Live Blogging from the Central Game

07-08 Basketball112

The Pack takes the court at 7 tonight against a second consecutive D-1 newbie, the North Carolina Central Eagles. Lowe’s squad continues to search the corners of the earth for an opponent crappy enough to provide a comfortable win. Sagarin has 1-18 NCCU at 329, 14 slots behind the mighty Blue Hose of Prebyterian College. I will be front-row, center court (but on the upper level), and God and blackberry willing, live blogging this glorious event. Don’t expect updates more frequently than the media time-outs.

Pregame – There is NOBODY here. A guy just flipped off the fan cam. This amused me, as I am very immature. I am not so crass as to bastardize the national anthem, though. That always pisses me off.

7:12 – Pack up 3, halfcourt O still sucks. Central starts a white guy, FWIW.

7:19 – Up to 12-3 Pack. The people love Simon Harris, and I concur. He busts his ass.

7:22 – Central cuts lead to 7. We are playing great D, but still giving up loads of offensive boards.

7:29 – Another offensive board, followed by a 3. Lead down to 16-10.

7:31 – Grant has made 2 really awful passes to the low post. Each overshot Hickson by a good 3 feet.

7:35 – Simon tries for 3. Very bad idea. 18-12, Pack.

7:37 – Oh shit. Fells just collapsed in a heap holding his ankle/foot.

7:41 – Fells hobbled to locker room, with help. Putting no weight on right foot at all. Grant has 2 fouls, so Javi, Trevor, and Simon all playing together. This does not strike me as a lineup built to score. I shudder at the thought of this lineup in CH on Saturday.

7:45 – JJ is 6-6 from stripe. Has half our points.

Halftime – Javi closes the half with 3 points on 2 nice drives to the bucket. 27-18.

7:57 – Apparently Barry Manilow “Music and Passion” is coming to the ESA. I would rather be shot, I think.

8:10 – 2 Costner 3s key big spurt. 35-18, Pack. Eagles had 11 offensive boards in first half. Wow.

8:22 – Trevor keeps on shooting, and the people really want him to score. Their faith is not being rewarded. Pack leads easily if not artfully, 39-22.

8:26 – Central has a player who is 1-13 from the floor and 0-4 from the line.

8:29 – 1-14 now. 40-24, Pack. Can we hold them under 30?

8:31 – Troubling stat – Ben is scoreless.

8:41 – Ben breaks his cherry with old-fashioned 3 point play. Just under 4 to go and Pack up 45-26. Defense!

8:44 – Trevor scores! The people are pleased.

8:47 – Smith gets block and bucket. Central up to 29, damn it.

Your final score – NC State 54, NC Central 29. The defense holds!

About BJD95

1995 NC State graduate, sufferer of Les and MOC during my entire student tenure. An equal-opportunity objective critic and analyst of Wolfpack sports.

07-08 Basketball

112 Responses to Live Blogging from the Central Game

  1. red-enough 01/09/2008 at 8:55 PM #

    is Courtney hurt???
    i need an update, i’m in Tampa and can’t listen to the radio broadcast.
    any word on who gave Trevor the greenlight to shoot 7 3’s???

  2. jo2g5 01/09/2008 at 8:55 PM #

    ferguson 1 for 7 from three i thought he was supposed to be a great outside shooter

  3. Sweet jumper 01/09/2008 at 8:57 PM #

    He is in practice but not in games according to Gary and Tony. Ha ha!

  4. 1.21 Jigawatts 01/09/2008 at 8:57 PM #

    I’m having some serious flashbacks to the Les Era. “I See Dead People”

    Seriously, this team is insane. (def. – doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results) 4-21 3FG%.

    I think we all need to get down on our knees and pray that this current team decides to skip the game Saturday. I think we have a better chance of winning if we give Central’s band our uniforms and let them go in our place.

  5. redfred2 01/09/2008 at 9:08 PM #

    Sorry about the 9 point prediction on Ferguson. Hell, he’d have account for about the half the offense if he scored nine points in a half anyway.

  6. Sweet jumper 01/09/2008 at 9:09 PM #

    Listening to Sid’s interview on the radio. He is always able to find the silver lining and say something positive–tonight the silver lining was our defense according to Sid. You have to respect that. I remember when Steve Superior(Spurrier) was at Duke, and he used to berate his team and call out underperforming players by name in his post-game interviews. That was embarassing to listen to. He would have a field day with this team. I’m glad Sid hasn’t sunk to that level publicly, but I hope he is calling some people out behind closed doors.

  7. Wulfpack 01/09/2008 at 9:15 PM #

    If the Presvyterian game was like going to the dentist then this one is about like going in to have a vasectomy b/c the Pack has lost its manhood.

    To me, the only silver lining is that there is zero chance Roy will be able to sell the idea that we are a force to be reckoned with to his team.

  8. redfred2 01/09/2008 at 9:15 PM #

    “As long as we hold teams to something around 20% shooting, like we did tonight, we’ll be alright.”

    Um, I’d say there are all kinds of very realistic chances of doing that, against ACC caliber teams.

  9. Sweet jumper 01/09/2008 at 9:21 PM #

    Wulfpack, I agree. Our only hope that the Holes are so overconfident that they don’t wake up until after the game is over Saturday. They will still win but that would at least make it close. They will not shoot 20% from the floor no matter how good our defense is or how overconfident they are. Hoping for a miracle but expecting a thrashing.

  10. vtpackfan 01/09/2008 at 9:23 PM #

    Props to the Harris kid for playing with a lot of heart and athleticism. My prognosis for the “second season” up coming is reserved, not as drastic as some, more or less a wait and see attitude.

    My guess is that players like GG, Ben, and Harris have to play with huge hearts and showcase a ton of hustle plays for us to have any chance at .500 or better in the ACC. They have to become the leaders and soul of this team. By now players, including GG alter ego who thinks that we are hot $h^t right now, have to know that gutsy efforts and scrapping toothe and nail will be the only way to get it done.

  11. backinpack 01/09/2008 at 9:27 PM #

    One observation on why other teams get so many offensive boards against us. Several times tonight I noticed JJ going up to block shots when guys come into the lane and though he causes the shooter to alter their shot, he is no longer in any position to get a defensive rebound. In fact, he is usually out of bounds afterward. I think his efforts to block shots hurts our defensive rebounding chances and will continue to do so throughout the season unless he is coached differently. Be prepared for this to be one of the main reasons why other teams get lots of offensive boards against us (and I’m sure their coaches have noticed this long ago).

  12. wufpup76 01/09/2008 at 9:30 PM #

    just got back …

    it was a Win … hooray!

    Fells getting hurt obviously a terrible blow … TREVOR FERGUSON gets the nod to start the second half for Fells … this could be REALLY FUN if Horner is unable to go or limited on Saturday … can’t wait

    and now, for my best post-game report ever:

    HOW TO BEAT THE WOLFPACK …………….

    PLAY A ZONE DEFENSE !!!!!!!!!!!

    THE END.

    – seriously, central is easily one of the worst division 1 basketball teams i have ever seen – honestly … and yet, solving their zone defense was like trying to solve a rubic’s cube for our team

    – easily one of the worst games i have ever seen or attended … this is not intended to be a negative for the pack, it’s just that central was really bad and our offense wasn’t that much better

    i am hoping to see fire, passion, and energy no matter who is able to play saturday … no matter what happens, it’d be great to see an all-out effort … regardless of the outcome, i can hold my head high and be proud of the team

    go wolfpack !!!

  13. cowdog 01/09/2008 at 9:40 PM #

    No wins left in this team…and I use the word team with sarcasism. Dump Towe soon…we’ll be better off.
    Find some shooters down the line…hopefully before Hickson departs.
    Only hope for respectability resides in full court pressure , zone D and points in the paint. Tell me I’m misguided

  14. WTNY 01/09/2008 at 9:47 PM #

    Thinking of the UNC-Ch game, I’m having flashbacks to the game in Chapel Hill in 1993. Anyone else remember that massacre?

    If Carolina, the best rebounding team in the ACC, grabs boards by the bucket and streaks down for fast break points while the Pack strolls up, Lowe whistles to call a play, then we struggle against a zone, I’m afraid we could have a repeat of 1993: Carolina 104, State 58 (and it wasn’t really that close).

  15. tvp1 01/09/2008 at 9:47 PM #

    Good God people, it was a 25 point win. No it wasn’t pretty, but a lot of these comments are really below the standard I expect to see on SFN.

  16. tvp1 01/09/2008 at 9:47 PM #

    Good God people, it was a 25 point win. No it wasn’t pretty, but a lot of these comments are really below the standard I expect to see on SFN.

  17. cowdog 01/09/2008 at 9:52 PM #

    Yeah tvp1, they won…but in your honest opine can you really say anything other than “OK a W??”

  18. doug74 01/09/2008 at 9:55 PM #

    I think if we shoot 30% from 3 and 75% from the line we can hang. Our big ugly style will make them look ugly too.

  19. adchappe 01/09/2008 at 9:56 PM #

    I don’t know what’s worse…the fact that we could only score 54 points against NC Central…or the fact that NC Central only scored 29 points in an entire game. Thoughts?

  20. cowdog 01/09/2008 at 9:58 PM #

    Doug74…we can’t shoot 30% from the arc plain and simple

  21. wufpup76 01/09/2008 at 10:02 PM #

    i’m not ready to concede anything to chapel hill, and i hope that’s the way the team feels …

  22. tvp1 01/09/2008 at 10:04 PM #

    Multiple people saying “we won’t win another game…” is just preposterous whining and you know it. If that’s all you have to add, why not just skip it and do something more productive, like drink motor oil?

    No one is thrilled with how we are playing but what’s the use in 95% of these comments? If people are trying to be funny, they are failing.

  23. cowdog 01/09/2008 at 10:08 PM #

    Adchappe… this game should have amounted to a 30 to 40 plus on Pack’s part. In reality if you are competetive this game should have not looked so high schoolish

  24. txpack 01/09/2008 at 10:13 PM #

    The reason I love this blog is the relational analysis of our team and game. The negatives after a 25-point win are blowing of my mind. If the player were lack of effort and energy (like these 3 loses), we had a reason to upset.

    I watched the game Seton Hall at Marquette last night. It was a close game. We won at SH, and we played a decent game. Now watching Clemson lost to Charlotte at home, and UNC only “won” 12 at home, why should we believe Pack has no chance on Saturday?

    Defense wins championship. It is not about how many points your team scores; it is about your team scores more point than the other team. Spurs and Pistons won 4 titles of last 5 years; it is not because of their offense!

    Play defense is hard and often under-appreciated. Lowe knows how to win. If you believe in him, then quit these
    negative comments. We gave previous coach 10 years, why can not give Sid more time. It is only his 2nd year.

  25. GAWolf 01/09/2008 at 10:17 PM #

    The last time we played this poorly on a regular basis we beat the number one in the nation Tarheels twice… right?

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