4:20pm: Wow, are we ever flat early. Fortunately, Wake isn’t any good, and thus only up two.
4:22: Repeat after me – don’t let Justin Gray beat you. Nobody else is capable of doing so (yes, that includes Eric Williams). And is it just me, or does it seem like weeks since Ilian Evtimov scored a field goal?
4:26: Contrast Evtimov’s stroke to Atsur’s. It’s night and day.
4:27: Atsur, showing some upper body strength denying Williams down low. Yeah, he fouled him, but still…
4:29: Now THAT is what Big Ced needs to do on the offensive end. He sure as hell doesn’t need to be setting picks 19 feet from the basket, especially with 2 fouls.
4:30: Gray is getting frustrated. Good sign.
4:34: Wife called, had to set up the other TV for the kids. Hope I didn’t miss anything important (like a 3rd foul on Ced).
4:36: 2 fouls on Brack. That’s not good.
4:37: An Evtimov 3 is not a good option with numbers. Hale’s layup is. Wake by TEN? WTF?
4:39: Slow defensive help by Bethel leads to a cheap third foul for Big Ced – on [insert first name] f’ing Hale! This looks like a Sendek team of years past.
4:42: I need a mood-altering substance of some variety. This is absurd.
4:45: Atsur from 28 feet out, comes up short. What, does he think he’ll get 4 from there? Unless your last name is Redick, Childress, or Monroe, that’s a terrible shot.
4:46: Just a thought – after the UNC and GT games (and this first half), it’s clear we don’t believe in playing defense on a Saturday (than God the GW game was moved to Friday night). Are our guys Seventh Day Adventists? Orthodox Jews? We had better pray for Friday/Sunday brackets come March.
4:48: Cheap foul on Drum, who I could have sworn was one of my favorite lefty bloggers, not an ACC basketball player. Without FTs, we’d barely be in double figures.
4:50: Phantom 3rd foul on Ellis – looked like he got the board cleanly. McCauley swishes a pair.
4:51: Anheuser Busch doesn’t want you to drink very much of their product. No, they really mean that.
4:54: Evtimov finally scores from the field! Then clunks the FT. Wake starting to teeter.
4:57: This just in – Wake’s JV squad really sucks. As bad a first half as NC State played, one has to feel good about only being down 5 at the break. However, with Ced and Atsur saddled with 3 fouls, it’s too soon to predict a win. But I think we’ve taken the Deacs’ best shot.
5:15: Steve Martin answers my question – it’s HARVEY Hale.
5:16: Big Ced down low – lather, rinse, repeat.
5:21: Don’t let up just because you got the game tied. Step on the throat, damn it!
5:23: Have I mentioned how much I hate the fast break three? It bears repeating.
5:28: Is it just me, or is Cam’s 16 the quietest 16 in the history of basketball? 4 on Big Ced. Fuck.
5:30: Bullshit foul called on Grant. I hate it when the refs go crazy with the whistle.
5:31: Deja vu against Bethel.
5:33: State’s in the bonus with 13:06 to play. Amazing.
5:34: Cam seems to have usurped Atsur’s “quiet assassin” role. He’s really kept us alive today.
5:36: Somebody tell Evtimov this isn’t his Harlem Globetrotters tryout, for fuck’s sake.
5:43: Game entering a lull.
5:44: Atsur re-asserting himself. We really, really need that.
5:47: I predict we will pull away before the 4 minute timeout. Defense much better in the second half.
5:49: Notice what happened when we started aggressively taking the ball into the lane – both in transition and the half-court set. Let’s not forget that lesson, Pack.
5:50: My prediction was pretty accurate, yes? Wake has thrown in the towel now. Their mental toughness is highly suspect. This game by no means impressed me, but the team’s overall mental toughness and ability to fight through sluggishness is encouraging.
5:52: Perhaps I spoke too soon. Who in the hell is guarding the walk-on? He has FOURTEEN POINTS.
5:53: Grant with the dagger, takes the walk-on to school. Nice play to stay in attack mode rather than trying to kill clock. You can’t play not to lose.
5:55: Evtimov back in for Grant? WTF?
5:56: Evtimov nails 3, I look like a moron.
6:00: NOW it is the time to bleed clock. Better game management than I am used to from Sendek. Nice isolation by Atsur.
6:04: Idiot announcer Dan Boner (spelling intentional) claims the key to NC State being an elite team is getting consistent play from Evtimov. Has he really seen us play our better games this year?
6:07: Wow, almost let Wake back in the game. Need to be cleaner with the ballhandling. This is also a good time to mention that, as you all know, Duke lost today. It’s always nice when Billy Packer calls a Duke loss, since he’s the only commentator who’s not upset by the end result.
6:11: What a great play to finish the game from Cam. THAT is how you play with a championship mentality. Break the other team’s will. Don’t give an inch. Final score: NC State 92, Wake Forest 82.
