#3 UNC Outscores Wolfpack, 89-80

  NCSU (14-10) 36 44 80
#3 UNC (24-2) 39 50 89

Carolina was too much for NC State to handle last night in Chapel Hill last night, and they handed the Wolfpack an 89-80 loss.  The Wolfpack played well in the first half of the game, holding the #3 Heels to only a three-point 39-36 lead at the halfway mark, but in the second stanza, Carolina’s multiple threats were able to out-gun State.

“This time,” Wolfpack guard Javi Gonzalez said, “at least it was pretty close the whole game.”  Unfortunately for the Wolfpack team and its fans, it wasn’t close enough by the final buzzer.  Still, Gonzalez had a point — Carolina blew out NC State in the RBC Center on January 31st by a 93-76 count that wasn’t even that close.  Last night Carolina had to work harder for the win, and the Wolfpack has  clearly shown some improvement since the first meeting — but the contest last lnight also showed how far it NC State to go last night until it can compete with and defeat an elite team like UNC.  Progress has been made, sure, but there is much more progress left to be made.

Wolfpack head coach Sidnet Lowe said in the post-game interview that his team “came out with good energy and kept ourselves in the ballgame. I thought our guys gave a pretty good effort, but we turned it over a couple of times crucially and gave them an opportunity to get out and run on us.”  In the end, that made the difference for the upstart Wolfpack.

Carolina improved to 12-1 against the Wolfpack since Roy Williams took over at his alma mater before the 2003-04 season.

Box Score (espn.com) | Audio Interviews (850 The Buzz)

Go with your comments here for now… until Jeff and co. decide to put something more substantial up (or modify this).

I had luck with the game thread last Wednesday… why not try it again?

About Dr. BadgerPack

NCSU Class of 99 and PhD University of Wisconsin, 2006... Which should adequately explain the screen name I chose at 2am one Saturday...

08-09 Basketball General

247 Responses to #3 UNC Outscores Wolfpack, 89-80

  1. saspack 02/18/2009 at 9:52 PM #

    I still saw improvement from this game. Hope we can win another road game…

  2. Rochester 02/18/2009 at 9:53 PM #

    But seriously at the end I thought I heard something about ‘packers’ or slackers’

    It might have been “We’re butt-packers! clap, clap, clap-clap-clap, We’re butt-packers!”

  3. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 9:53 PM #

    Glad the team didn’t just quit/roll over when it became clear a comeback was not possible

    Things got away from us in the 2nd half and we couldn’t keep our composure well enough to stick to the game plan

    It would help us tremendously if Dennis Horner keeps hitting that open shot the rest of the season … Best he’s shot since his freshman campaign

    Hat tips to Javi and Tracy for working so hard tonight … Smith + McCauley combined to force 4 fouls on Zeller in his little bit of playing time

    There were some good things tonight, they just got away from us … But as I said, glad to see us keep fighting and trying to execute down the stretch

    There were a few ill-timed missed/bad calls, but probably not an impact on the outcome … Glad to see the obvious over-the-backs called on Davis – wonder if they would’ve been called if his # was 50

    All in all good effort, just a little frustrated b/c it felt like we could’ve stayed in the game … Maybe next time

    Let’s close the season strong and get some type of postseason play

    Go Pack

  4. sardeenz 02/18/2009 at 9:54 PM #

    agreed wufpup76

  5. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 9:57 PM #

    They were chanting “Start your tractors!” …

    homo douches have to eat, don’t they?

  6. MrPlywood 02/18/2009 at 9:58 PM #

    They saved an ungodly number of loose balls, or that number would have been more reasonable. Insult to injury, they scored on a lot of those plays when State should have been heading downcourt with possession.

  7. Sweet jumper 02/18/2009 at 10:00 PM #

    It sounded like we let up on defense in the second half–lots of layups and “and-1” layups in the second half. I listened but did not watch–was defense worse in 2nd half or were UNX players just fresher?

  8. BSIE80 02/18/2009 at 10:01 PM #

    Fells not available at least offensively until under 5 minutes to play.
    Ben missed to0 many shots inside.
    Costner got lost on offense for much of the game. He started off hot and then disappeared.
    Javi played really good. He carried us in the first half.
    Degand played really good against Wake, and now he looks terrible. He trys to run out of his shoes… Sid, probably should give Mays a shot at the back up if this is what we are going to see from Degand.
    Horner played a good game, hit some outside shots.

    Overall, I guess a moral victory.

    Holes played really good. Lawson is just difficult to handle, Green & Ellington made their layups, and TH beat us inside too much.

    They played their A game, we played our B+ game. Which, to me, means we could beat them, if we bring our A game and they bring their B game. I wouldn’t have said that 6 games ago.

    Of course, I only think we had 1 A game this year (Wake). Holes have had about 16 A games.

  9. 61Packer 02/18/2009 at 10:02 PM #

    Are Trevor Ferguson and Julius Mays still on the team?

  10. charger17 02/18/2009 at 10:03 PM #

    IMO, this game was lost on four, three-point plays all in the 2nd half:

    UNX 39-38
    19:04 – Hansbrough with the and one (foul on Costner)
    Result: down by 4

    UNX 42-38
    18:37 – Green with the and one (foul on Fells)
    Result: down by 7

    UNX 65-57
    9:29 – Hansbrough with the and one (foul on Costner)
    Result: down by 11

    UNX 68-59
    8:26 – Ellington with the and one (foul on Horner)
    Result: down by 12

    I didn’t get a chance to actually watch these plays, but can someone tell me if these were legitimate fouls. The only scoring difference is at the free throw line (UNX 13 of 15; NC State 3 of 7). From what I’m hearing here, most of these were heavily in UNX’s favor with our fouls not really making a difference.

  11. triadwolf 02/18/2009 at 10:07 PM #

    Plywood

    Good observation. I think that was the difference in the game. That’s where their pure physical ability beat us – the better atheletes got to the ball first.

    Overall I thought the team played well, but we sure did miss our upperclassman on offense. If we can keep on playing like we have lately, we have the ability to win out (not likely at all, but possible). I think we have a reasonable chance at another 4 wins. It still might not be enough to push through the bubble, but I’ll take it after how we started. We need to take care of business against a Virginia team that’s gaining some confidence and go from there. We’re in survive and advance mode now to have a shot.

  12. BSIE80 02/18/2009 at 10:07 PM #

    Sid is trying to stick to 8 guys. We could have used all 8 on the floor at the same time in the 2nd half.

    He may need to have Mays play for Degand.
    CJ is doing pretty well at the 2- so I don’t see Ferguson getting any minutes.

  13. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 10:11 PM #

    “They saved an ungodly number of loose balls, or that number would have been more reasonable. Insult to injury, they scored on a lot of those plays when State should have been heading downcourt with possession”

    ^Absolutely right and Sidney re-iterated as much on the postgame radio interview

  14. Rochester 02/18/2009 at 10:15 PM #

    The problem on at least half the and-1’s wasn’t the foul call. It was that we should have come up with a loose ball or rebound and didn’t and they got points because we were sloppy.

    Biggest positive I take from this game was Javi’s play. To do what he did tonight against Greensboro would have been mildly impressive. To do what he did against Orange County was pretty studly. I take heart in this for two reasons:

    1. He’s shown he can give us a more than capable game out of the PG spot.

    2. He was left for dead a month ago. Admit it, most of us would have cheered if he announced he was transferring after his 3 turnovers in 2 minutes performance. To me this shows that this coaching staff is capable of building players into contributors. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the two best guys out there tonight were sophomores. Perhaps we’ll see good things out of Mays, Williams and Thomas next year when they’ve had a chance to grow.

  15. wolfonthehill 02/18/2009 at 10:15 PM #

    So I’ll say it.

    Officiating was directly responsible for 10-15 points worth of the uncch margin. And they won by 9.

    Do the math.

  16. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 10:21 PM #

    charger – Rochester summed it up pretty well:

    “The problem on at least half the and-1’s wasn’t the foul call. It was that we should have come up with a loose ball or rebound and didn’t and they got points because we were sloppy.”

    Almost all of those calls came after offensive rebounds or turnovers by us … Back-breaking plays

    We shot 64% in the 2nd half after trailing by 3 at the half (where by all rights we should have led) … Offense didn’t kill us – we were effective there …

    We didn’t defend, rebound, or hold on to the ball nearly as well as we did in the first half … Those run out spurts that they got from all that allowed them to get almost a 20 point lead even with our offensive execution and shooting accuracy … This is what’s most frustrating about that half and this game

    Still, I liked the effort against #3 at their place … This team has come a long way, and if they don’t get down on themselves could be a real force down the stretch

  17. b_2005 02/18/2009 at 10:22 PM #

    -I wish Fells would have shown up on offense tonight
    -Degand looks B-A-D running the show…every time he is in the game our half court offense is horrible…

    overall, good effort…damn i hate carolina…

  18. Rochester 02/18/2009 at 10:22 PM #

    Why the Big 10 sucks: Penn State 38, Illinois 33. That’s final score.

    Why our loss to Virginia Tech hurts: Virginia 75, Virginia Tech 61. Yeah, the Cadavaliers may be better than they looked earlier, but that’s a bad loss for Va. Tech.

  19. Sweet jumper 02/18/2009 at 10:23 PM #

    Roy just dropped an F-bomb in the media room and asked the reporters to strike it–“I meant to say frickin'”
    Gary and Tony were stunned and apologized to the listening audience.

  20. agentorange 02/18/2009 at 10:25 PM #

    It sure was nice to see Gov. Perdue at the game tonight, and wearing light blue. Just think, I actually voted for her..What was I thinking? Jim Hunt, Where are you?

  21. RagingWolf 02/18/2009 at 10:25 PM #

    Sweet J: What was he upset about? Can you elaborate?

  22. charger17 02/18/2009 at 10:26 PM #

    Thanks for the clarification on the and-1’s. I just didn’t get to watch the whole game.
    After looking at the remaining schedules of the bottom six in the league,

    IF ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! . . . . .

    we take care of business against UVA, BC, and Maryland, I firmly predict we’ll be 7-8 traveling to a 7-8 Miami team, with the winner taking 7th and the loser taking 8th and a second round game vs. Carowhina! We really need to get to 8-8!

  23. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 10:26 PM #

    “2. He (Javi) was left for dead a month ago. Admit it, most of us would have cheered if he announced he was transferring after his 3 turnovers in 2 minutes performance. To me this shows that this coaching staff is capable of building players into contributors. Maybe it’s not a coincidence that the two best guys out there tonight were sophomores. Perhaps we’ll see good things out of Mays, Williams and Thomas next year when they’ve had a chance to grow.”

    ^Very good point and I hope all of that comes to fruition

  24. wufpup76 02/18/2009 at 10:30 PM #

    “Roy just dropped an F-bomb in the media room and asked the reporters to strike it–”I meant to say frickin’”
    Gary and Tony were stunned and apologized to the listening audience.”

    Wow. Hate I had already turned it off …

    Rochester, saw that Penn St. – Illinois score and was going to mention it … Big 10 basketball – it’s the same as Big 10 football

    Thank God we’re not in the Big 10

  25. newt 02/18/2009 at 10:33 PM #

    What Javi has, and has shown consistently, is toughness. You can’t undervalue that. He is a boxer, after all. That’s why when they chose to leave him open in the first half tonight, he made them pay.

    Degand on the other hand, looked flustered tonight.

    I agree with Lowe’s postgame comments; he saw missed opportunities, loose balls, not blocking out at times. One thing I like about Lowe is he clearly hates to lose.

    Still, we kept playing until the end and brought it to within 10. I don’t care that UNC had pulled the starters; I remember Bersticker dunking on us and grabbing ing his crotch in a similar situation way back when. I’ve seen the Tarheels smiling and laughing at the end of games with us. Not tonight. That’s important.

    WTF is up with Fells? A good game from him could’ve made a difference.

    Please, more on Roy’s f-bomb.

    Officials sucked tonight.

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