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. graywolf 02/03/2008 at 3:42 PM #

    After the Duke game there were comments about “Sendek” coming back etc…..

    Want him back now? Thank goodness Lowe is here and we FINISH games like today.
    Had we had Herb on the bench we would have lost….no question about it….

    Great second half and great finish.

    Go Pack!

  2. choppack1 02/03/2008 at 3:43 PM #

    BJD – You must mean 5-4 in non-Duke/UNC games.

    It will be interesting to see Javi keeps on growing. I like that he has some moxy to his game. He gets pissed off – I like it.

  3. ncsumatman 02/03/2008 at 3:44 PM #

    I’ve also noticed a new toughness being displayed by this team. Javi’s technical was stupid, but hurt WF more than us when Teague got hit with one two. We’re starting to show a little fire and passion (see Duke scuffles), and it couldn’t happen at a more opportune moment.

    I can’t recall any time in the past two seasons, but has Sid ever been T’d up? Sometimes I feel it could help strengthen the resolve of our team.

  4. BJD95 02/03/2008 at 3:47 PM #

    No, we still play UNC and Duke in the second half, which gets us up to 6 losses. We can only lose 2 others and still merit NCAAT selection.

    My guess is that the ball starts bouncing the other way at the end of tight games and we win 5 or 6 ACC games.

  5. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 3:47 PM #

    ppp, I’m on the farthest NE corner of the state and the cable programming comes out of the Tidewater Va area.

  6. cowdog 02/03/2008 at 3:48 PM #

    Know what SFN…no crack here but split time between Gonzalez and Furguson is not such a bad idea. Redhead plays right on D in a zone and makes fewer mistakes at guard than Johnson. If you have been watching the game as a whole. Why do you think Ferguson was in the game at a critical time anyway.
    And speaking of zone D..need more of it. I ask when and how did we put a stop on Wake today?

  7. Packster 02/03/2008 at 3:57 PM #

    Amazing day again today! I warmed up for today’s game by watching our game with Duke from 1/23/91 that I had DVR’d from ESPN Classic. We blew the future national champs off the court in that game. Even though I was at that game many years ago, I need to occasionally be reminded of just how tough it used to be for teams to come over to our place to play. Reynolds was just as tough of a place to play as Cameron is now. The House of Thrills is getting better everyday! If we could just get 19,722 in there instead of 14,500 like we had today things could have really been serious in there for this game.

    Plain and simple…Sid Lowe’s coaching in the last 2 minutes of the game BLOWS anything HS could ever do away. Anyone that differs with that just doesn’t know what they’re talking about. That was a V trademark from Reynolds and now it is becoming a L trademark from the RBC.

  8. bTHEredterror 02/03/2008 at 3:57 PM #

    “I can’t recall any time in the past two seasons, but has Sid ever been T’d up? Sometimes I feel it could help strengthen the resolve of our team.”

    Good point, Sid is steady talking to the refs in most games, but there was a point in the Duke game (right after the kick ball and fairly early in the half) where a “T” might have re-invograted the team. I think he is a well spoken man, and prefers to treat people with respect, but this is the ACC and the squeaky wheel…..

  9. Mr O 02/03/2008 at 3:59 PM #

    BJD95: 5-2 is going to be very difficult considering one of those games is at home vs Clemson(#18 in the RPI).

    Javi is getting better with each game:

    6 points(2-8 fgs)
    6 assists
    4 rebs
    2 steals
    2 TOs

    Javi is at the point now where he just needs to trust himself and be more aggressive. He is still hesitant on taking the ball in the lane and to take the outside shot when they leave him wide open.

    Has Costner hit rock bottom? Costner had more air balls than FGs today. The team and coaches need to have a sit down with Brandon and tell him to keep shooting. He has zero confidence and you now see him hesitate to take wide open shots. If he isn’t taking those wide open shots, then why have him out there?

    You don’t all of a sudden lose your ability to shoot, so I have no doubts that Costner can still stroke it as well as anyone on the team. While his play hurt us today, our team lacks upside without him at least being close to the player he was last year. Costner has had as miserable a season as any Pack player I can remember in the last 10+ years. But if he can get it going the rest of the year, then it doesn’t matter.

    Horner is another guy who has totally struggled. Sometimes I wish he would just go ahead and take that three point shot instead of pump faking and stepping in to take a jumper from 15-18 feet.

    The potential is still there with this team if we could just get some improved play from a Costner, McCauley and Horner.

  10. westwolf 02/03/2008 at 4:03 PM #

    At this point it is clear Ferguson > Johnson.

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

    cowdog,

    I like how they play in the zone with MJ, Javi wants to sag too much. They opened the Duke game in 1-2-2, and never played it again. Seemed like a scouting ploy, maybe Duke was opening every game with the same play. I know you have to play Man for end of game situations, but working zone in every few possesions is always a good strategy.

  12. Greywolf 02/03/2008 at 4:04 PM #

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

    Thanks. Moving on.
    I have created a context for those kind of things: What those comments express behind the words is a commitment to NCSU basketball, being the best there is.

    SFN, thanks for setting me straight without busting my ass while you did it. If you want the last word, go ahead. I’, done.

  13. cowdog 02/03/2008 at 4:05 PM #

    Zone D please resonses from BB people

  14. redfred2 02/03/2008 at 4:05 PM #

    FSU takes the heels to OT!!!

  15. Garrett 02/03/2008 at 4:07 PM #

    Overtime in Tallahasee! Without Lawson, UNC is much less dominant.

  16. burnbarn 02/03/2008 at 4:11 PM #

    “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.”

    SFN, Gaudio called a TO when the player fell to the floor.

    I am still amazed we come out flat to open a game and got ourselves in a hole. However, from that point, our mental intensity was good but we could not throw it in the ocean. Wake OTOH being something like #320 in the NCAA on 3s, shot very well early. They really hurt us on the boards, but nothing new there for us.

    Maybe we can continue to continue to win while we incremantally improve. It does look like coach is starting to settle on the players he likes in at the end.

    Agree with O on the schedule… if we get into the NCAAs after losing our starting point guard and rotating 2 freshmen into the starting line up then it will be amazing.

  17. Anthony Grundy 02/03/2008 at 4:12 PM #

    SFN: Would it really hurt to see if Fergie could step in at PG over Johnson, who is scared to shoot the ball. Seriously, could he really be much worse than Johnson or Javi? I’m not saying he’ll be better, but i’d like to see him get a shot during a game. I’t not like I’m comparing David Thompson to Marcus Melvin. Both have strengths and weakness. You can’t say that Fergie would be terrible, b/c he hasn’t played much this season.

    I’m sure there were ppl at Georgia Tech who laughed at the idea of Matt Causey starting at PG. I’m just saying it’s worth a shot to see what it does for the overall team chemistry. The fact that he looks like a little boy, doesn’t help his case. Regardless, it couldn’t hurt to give him a ten minute stretch at pg just to see…you never know.

  18. BJD95 02/03/2008 at 4:13 PM #

    Hamilton does have one bad-ass scowl.

  19. cowdog 02/03/2008 at 4:15 PM #

    bTHEred,
    How astute…calling it a 1-2-2. I find myself so frustrated at people that can’t recognize a zone for what it is. 3-2… 2-3…bullshit 1-2-2 or 2-2-1. Good call on the sag.

  20. VaWolf82 02/03/2008 at 4:15 PM #

    After the disasters at ECU and MSU, I concluded that State probably wasn’t good enough to get into the NCAAT. The bad news….State hasn’t shown enough improvement to prove me wrong. Good news….they haven’t played badly enough to prove me right.

    This was simply a game that State could not afford to lose and still have a LEGITIMATE chance at a NCAAT bid. The game Tuesday night against VT falls into the same cateogry.

  21. Garrett 02/03/2008 at 4:16 PM #

    Well, it is florida state, which is a football school. Umm..was?

  22. Greywolf 02/03/2008 at 4:19 PM #

    Mr O
    Feb 3rd, 2008 at 3:59 pm

    You said what I was trying to say in the post above you. If we don’t get Costner “back” and Horner restored, we really have no real chance of running the table in the tournament or going deep in March. There is zero reason to give up at this point, however. Not only did we prove everybody wrong (including my sorry a$$) in ’83, but Nova did that same thing the next year or soon after with a sightly worse record than ours.

    Good post. Good analysis. Keep creating the good Karma!!!

  23. cowdog 02/03/2008 at 4:20 PM #

    I meant 1-2-2 or 2-1-2. And does anyone remember the first time we played on SB Sunday?

  24. highstick 02/03/2008 at 4:26 PM #

    Crap, I was hoping for some more “crying girls” in Chapel Hill!

  25. PackGirl 02/03/2008 at 4:27 PM #

    Javi was impressive today. Loved the long alley oop pass to Fells.

    Did anyone notice the dazed look on Ben’s face at the end of the game? He usually gives one of his primal screams when something great happens, but today he just looked stunned – wasn’t even smiling!

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