That Crittenden shot damn near killed me. Good thing I am only 33 – I would be blogging from the sky if I were much older. Will that turn the tide, or will the Pack withstand yet another Yellow Jacket run? Anyway, this is a great game. Dicuss.
8:16 – Well, this doesn’t look good. Tech in synch offensively for the first time maybe ever this ACC season. We could easily run out of steam.
8:21 – Grant has such balance when he drives the lane and keeps his cool. He has been outstanding tonight. Not sure he’s committed a turnover yet, either.
8:30 – OK, there’s the return of out-of-control Grant. Still, what heart we are showing. We keep taking punches and getting right back up. One note of caution – I think our entire rotation has either 2 or 3 fouls. That could get dicey.
8:34 – I would be highly remiss not to give huge props to Fells for his defense on Crittenden.
8:37 – Tech lands a huge flurry of punches.
8:41 – This time, we aren’t getting back up. Our legs are completely gone, and Hewitt is wisely pressing hard. I don’t see how we pull this one out. Damn it.
8:45 – Hell, Tech might even cover at this rate. Game over.
8:52 – Hewitt showing how you beat NC State – press, press, then press some more. We can’t hold up for 40 minutes. Not this year.
9:00 – Crittenden with the dagger, defying laws of physics.
9:03 – Too tired to block out. It helps to have a stud PG to break down the defense and still bleed clock. We are out of options.
9:05 – Gambling wolves howl – stop fouling!!!
9:08 – Pack beats spread, loses 74-65. Very ugly finish – we MUST wipe the slate clean and take care of Miami. A respectable finish and easy NIT bid is still within our grasp if we keep our composure. Remember, everything is gravy this year. And you got plenty of gravy on Saturday.
More from Jeff:
The Pack was up as much as 15 points in the first half but succombs to an 18-0 run (and some say horrible officiating) in the second half. State only scored 22 points in the second half.
Georgia Tech used nine players on the evening and the Pack primarily went with five plus some time from Bryan Nieman. It showed as the press killed State.
The Pack was beaten by the deficiencies that we all know exist on this team – lack of depth, a healthy ballhandler and a ‘go to’ guy for sure points when the offense dries up.
Honestly, I fully expected State to lose this game. I was actually very pleased that we got a road match-up against a good team as the follow-up to our Carolina win so that any let down would be to a good team. Had we played at Miami or Wake or somewhere very winnable after Saturday then the would have hurt a lot.
But, I expected to lay an egg; not play as well as we did for 30 minutes and then lose.
In the end, many of the major items that
IMHO, Saturday’s game at Miami is more important to the Wolfpack’s post season hopes than tonight’s game because a loss at Miami is SO BAD that it would crush any hope for an NCAA Tournament berth (if the Pack finds a way to get to 8-8 in the ACC) and would also take away one of the ‘hopeful/expected’ five wins that we need for an NIT bid.
