Big Ben Beats The Clock (NC State 67, Wake 65)

07-08 Basketball149

Video Highlights | Box Score | Recap| Photos|

Take THAT ghost of Chris Paul and the decade where NC State couldn’t win a close game if our life depended on it!

BEFORE the last play of the game, I had already written the following for the postgame entry –

Player of the game – Ben McCauley. He did a lot of things in the second half that were obviously huge…but he also made a ton of decisions that don’t show up in the box score. The little things like not rushing in-bounds passes that result in turnovers. Like not only coming up with loose balls, but immediately making the right play with the loose balls that he recovers.

Then…the last play of the game happend. UNBELIEVABLE!! UNBELIEVABLE!!

Some quick bytes:

There are a lot of differences between NC State’s basketball program under Sidney Lowe compared to Herb Sendek – some of them good; some of them not as good.

But, nowhere is the difference between the team more evident than in two areas that were highly evident today: (1) NC State’s sudden ability to win close (and exciting) games, and (2) NC State’s sudden ability to beat Wake Forest.

* Coach Lowe extended his record to 3-0 against State’s Big Four rival as his program is now a respectable 5-5 against Big Four competition since taking over the program.

* In a year and a half, Coach Lowe has amassed half the number of regular season wins over Wake Forest as the Wolfpack’s previous coach did in an entire decade as he compiled just a 6-14 regular season record against the Demon Deacons.

* NC State advances to 10-5 in games played on Super Sundays.

* NC State advances to 13-7 and 3-4 in the ACC. The win improved the Wolfpack’s RPI improved to #43 against the 34th toughest schedule in all of America. State hosts surging #63 Virginia Tech (14-8, 5-3) on Tuesday night with a chance to even our ACC record at .500.

* I REPEAT the comments that I made after the big Miami win earlier this year.

What I am about to say is actually pretty sad, but unfortunately true — I think tonight’s win over Miami [insert Wake Forest] may have represented the most exciting win in ESA/RBC Center history. Last year’s win over Carolina clearly ranks as the “best” win by nature of their national ranking, the style & excitement in which the game was played and the fact that it was Carolina. But, tonight’s win at the buzzer bests anything else that I can remember in the RBC. Others that immediately come to mind would be Justin Gainey’s shot to beat Maryland and the ESA’s opening night against Georgia.

* From 2000-2006 I tried to tell some of you that ACC Basketball should be more fun than it was for NC State and I was castigated. From 2000-2006 I tried to tell some of you that NC State’s record in close games and inability to compete in clutch time was abnormal. From 1993-2006 I tried to tell some of you that the prominence of Wake Forest’s basketball program compared to NC State’s was unacceptable and completely out of step with decades of history. I would like to thank Coach Lowe and the entire team for giving us fans some actual success in the midst of challenges and close games and for making home games FUN for the fans again!

* Javi Gonzalez continues to improve exponentially. I could only imagine what kind of surprises this team could pull if Degand was healthy and had Gonzalez backing him up.

* Wake Forest’s Harvey Hale not only WALKED when he slid with less than 30 seconds to go in the game, he also DOUBLE DRIBBLED as he used the ball to stop his fall then recovered and then dribbled to his left. That means that the ball hit the floor. Stopped. And was put back into play. Ultimately the Demon Deacons couldn’t convert and JJ Hickson rebounded and stepped to the free throw line (and missed two big ones).

* FREE THROWS, FREE THROWS, FREE THROWS – Gavin Grant and JJ Hickson combined to go 1 of 4 from the free throw line with less than a minute to go and ultimately alllowed Wake Forest to tie the game with a drive to the basket with 5.2 seconds left.

* We had first half comments in this entry. The key comment was the first one as the second half of today’s game marked a buge different

Simple reason why NC State is not winning this game – SHOOTING. It’s not just that State only hit 2 of 11 three pointers (both by Courtney Fells. It is that State missed/bricked multiple WIDE OPEN threes – at least three of which were from the top of the key where it doesn’t get any easier. If the offense creates wide open threes then the guys have GOT to hit them.

…More to come…

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

07-08 Basketball

149 Responses to Big Ben Beats The Clock (NC State 67, Wake 65)

  1. benniebolton 02/03/2008 at 2:09 PM #

    helluva time for us to decide to get an offensive board!!!! Great play big Ben!!

  2. ncsumatman 02/03/2008 at 2:10 PM #

    Notice he threw the inbounds, sprinted the entire length of the court for that put back. Great play. Dang I wish Costner wasn’t MIA though.

  3. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 2:10 PM #

    What a hustle play by Big Ben. Make the pass in bounds, hustle all the way down the court and slam in the winning basket. Go Pack!!!!!!!

  4. bTHEredterror 02/03/2008 at 2:11 PM #

    Big ben sprinting 94 feet to follow up. Fergie making a contribution when we had to have it. Gavin making big shots to turn the tide. Javi still makes mistakes but makes good plays too.

    I kind of like this team, you just have to look at them as a young team trying to improve on a 5-11 conference record.

  5. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 2:11 PM #

    I’m afraid this entire season looks like Costner will be MIA. Its time to give someone else some minutes.

  6. highstick 02/03/2008 at 2:12 PM #

    Big Ben Chimes!!!! Ok, Costner, it’s your turn! Grant and Ben have turned the last second into a “W”. We’re ready for you to step up now!

  7. newt 02/03/2008 at 2:15 PM #

    1 – Good job by Ferg when Fells was out with foul trouble and Horner wasn’t do anything positive.

    2 – Grant is what you want seniors to be. Completely different player than 2 years ago.

    3 – This game was like the rearrival of Ben McCauley. I think he had his firt roar of the year. They were common last year.

    4 – Javi is making amazing progress. Another game where he ran the break for a quick strike (this time Grant, to Javi, to Fells).

    5 – Costner watched the second half from the bench.

    6 – Second time Lowe has designed a last-second play with a trailer to put in the miss.

  8. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 2:20 PM #

    Ferg looked good on defense and his shot looks like its comming along too. He looks more confident than he has in the past.

  9. gopherfan 02/03/2008 at 2:29 PM #

    Great finish Pack. Hate to say it but Costner is a big lability on both ends. Can’t shoot, turns it over, can’t stay with his man and fouls. They are a better team with BC on the bench…more energy and hustle. Hard to believe this guy was pegged as 1st team ACC.

  10. RabidWolf 02/03/2008 at 2:31 PM #

    My neighbors probably think I’m some kind of mental case now, if they didn’t before.

    BEN FREAKING MCCAULEY!

    Hopefully his team mates will learn a very important lesson from this……YOU GOTTA BOX OUT, BABY!

    WAY TO GO ‘PACK!

  11. ncsumatman 02/03/2008 at 2:31 PM #

    I hate to pick on BC, but when he airballed that 3, you just knew he was going to do something air headed on defense. The result, an immediate foul.

    As for Fergie, after he hit that 3, you knew another one was coming as soon as he got a good look, damn I wish it had dropped.

    Let’s kill VT and D-Unit, the thuggiest of all thugs, Deron Washington, who will be starting in his seventh year for the Hokies.

  12. StateFans 02/03/2008 at 2:34 PM #

    I’d like to see more of Tracy Smith and less of Ben McCauley. Smith will need the experience.

  13. Bartonpackfan09 02/03/2008 at 2:36 PM #

    I LOVE BEN MCAULEY!

    And just a point of reference, but if you put the ball on floor with both hands I’m pretty sure its not considered a dribble. If so Hickson double dribbled a little bit earlier in a similar situation but I digress. What a win!

    SFN: It is not about putting it on the floor with both hands. It is about putting it on the floor. Stopping the consistency of the balls motion. Then starting another dribble.

  14. BJD95 02/03/2008 at 2:36 PM #

    Not to be a wet blanket, but we were very lucky that today’s opponent was Wake Forest. A good (or even decent) team kicks our freaking teeth in.

    I really liked out last play. Why Wake didn’t seem to know or care that Gavin was going to be the only guy touching the ball – I have no idea. It is certainly the play I called from the couch!

  15. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 2:38 PM #

    SFN I agree that Smith should see more minutes but I believe he should get Costner’s minutes not McCauleys.

  16. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 2:39 PM #

    Dr. BadgerPack was beginning to worry me over on the game thread, either he has just had too many beers, or he has a special program with a centerfold, featuring Ben McCauley.

  17. Trip 02/03/2008 at 2:40 PM #

    As far as the comments about free throws, GG seems to shoot 90%+ in the final minutes of the game. My friends and myself like to call this the “Bronx effect.” As in the Bronx, you’d get shot for missing game winning free throws. I wouldn’t hold the 1 that he missed in the final minute today as his FT shooting in the season has won at the LEAST 2 games for us.

    However… Hickson. Coach needs to have a little free throw shooting class with him again, I remember earlier this year Hickson noted that coach made him stay after practice to work on his FT shooting, in the game after he made almost every FT he attempted I believe. As a guy who gets to the FT line as often as he does, it’s inexcusable to miss as many FT’s as he did today. We would have won by 6 at the very least if he shot as well as he should.

    Ferguson came in and for one of the first times did exactly what he should do, add in a 3 point expertise and solid defense. Javi is improving and Johnson is still a head scratcher. He doesn’t have speed on his side, so you would think that he would use his frame to his advantage instead… I dunno. Maybe Johnson is better suited as a small forward.

    Negatives: We still look disjointed at best, although there were flashes of good offensive possessions. However, what won this game was our–for the most part– excellent defense. We weren’t hitting our shots in the first half, but we played excellent defense so that we still were in a position to win.

    And, to end this…

    BIG FREAKING BEN. What heart. What EXCELLENT play. The upperclassmen (Grant/Mccauley) once again show what it takes to win.

    p.s. Costner, I miss you.

  18. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 2:40 PM #

    BJD95, agreed that we could not have beaten a good team today. I’m not sure we are capable of beating a good team any day this year. I would just like to see consistent improvement which has not happened 20+ games into the season which is scary. Right now it looks as though we are fighting not to be cellar dwellers in the ACC.

  19. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 2:45 PM #

    I believe Smith deserves at least a few serious minutes per game, but I also believe that Harris should play more. Harris goes in and goes at it, like no one else on this team.

  20. Sw0rdf1sh 02/03/2008 at 2:46 PM #

    Thanks for the lowdown everyone. I’m down here in Rincon ripping up the surf and my TREO showed us tied with .05 left. I almost hurled. Thought for sure OT was were it was going.

    Thanks for filling me in on how it went down because TREO didn’t say anything but Big Ben dunk.

    Time to go out and celebrate with my Wolfpack (licensed) stick! This one is Javi style!

    Big Howl from Puerto Rico!

  21. Rochester 02/03/2008 at 2:48 PM #

    The question is, are there any GOOD teams in the ACC aside from the two we all know and hate. Every game is close. Then you see BC get thumped a couple times (Boston College, not Brandon Costner, though they both belong in the ass-kicked column). They got out of the gate quick and since have become roadkill. They’ve lost four straight by an average of 17.5 points, including their last two by 22 each. We need to play Boston College right now.

    The ability to pull some of these close ones out of our A$$ might salvage this season, though this one should not have been close. Wake is not good, especially minus L.D. Williams.

  22. Greywolf 02/03/2008 at 2:49 PM #

    [SFN – this isn’t very productive]

  23. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 2:51 PM #

    Surfing…and in Puerto Rico no less.

    I’m stuck here in eastern NC and couldn’t even get the game on TV, had to listen on the radio.

    Shut up Swordfish

  24. bTHEredterror 02/03/2008 at 2:51 PM #

    SFN I agree that Smith should see more minutes but I believe he should get Costner’s minutes not McCauleys.

    Second.

    Another benefit of this is Hickson crashes when McCauley takes shots. It created some rebounds and slowed Wake’s transition. Smith would crash boards more effectively than Costner, at least for the time being.

    Smith’s glaring weakness is defense though. He was one of the biggest matadors in the closing moments Thursday in Cameron, and he wasn’t effective on defense against Clemson despite the solid scoring effort.

  25. StateFans 02/03/2008 at 2:56 PM #

    Who cares if we couldn’t beat a better team today?

    We weren’t playing a better team. We were playing a Big Four rival whom we beat for the 3rd time in a row — who..by the way…was AHEAD of us in the standings and who has a Top 75 RPI.

    I think some of us need to take a step back and appreciate what is happening here.

    After inheriting a program with only one player who had any starting experience, in our new coach’s second year we are legitimately fighting for an NCAA Tournament berth DESPITE losing our starting point guard in the 10th game of the season!?

    I don’t care how ‘UGLY’ it is.

1 2 3 … 6

Leave a Reply