Game Film Breakdown of Each of the 21 Turnovers Against GT

Credit and props to SFN reader TXPack for this breakdown of yesterday’s game at Georgia Tech.  — Alpha

Turnovers remain a big concern for the Wolfpack, especially headed into the critical final stretch of the season. Here is a breakdown of the 21 turnovers from yesterday in Atlanta:

First 5 minutes of the 1st (6 TOs)
1* – Smith passed to the back of Fells after a defensive rebound

2 – McCauley lost the ball at top of the key

3* – Costner inbound and incepted by GT (GT 3 pts)

4 – Fells lost his dribble at top of the key

5 – Gonzalez bad pass to the middle (GT 2pts of free throw)

6* – Smith bad inbound to Fells’ foot (GT 2pts)

Last 3 minutes of 1st (3 TOs)
7 – Gonzalez bad pass intercepted (GT 3pt3)

8 – Costner bad pass to Gonzalez out of bound(GT 2pts)

9 – Degand bad pass to Fells, intercepted by GT (GT 2pts)

1st 5 minutes of 2nd (5 TOs)
10* – Costner inbound went out bound (GT 2pts)

11 *– Smith lost Costner perfect pass under basket

12* – Smith lost defensive rebound to GT

13* – Degand bad pass out of baseline

14* – Degand bad pass (GT 2pts)

15* – McCauley lost ball when went to basket

16 – Degand lost the ball when drove to basket (GT 3pts)

17 – Williams bad pass

18* – Williams lost the ball to double team and called for intentional foul

19* – McCauley lost the ball

20 – Smith lost Degand’s pass

21* – McCauley lost the ball after received an inbound (off own foot)

1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21 (total 12) were careless inbound and passes. Our point guards (Degand and Gonzalez) were contributed to 7 TOs. Smith, however, were related to 5 TOs, which is the area he needs to work on. McCauley had 4 TOs by himself and missed few free throws.

For us to have a chance against UNC, our point gurads need to step up and continue making plays. We have to move pass the half court within 5-6 seconds when pressed, so we can have time to setup half court offense. Our bigs need to cut down the TOs and make good passes out of double teams.

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93 Responses to Game Film Breakdown of Each of the 21 Turnovers Against GT

  1. Sweet jumper 02/16/2009 at 7:57 AM #

    I was pulling hard for Miami, but I think it is better for us for UNX to come into Wednesday with a win streak rather a recent upset. If our pattern of turnovers continues, we have no chance. Protect the ball, limit turnovers and we will have a ball game.

  2. Rick 02/16/2009 at 8:26 AM #

    “The stat that stands out is 2 free throw attempts from Miami and only eight fouls the entire game from UNC.”

    In one play Hansbrough literally ran over a Miami player and of course it was a block. I had to quit watching as it is pathetic how they let him get away with that. He is the most physical player in college basketball and did not get a foul until 4 min into the second quarter.

  3. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 8:57 AM #

    Alpha – believe me, I’m the first one to say that ACC officiating in basketball is tilted towards Duke and UNC, but to be fair, UNC only took 8 foul shots the entire game too and 2 of those were at the end of the game. Also, regarding the total fouls, I think it was 10 to 8 until Miami had to foul twice in the last 20 seconds.

    The U was really banging and hacking the chosen one last night. It was a physical game all around – and the refs really let them play.

    Like I said, I thought the key charging call where the Miami player knocked down Hansborough was a bad one – and certainly wouldn’t have been called him if the roles were reversed.

  4. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 8:58 AM #

    “Our RPI is now 89. I think it will go up even if we lose to UNC if we can beat UVa.”

    ^Lunardi still has Miami on his board (as of last night’s “College Basketball Final” show on espn) … Miami is now a half game behind us in 10th place in the league

    I find this entirely remarkable

    I think his field and “bubble” teams are currently off some this season – but that’s just my opinion

    I’m not saying all of this to give any false hope, just commenting on how weak the current bubble appears to be and noting that it apparently doesn’t take much to get or stay on it

    That said, I think nothing short of 5 of 6 really gets us into the discussion like wolfonthehill was saying …

    Getting to 8-8 would be awesome though after the start to the season – that’s solid NIT and we would at least force the committee to bring us up if we won a couple of ACC tourny games (though probably still a bit short, but it’d be nice to see!)

  5. Rochester 02/16/2009 at 9:22 AM #

    Not that I’d ever be happy to miss the NCAA tournament, but if we finish strong in the second half (4-4 or 5-3) I will at least feel like we’re moving in the right direction. I’m not going to set myself up to be disappointed that we don’t make the tourney, because I don’t think have a chance. With our non-conference record, we could finish 9-7 and be legitimately passed up.

    I’ve seen Sid making some adjustments that show me he is growing as a coach. Had we made some of them last year it might have been a different story instead of nine straight L’s to finish the season. Better late than never. Our fastest path to a return to a winning program is if the light goes on for the current coaching staff.

  6. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 9:33 AM #

    wolfpup – Miami’s RPI is top 45 right now though. Ours is #89.

    It’s just one of the reasons why I think Wednesday’s game is key. We really need Lawson to have pink eye or something…you know, something that will impact his performance but won’t give folks an excuse to minimize our win.

    If we somehow win, you’ll see our name in the discussion. If we go 4-2, I hope one of those wins is high profile enough for them to start talking about NC State.

    That’s really half the battle if you weren’t expected to do much AND you haven’t done much – get in the conversation. In our last 3 games, we’ve played pretty damn good for the most part – and quite frankly, I’d put our level pay for most of this time against anyone in the country. Of course, if you consider the first 30 minutes of games, we’re probably a Top 25 team right now. Insert your “close don’t count” saying here….

    If I was making our case to the NCAA committee, I’d emphasize our consistent play over the year – no losses to bad teams, competitive in all but 2 or 3 games, and a respectable record in the toughest conference in America.

  7. Rochester 02/16/2009 at 9:44 AM #

    Jack McClinton was once again awesome in the loss to UNC last night. If he were wearing a blue jersey ESPN would be shoving him down our throats every night. Lucky us, we get him on Senior Night to finish the year. Maybe he’ll be really emotional and the tears will mess up his shooting touch.

  8. Ed89 02/16/2009 at 9:54 AM #

    Box and one on McClinton. He is a great player.

  9. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 9:56 AM #

    “Miami’s RPI is top 45 right now though.”

    This is part of my problem with Lunardi’s projections … They are too much numbers based and not enough results-based IMO.

    You can certainly make a case for Miami being in the field if the selections were today – home wins over Wake, Fla St.; away wins over BC and I’ll be nice and say Kentucky since Kentucky is apparently like Notre Dame going to bowls and will probably be in the tournament

    Not sure this is enough to overcome the 9 losses though – 15-9 … What’s saving their cpu #’s is playing the Holes twice, playing @ Duke, and playing Connecticut on a neutral floor … All losses, however

    Lunardi specifically said on the show last night Miami was in “because of all the close LOSSES …” Direct quote … Losses are still losses though 🙁

    I don’t know, it’s all oh so very interesting …

    A win Wednesday night and we would have a pulse … still somewhat faint, but there

  10. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 9:58 AM #

    Rochester – I agree w/ what you say.

    If we finish 7-9 – I think the coaching staff will have done a solid job this year. It will be a little painful, because we’ll have the knowledge that if we’d taken care of business vs. Davidson, Marquette and/or Florida, we’d be punching a ticket to the tourney.

  11. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 10:06 AM #

    Good, quick read here catching up with Vic Bubas and discussing some changes he’d like to see for the college game – many of which I agree with … especially the part about how physical today’s game is down low – he called it “a wrestling match” – I agree Coach …

    newsobserver com/sports/story/1407357 html

  12. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 10:31 AM #

    Some more RPI thoughts – we improved 25 points last week.

    And yes, this is cart before the horse – and based on a lot of assumptions.

    I wonder how much our RPI improves if we go 4-2 or 5-3 down to end the season? Is it possible to improve another 50 points to get us in the Top 50 RPI? Even if we aren’t Top 50, I suspect we’d be Top 60, so we’d at least, by definition, be a bubble team.

    We’ve actually reached an interesting point in the season. If we go 4-2 over our last six, we’re 8-8. I’d argue that for a team to get an-large bid, they should be able to go 4-2 vs. the respectable comp we have in these 6 games (3 likely bids, 2 bubble, 1 no way.)

    The NCAA has always said it takes “how well a team is playing the last part of the season” into consideration. If they really do that, and we do somehow go 7-3 (that would be 6-2 in conference, 1-1 in tourney) – then I think we’ll have a bubble RPI, and we’ll certainly meet the “playing well as of late” criteria.

  13. Wulfpack 02/16/2009 at 10:46 AM #

    My eyeball test fwiw says miami gets in and maryland stays home. VT and BC are both in and we know unc clemson duke and wake are locks. FSU also gets in making it 8 for the league. The Big East has 12 teams currently in consideration and may well get 9 or even 10 bids.

  14. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 10:53 AM #

    ^The selection committee adds extra emphasis to the last 12 games of the season (I think this is continious through conference tournys) … This is an “official” factor in the selection process … They changed it from “Final 10” to “Final 12” because seasons are getting longer

    So, if you play in a conference with a lot of potential NCAA teams – some of them high seeds that you have opportunities against – it really is never too late to make a push (Unless of course you did absolutely terrible prior to the final 12 games of your season)

    Not saying this for State, but in general … Right now we’re not really close – but we do have opportunities: Chapel Hole, Wake, BC, Miami, Maryland, Virginia

    4 of those 6 games would be considered “good” wins (@Hole, @Wake, @Miami, vs. BC) … Home aginst Maryland gives a win over a another potential bubble team; Home against Virginia wouldn’t do much for you but would be a “bad” loss (still a decent win by virtue of they’re being in the ACC and a win over Clemson)

    This is something that has always fascinated me about the college basketball season – no matter where you currently stand or how much you’ve struggled, there are still chances … Whether they be stringing off wins against good competition or winning a conference tournament title … You’re never quite all the way out of it

  15. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 11:00 AM #

    “Not saying this for State, but in general … Right now we’re not really close – but we do have opportunities: Chapel Hole, Wake, BC, Miami, Maryland, Virginia”

    And that’s correct, if the tourney were held tomorrow, we wouldn’t be mentioned. Nor, should we be.

    Keep in mind, I don’t think there’s any thing to discuss there.

    However, like I said earlier, if we do finish 4-2 – that changes a lot doesn’t it? If our RPI increases 25 points w/ 2 wins, can we gain 50 points by going 5-3 down the stretch?

    Yes, it’s a totally hypothetical excericise, but even if we go 1-1 this week (which is likely) – I imagine our RPI would still have another upward tick.

  16. BoKnowsNCS71 02/16/2009 at 11:12 AM #

    When I went to the Fox NCAA BB stat sheet at least I did not see NC State leading the nation in turnovers. The only ACC team that was on the sheet was GT. Maybe we were next in line on a second or third page. Until the team handles the ball well, they are not going to beat the upper tier teams. Need that A game.

  17. Rochester 02/16/2009 at 11:14 AM #

    Funny how a couple of weeks ago we were hypothesizing about what happens if we finish 1-15. Now we’re trying to forecast us into a bubble team. This string is a lot more fun, even if it never becomes relevant to the real world out there.

  18. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 11:27 AM #

    Rochester – we all know the likelihood – it’s 2-4 in the last 6. Of course, it wasn’t likely that we’d win our last 4 conference games in football either.

    I would say that w/ the events of last week, we have gone from a team that was not even a likely NIT or CBI team, to a likely NIT team. And for a team in the best conference America – NIT at this point in the season means that the NCAAs are still w/in reach if you play very good basketball. Converseley, if we were 6-4 in conference, it would still be possible for us to stumble down the stretch and end up in the NIT instead of the dance.

  19. Wolf Dog 02/16/2009 at 11:33 AM #

    Good Post. With UNC coming up. Turnovers will equal fast break points. I am sure we will take a hard look at the Miami-UNC tape. Miami lost but they didn’t let UNC runaway. Duke tried to run with them but ran out of gas. just for fun I would like to see us take slow for the first half and then have a wide open game the second half. Most teams seem to wear themselves out against UNC. Why not save yourself for the second half and try and beat them at their on game.

    Glad to see Sid and the boys doing well. I agree with something Sid said recently, he would like to see momentum building on more like a 4 game streak not 2.

    I see allot of you wishing for Wall. It is great to see us getting looks from the top recruits. That makes others look at us also. Which it excites me about the future quality of player we are getting, but I think we have to not worry so much about getting these players that are OPENLY 1 and Finished players. They not going to do much for our program the vast majority of the time.

    Look at the so-called best recruiting class in UNC history. Felton mayes mccants all now NBA players. They did something like 8 wins first year, 8 conference wins second year, national champ third went pro.

    Even with the best recruits it usually takes time. And that time will never happen in just one year.

  20. Alpha Wolf 02/16/2009 at 11:47 AM #

    Were this game in Raleigh, I’d have a little more confidence, which would still be only a glimmer.

    We’ve just not got anything the Heels don’t have as good or better.

    IF we catch them flat and IF they get some key players in foul trouble and IF their role players are cold on nights our guys have career nights, MAYBE.

    Hopefully Coach Lowe will be telling McCauley and Fells that this may be their last shot at UNC and that will fire them up.

  21. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 02/16/2009 at 11:52 AM #

    State probably can’t beat UNC but that doesn’t mean that State can’t win the game.

  22. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 11:55 AM #

    chop – not trying to argue with you or even play (Duke Blue) devil’s advocate … just fun to discuss 🙂

    I agree that 4-2 does change things, and likely would result in having an rpi in the 50’s – maybe 40’s … We would at the very least make them eliminate us from discussion instead of not being brought up at all – and that’s a good thing, no doubt

    I actually disagree that 2-4 down the stretch is the likelihood for this team (of course I was saying 8-8 before conf. season too) … I think we can / will get 3 or more of these last 6 (hopefully 5 or 6!)

    Virginia is a must, I think we stand good chances against both Maryland and BC at home (though both teams have been personal nightmares for us recently), and we’ve got a shot at Miami … I certainly think we have at least a puncher’s chance at Wake after what we did to them in Raleigh … And unlike recently, if we give a great effort at the Hole I think we have a puncher’s chance there as well

    So I’m thinking / hoping we get at least 3 of those (hopefully more)

    Btw, great defensive effort by Miami last night against the Holes … Maybe we can duplicate that on Wednesday and see what happens

    And Rochester is right, this is a hell of a lot more fun to talk about than something overtly negative 😉

  23. wufpup76 02/16/2009 at 12:03 PM #

    Bomani Jones just said he thought we would get “slammed” Wednesday night …

    I don’t agree at all … He could be proven right, but we haven’t been blown out of the gym all season (where it’s over by the 10 minute mark of the 2nd half)

    His sentiment is giving them too much credit and not enough credit to State … I saw a lot of Holes fans saying they thought we played as well as we could in the first game, and I didn’t see that at all … It was a poor overall defensive effort, a poor rebounding effort, and we made their defense look more than effective – we made it look good

    Chapel Hole is not blowing out other teams that we are most certainly comparable to, so I’m not sure where this sentiment comes from … Sorta sounds like the whole silly “undefeated season” talk to me where in bizarro world they are the greatest college team ever assembled, which is overwhelmingly untrue

    LET’S GO PACK – PROVE ‘EM ALL WRONG … MAKE ‘EM EAT IT

  24. inhoc... 02/16/2009 at 12:24 PM #

    just saw this blurb on UNX rivals site…..

    [“We have chosen not to play host to previous Thursday night games due to the disruption it would cause at a university like ours where the football stadium is in the heart of campus.”

    “After discussions with Chancellor (Holden) Thorp, faculty leaders and officials from UNC Hospitals, we think we have a plan to make this work,” Baddour added. “The ACC also worked with us to select a game on the Thursday of Fall Break, thus there are no classes that day or the following day.”]

    i`m not quite sure how to take this, but does this just not wreak of the whine and cheese mentality?….maybe i`m off base. who knows…

    as you read further, this is the only notable mention of the “end of year match up (not mentioning State by name)”…

    [“The 2009 home schedule also marks the first time Carolina and Duke have not ended the year”]

    did they really have to say is as “we aren’t playing duke” instead of, “we are ending the year with an interesting rivalry game this year”

  25. choppack1 02/16/2009 at 12:41 PM #

    wufpup – I didn’t take it as argumentative.

    I like this conversation – it’s a hell of a little better than the “this is why we suck” arguments that everyone on the board had going on.

    If there’s one thing I hate about the media – it’s that the play role by starting these discussions too early.

    I swear, every major media outlet that discusses the tournament should have a disclaimer, “Past performance doesn’t indicate future results” – they are discussing the tournament, but it’s always in the “if the tournament were to be selected tomorrow” context, yet, that’s not really clarified. I think that the danger is that strong finishing team can be excluded simply because their name didn’t come up until too late.

    When I look at these things, I prefer to use the “magic #” formula. Right now, I’d say that our magic # is “6” for a virtual lock in the tournament w/ an at large bid…we could reach this record by doing the following:
    *Going 3-3 to finish the ACC (giving us a 7-9 overall conference record) and getting to the championship game (going 3-1 in the ACC tournament).
    *Going 4-2 to finish the regular season (8-8), 2-1 in the ACC tournament.
    *Going 5-1 and 1-1.
    *Going 6-0, and 0-1.

    If we win 5 more, it really starts to matter how we do it.
    *Going 4-2 and 1-1 or 5-1 and 0-1 are our most likely paths to make a strong argument for the post-season
    *3-3 and 2-1 – well, that would be REALLY interesting. We’d need a good high profile win in there, Florida, Marquette and Davidson would need to do really well too.

    Alot can change in the next 2 weeks.

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