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

07-08 Basketball149

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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…

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07-08 Basketball

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

  1. Trip 02/03/2008 at 2:56 PM #

    Oh, and side-note… watching the game and posting on my laptop is now 3-0 in ACC play. My desktop is 0-2 in ACC play. I’m going to continue this tradition of sitting my ass on the couch and posting from my laptop.

    UNC is getting strung out by FSU at the moment. Lawson has a high ankle sprain in the first 5 minutes and UNC just isn’t the same team with QT in there.

  2. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:00 PM #

    ^b, no matter if guys like Smith and Harris aren’t totally complete in all facets of the game, we just need a spark coming in off the bench. Especially EARLY in the game, when it’s cleary apparent that overall effort is lacking.

  3. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:03 PM #

    Trip, it may be true but you shouldn’t have said anything about your postings/winning %. That’s like jinxing a FT shooter.

  4. Trip 02/03/2008 at 3:06 PM #

    Crap, you’re right redfred… we need a delete/edit function on here, haha.

    Harris is one of the players that I honestly have never yelled at the tv “WHAT THE #@)$ ARE YOU DOING?” at. This is good and means he should play more.

    Smith may be a liability on defense currently, but one of the BEST ways to get better on defense is experience in the game. 5 minutes a game would benefit in dividends next year as he will have to eventually fill a gaping hole left by Grant/Mccauley in the coming years.

  5. tvp1 02/03/2008 at 3:07 PM #

    6 assists for Javy. In the game thread I said we don’t have a point guard right now, that Javy was a year or two away from being ACC-caliber. He might be proving me wrong.

    Was there anything more unexpected that Ferg playing solid stretch minutes?

    Finally, JJ is not ready for the NBA. I know this (a) does not mean he won’t go nor does it mean (b) he won’t get drafted in the mid-first round. But he’s years away from contributing in the NBA. Now that he has to play against actual big men instead of the likes of Bill and Mary, his FG % is plummeting.

  6. BAC79 02/03/2008 at 3:09 PM #

    [SFN – this is so stupid that we don’t allow this kind of stuff here. Try The Wolfpacker or Pack Pride]

  7. Greywolf 02/03/2008 at 3:09 PM #

    Greywolf
    Feb 3rd, 2008 at 2:49 pm
    [SFN – this isn’t very productive]

    BJD95
    Agreed! It wasn’t productive the 20th, or 15th, or 5th, or even the first time I read it.

    SFN – I don’t disagree with you. There is just nor reason to re-hash it right now.

  8. Anthony Grundy 02/03/2008 at 3:10 PM #

    I’d like to see Fergie try the point. Fergie can shoot, just needs some playing time. I don’t know if he can handle the ball though, but i remembered he played a little point last year. Surely he’s a better player/ball handler this year. We really need someone who can look to shoot the 3, besides Fells and the inconsistent grant.

    I’m not saying Javi played bad, i’d just like to see if Fergie could share some time at PG.

    SFN: Are you on crack?

  9. Mr O 02/03/2008 at 3:11 PM #

    One thing I haven’t seen mentioned is McCauley’s defense against James Johnson on a couple of drives towards the end of the game. Johnson is a very impressive NBA prospect. Tall, strong, quick and athletic in addition to having nice skills. McCauley had a very difficult matchup on the defensive end and did a great job of staying in front of Johnson and forcing him into a tough shot without fouling twice.

    We just need to get some consistency out of Ben.

    I am not sure if people realize how difficult our ACC schedule is this year compared to other teams. We play UNC, Duke and Clemson(all three teams in the top 20 of the RPI) six times. We played these three teams all on the road in the first six games of the ACC season.

    On the otherhand, VPI and Wake have three games against Duke, UNC and Clemson. Additionally, VPI has only played Duke at home so far and Wake has only played Clemson on the road.

    Even going into this game, we played a Thursday 9 pm game at Cameron while Wake had two extra days of rest after a Tuesday home game. Now we play a third game in six days Tuesday night on another short turnaround while VPI again has an extra day to prepare.

    Considering the ACC schedule, our struggles on the court, and the injury to Degand, we should feel thrilled to get back to 4-4 if we can win Tuesday night’s game.

    SFN: I have highlighted some of O’s comments for emphasis that needs not to be forgotten.

  10. the_phisherman 02/03/2008 at 3:13 PM #

    JJ’s FG % is plummeting because he gets hacked every time he shoots.

  11. ncstu 02/03/2008 at 3:14 PM #

    Ferguson 1
    WF 0

  12. Anthony Grundy 02/03/2008 at 3:14 PM #

    i agree about harris and smith. I haven’t seen them play poorly, but they haven’t played enough to really judge.

    I don’t know what to do about costner, right now he’s a liability. It looks like he may not help us out until next year, when he can get some confidence and figure out what’s wrong.

  13. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:15 PM #

    “Finally, JJ is not ready for the NBA.”

    tvp 1, what the hell are you talking about? He will do just as well as Cedric Simmons 2 points for the entire season, or a guy like Josh Powell who has paid his dues for years for going too early and just now coming around. Maybe he go down under and make a name for himself.

    Don’t fight PROGRESS, let him go at the first sign of interest from the NBA, only an idiot would think otherwise.

  14. BJD95 02/03/2008 at 3:18 PM #

    The thing that gets me so down is (i) the inconsistency of our effort; and (ii) the way we frequently start the game (or half) so completely unready to play the game of basketball.

  15. Garrett 02/03/2008 at 3:20 PM #

    First of all..HUGE win if only to give us a good shot at getting back to 4-4 in the acc.

    BIG BEN played like the man he showed us he could be last year, and the finish was obviously amazing.

    Javi is still prone to a couple mistakes a game, but he is improving every game and I really believe he will be a good starting point guard in the acc, and one other teams will learn to hate.

    Gavin really picked us up at some key points today, and is still the most clutch player we’ve had in quite some time.

    Fells: Keep shooting and quit fouling.

    Awesome finish and I love the excitement these games are bringing to the RBC this year. If we can take out VaTech tuesday, we’ll still be in DECENT shape of making a run and getting to the dance. Keep playing with this emotion..i.e. Big Ben’s howling/roaring.

    GO PACK!!!

  16. Astral Rain 02/03/2008 at 3:25 PM #

    Here’s the question. How hard would it be to go 5-4 rest of the way?

    No way in Hell State gets in 7-9

    8-8 puts State on the bubble.

    I can’t see 9-7.

  17. pacman23 02/03/2008 at 3:25 PM #

    Gary Hahn quote of the day: “If this keeps up, they’re going to rename the RBC Center ‘The House Of Thrills’!”
    I’m still trying to put my heart back into my chest.
    Cardiac Pack? Yeah-you got that right! You sure got that right!

  18. Lunatic Fringe 02/03/2008 at 3:26 PM #

    I really would like to see Javi get the start vs. VT. I think he is BY FAR the better PG and it would be at home.

    The next 4 games after VT would be AT Maryland, AT BC, Clemson, and UNC so I think the time is now to see what Javi can do now as the starter.

    It was nice to see us play an effective zone defense. The biggest difference I thought with the zone defense was the communication between the guards to the bigs when a player tried to slip behind and through.

    I thought Ferg did a tremendous job on defense and thought his play was crucial during a critical time of the game.

  19. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:28 PM #

    BJD, yet at Cameron Indoor we were absolutely ready, and then fell apart.

    ???

  20. PapaJohn 02/03/2008 at 3:30 PM #

    SFN – Thanks for providing this service! (got to visit your sponsors) No place else to get the feel of a game while in progress if you can’t watch it. At the end I couldn’t figure out who won, till I checked this site.
    Sadly, still no reason to expect more than 5-6 conference wins this year.

  21. packplantpath 02/03/2008 at 3:32 PM #

    Question: was that a double dribble? My first thought was the same as yours, an uncalled walk, then a double dribble again uncalled. Somebody with more knowledge of the rules than I. I’m pretty sure it was a walk, though I missed a replay, but was it a DD?

    Redfred, why couldn’t you get the game on tv in east north carolina, we sure did and I don’t have cable or satellite?

  22. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:33 PM #

    FSU down by 1 and hanging tough.

  23. choppack1 02/03/2008 at 3:40 PM #

    One area we match up well w/ Wake – they have little guards. As a result, Gonzalez isn’t the liability he has been against other bigger/stronger guards.

    This was actually a GREAT win. Wake had been playing very well and came in playing w/ some confidence. That we were able to claw our way back and win this game says alot about this team.

    On the bad news front: Once again, we don’t salt away the team when we have the chance. The reason this game was a nailbiter was because of our 1-4 foul shooting towards the end. WE HAVE GOT TO START PUTTING TEAMS AWAY WHEN WE HAVE THE CHANCE. Lightning won’t continue to strike in our favor.

    Can’t say enough about Big Ben and Trevor. Their efforts were the difference between and W and another loss.

    On another note, I’m shocked that our RPI is only 43rd.

    Besides Clemson, Duke and UNC-Ch – who else do we play at home in the second half of the ACC season?

  24. BJD95 02/03/2008 at 3:40 PM #

    UNC will win this game, but the Lawson injury probably means Duke just won the ACC regular season. Hell, they might be the team that goes 16-0.

    You have to ask yourself how hard it will be for the Pack to go 5-2 in non-Duke or UNC games. Winning at MD also seems like a stretch.

  25. Greywolf 02/03/2008 at 3:42 PM #

    In my opinion, emphasis opinion, Sid may NOT know what he is doing, but it is a bit much to blast him for not blowing out a team with a better record. Nearly every team has a player who can bomb it, can penetrate, can do the things needed to win games — and that includes us. Every game is not going the way of the spread.

    Costner may not come around, Javi may not improve to ACC quality play, Fells may not show up every game, etc., but I have to think that Sid is working with his best players who he thinks has a shot at winning the ACC and going past round 1 at the big dance. That may mean not playing someone who I think could impact a particular game. That means working with Javi, working to get Costner beyond whatever it is that’s got him in such a slump. Many players play in such a way that what they are doing looks like they are coasting. Gale Sayers looked like he was almost jogging. (See opinion disclaimer above) Costner LOOKS not a lot different than he did last year. This year his shots are not falling, so he’s slow. And no, he’s not chisled but he wasn’t last year either. I guess what bothers me as a State fan is the nasty shit said about him anonymously that would not get even thought in front of him or about him in front of his teammates.

    Sid is going to coach this team, not “try” this player or that player in a spot situation.

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