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North Carolina State opens season vs. William & Mary

Nov 15, 2007 - 3:20 PM William & Mary (0-1) at No. 22 N.C. State (0-0) 7:00 pm EST

RALEIGH, North Carolina (Ticker) -- Coach Sidney Lowe's first season at North Carolina State was very encouraging. Now his team will have to live up to heightened expectations.

Lowe's 22nd-ranked Wolfpack open their season Thursday when they host William & Mary.

Lowe took over for Herb Sendek and guided the Wolfpack a 20-16 record and an appearance in the Atlantic Coast Conference Championship game last season.

But a loss to North Carolina in the title game left NC State on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament.

Buoyed by the return of four starters and a terrific frontcourt, NC State has high hopes entering this season.

Sophomore Brandon Costner was the ACC's top scoring freshman, and is he joined in the frontcourt by senior Gavin Grant, junior Ben McCauley and freshman phenom J.J. Hickson.

Costner averaged 16.8 points - good for fourth in the conference - and his 7.3 rebounds ranked second in the conference last season to only North Carolina's Tyler Hansbrough.

William & Mary is playing its second straight ranked opponent after suffering a 68-53 loss to No. 5 Georgetown on Saturday.

Senior Laimis Kisielius scored 16 points for the Tribe, which returns four starters from a team that went 15-15 a season ago.