they were decent enough defensively, but whew, these guys could not score to save their lives. Behold all those ugly 3FG%s.
Holy Cross -- Along with American, Bill Simmons U. was the class of the Patriot league in 2009; unfortunately they ran into that American team in the conference tournament and there their season ended. They could prove frustrating for the Wolfpack, as they forced a lot of turnovers and locked down the defensive glass last season. Note to students: this team includes the dynamic Andrew Keister and Eric Meister duo. Sign ideas and...go! Keister & Meister, Shoe Repairmen And Attorneys At Law. Ass & Guy Incorporated.
I wonder if every time Eric Meister introduces himself as Mr. Meister he immediately breaks into song. "Take these broken wings, and learn to fly again..."
NC Central -- Playing Central is pointless because their program is so bad they don't offer even the slightest hope of doing our strength of schedule a favor (though that doesn't matter this year). Nonetheless, I hope we play them every year for eternity just for the amusement.