NC State 82, #7 Wake Forest 76

#8 Wake Forest (18-4) 34 42 76
NCSU (13-9) 42 40 82

Boxscore

Perhaps the best coverage is from long-time sportswriter A.J. Carr:  “Wolfpack Knocks Off Deacons” (News and Observer)

For a moment, let your imagination run rampant.

Picture the No. 10 ranked team in the ACC beating the No. 7 ranked team in the nation. Envision N.C. State guard Farnold Degand out scoring Wake Forest’s player-of-the-year candidate Jeff Teague. Close your eyes and see Brandon Costner going on a scoring spree.

All that and more happened  Wednesday night at the RBC Center, where the Wolfpack emerged from the depths of the conference to conquer Wake 82-76.

In my book, Carr is the best scribe the N&O has and it is good to see him back covering the Wolfpack.  I first met him in the late spring of 1974, when I was in the seventh grade and he was kind enough to bat tennis balls back and forth with me and regale me with tales of my heros, Thompson, Towe, Burleson, Rivers and Spence.  There’s not much A. J. hasn’t seen in the ACC, and his write-up gives the Pack their due.

Joe Ovies of 850 The Buzz posted some great player interviews in their write-up of the game.

The AP chimes in with “Wake’s second-half rally falls short as NC State prevails” (ESPN)

Three days after squandering an 18-point lead with 13 minutes remaining, North Carolina State was in nearly the same position again.

This time, they held on for the win.

Let’s hope that these are signs of future things to come.

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08-09 Basketball NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

98 Responses to NC State 82, #7 Wake Forest 76

  1. BJD95 02/11/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    I am immensely thankful for this win. Now let’s get a few more and make the post-season.

  2. Packster 02/11/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    The reason we won tonight was because I wasn’t there and couldn’t watch it on TV. All of the losses this season are my fault because I have been watching them all.

  3. Sw0rdf1sh 02/11/2009 at 9:14 PM #

    What I want is for everyone that yapped about rotations to think about it.

    CJ has played a great game.

    Javi, OMG…I knew you weren’t the Beck of our BBall team. I’ve been preaching it and the naysayers (and myself at times) have questioned it.

    Degand, where did you get them fast ass shoes? He made the other PG’s look like they were wearing cement shoes. I can’t believe you and Javi played so well on the floor together.

    John Wall,………. Zo Brown, Scott Wood, Howell, and the rest of our team are waiting for your services.

  4. RabidWolf 02/11/2009 at 9:15 PM #

    Jed’s gonna have a looooong talk with Sid after this one. He’ s gotta understand that we can’t be havin’ all these big upset wins…..them loonies on the interweb might start expectin’ wins all the time!

    WAY TO GO ‘PACK!!!

    I can’t wait to call my uncle in W-S later.

  5. levelsixtyfour 02/11/2009 at 9:17 PM #

    Nevermind VT-GT, this game was far superior to UCONN-Syracuse and Dook-Carolina thus far. Ridiculous that it was not at least regionally televised.

    GO PACK

  6. wolfonthehill 02/11/2009 at 9:18 PM #

    And that’s the team that could have taken the court about 20 times this season. We’re 2-3 blown games… games that we were in control of & handed away… from being in position to go dancing.

    Great win tonight… wish it meant more in the big picture.

  7. TOBtime 02/11/2009 at 9:20 PM #

    Holy smokin crack i can’t believe this. This team so, SO needed this…as did I. Agree with BJD95, let’s get some more. How many have we had the chance to win in the last 30 sec this year? Myabe the magic chemistry from 2 years ago (about this time as I recall) will show up again.

  8. BJD95 02/11/2009 at 9:24 PM #

    We all needed this one – players, coaches, fans alike. The post-season is back in sight if we build upon it rather than bask in it. Very winnable game looms on Saturday.

  9. JeremyH 02/11/2009 at 9:27 PM #

    Packster: same here

    are the announcers for the Duke/UNC game really allowed to simulate fellatio on Greg Paulus?

  10. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 02/11/2009 at 9:27 PM #

    Way to go Pack. A loss after the 20 point lead would of been crushing after Sunday’s game. I agree that Sid must play all the guys he is playing. It may not be ideal but I would rather these young guys get some experience this year and there is no way this team can just get away with playing 7 guys unless fans want to return to the days of scoring 40-50 points a game.

    To compete in the ACC year-to-year and to recruit against other ACC schools, State must have an uptempo offense.

    Anyway great game and even with all the close losses it is clear that this team is playing with more heart (with the exception of a few games) than the team played with last year.

  11. levelsixtyfour 02/11/2009 at 9:29 PM #

    Perhaps we will be fortunate enough to get a bootleg glimpse of the game. Anyone with any video, your contribution would be welcome.

  12. BJD95 02/11/2009 at 9:30 PM #

    Now that Billy Packer is retired, the Duke/UNC game is much better sans sound.

  13. TOBtime 02/11/2009 at 9:36 PM #

    If Duke can pull this out it will have been a good day in the STATE of NC.

  14. BJD95 02/11/2009 at 9:41 PM #

    I’m just glad that one of them must lose.

  15. buttPACKer 02/11/2009 at 9:43 PM #

    good game, boys!

    congratulaions on what would probably have been a great game to WATCH!

  16. levelsixtyfour 02/11/2009 at 9:47 PM #

    “If Duke can pull this out it will have been a good day in the STATE of NC.”

    I have actually grown to despise Dook more than Carolina. Am I in the minority in regard to where my hatred is focused?

  17. TampaPack 02/11/2009 at 9:49 PM #

    Just a shame we couldn’t put away a couple of those earlier games where we had a big lead in the second half or were in a position to win, we probably would be talking about being on the bubble of a different tournament – the real one….

  18. wolfpacker420 02/11/2009 at 9:53 PM #

    good point but that lets me know we’re on the right path. just need the right guys!

  19. BAC79 02/11/2009 at 9:53 PM #

    Lets take this win and do something with it, win some more.

  20. Astral Rain 02/11/2009 at 9:54 PM #

    Gotta admit I have egg on my face after this. That said, I hope this isn’t another one of those false hopes.

  21. BJD95 02/11/2009 at 9:55 PM #

    Ultimately, our record is what it should be. We are 4-4 in games decided in the final minute or overtime. If we beat UVA and MD at home, and GT on the road, then we can have a respectable 6-10 season.

    Farnold needs to stay confident with his offensive game. He really does have some skill.

  22. buttPACKer 02/11/2009 at 9:56 PM #

    I LOVE this win, but I am by no means convinced of Sid’s ability to coach.

  23. BAC79 02/11/2009 at 9:56 PM #

    stejen: One signature win doesn’t make Sid a great coach. The rest of the season will tell whether or not he might make it.

    This team has underachieved all year. Maybe this game will be a shot in the arm for the coaches and the players.

    This team can win. Learn from it and do it several more times between now and tournament time.

  24. TampaPack 02/11/2009 at 9:57 PM #

    ^ maybe the old football analogy is applying to this team and hopefully Lowe’s program – first you lose by a little (no matter how big of a lead you’ve blown), then you begin to win… Still would be nice to have a couple of those other games gone our way – it would have entirely changed the season at this point. Still a win is a win and not worth much if we can’t build on it.

  25. WolftownVA81 02/11/2009 at 9:58 PM #

    I think everyone would like Sid to succeed. Unfortunately the evidence of his abilitiy to coach has been lacking thus far. I’m not convinced but I am happy for the coaches and the team. Great win guys.

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