Yep, I woke up this morning determined to use a big word in the title. Cool, huh?
Wake Forest and NC State come into today’s contest with a combined 11-game losing streak. Wake is playing for NIT seeding (shout out to NIT king Dave Odom), while the Pack seeks to achieve its Quest. It’s taken alot of hard work to claw down from the preseason #3 projection, and the 4-4 start made the Quest seem out of reach. But it will likely be complete in 3 short hours. There will be live blogging. Aren’t you in for a treat.
Our friends at Section Six didn’t bother with a preview. That’s the last domino to fall in NC State hoops hopelessness, I think. The N&O has a nice profile of Trevor. Did you know he has a second tattoo? You do now. We also get a passing mention in J.P. Giglio’s “Foul Shots”:
The young Deacs have lost four straight since popping Duke on Feb. 17. Even an expected easy victory over NC State today won’t change their NIT fate.
Sadly, I agree with his easy Deacon win projection. The Pack emptied its clip against Duke, and I expect another sad-sack, listless effort like the Pack gave in Charlottesville. Relive that joyous moment in time here.
12:21 – Have I mentioned how much I hate this team? Let me reiterate that in the strongest way now. 20-8, Deacs.
12:32 – I think we have 10 turnovers already. Sloppy, ugly game. Thank God Wake decided to quit scoring for 5 minutes. 20-14.
12:36 – You can’t stop Trevor, you can only hope to contain him.
12:40 – How in the world did this Wake team ever beat Duke? Deacs look awful, but still lead by 2. That says a lot about how crappy the Pack is.
12:44 – Wake finally getting their shit together and rebuilding their lead. It will be at or near 10 by half.
Halftime – We stupidly didn’t hold for the last shot AGAIN. Fortunately, JJ and Trevor scrapped for loose balls and kept the Deacs from capitalizing on our idiocy. Overall, this may be the stupidest team in ACC history. Deacs up 6 at the break.
1:11 – Second half is a parade of fouling, and NC State refusing to block out. And Grant sucking.
1:15 – On a team full of bad defenders, Javi manages to stand out with his ineptitude. Deacs by 7, we are lucky the margin isn’t higher. Wake getting much better shots than State.
1:22 – Terrible shot followed by Wake break. You could see the 3-point play coming from a mile away. Wake by 4, Teague FT to come after the break. I’m happy to finally see Fells buried on the bench.
1:29 – Wake plays with so much more effort. Makes me sick.
1:34 – I wish that Harvey Hale played more. That would give us a fighting chance. Wake by 6, just under 8 to go.
1:38 – Yet another hustle play by Wake saves possession and leads to another 3-point play. Awful.
1:42 – If and when we lose this game, it will solely be due to hustle. Wake fights for position and for loose balls. That is the difference in this game, without question. Grant has finally woke up, at least. But too little, too late.
1:46 – Every other possession for State ends in a desperation shot. A few have gone in, so we are only down 7. Time to start making some 3s and fouling Ish Smith. Not that we’ll have enough basketball IQ to employ such a strategy.
1:50 – Nope. We keep running the dumb-assed Hickson isolation play until we turn it over yet again. Charge wipes up Wake dunk, so it’s “only” a 9-point hole.
1:52 – Absolutely pathetic effort. Sorry for being a broken record, but it bears repeating.
1:59 – As the Wolfpack players stand around with shoulers slumped, Wake does a Harlem Globetrotters impression. Only 41 more minutes of Pack hoops to suffer through this season. Fells fouls down 11 with 45 seconds left. Dumb ass.
The Quest is complete! Your final score – Wake 78, State 67.
