Wake Bakes Pack, 85-78

08-09 Basketball General82
NCSU (15-11) 35 43 78
#13 WF (22-5) 43 42 85

Quick Stats:

NC State Wake Forest
Field Goals 31-65 (47.7%) 32-61 (52.5%)
Free Throws 8-11 (72.7%) 18-22 (81.8%)
3-pointers 8-23 (34.8%) 3-13 (23.1%)
Personal Fouls 19 10
Turnovers 8 12

Box Score

Barring a miracle, say hello to the NIT — if State plays well in its final three ACC games and in the ACC Tournament. That much was settled tonight as Wake Forest put a fork in the outside chances of an NCAA At-Large bid for a game NC State team that fell short in Winston-Salem.

Your post-game comments here.

08-09 Basketball General

82 Responses to Wake Bakes Pack, 85-78

  1. Astral Rain 02/28/2009 at 12:26 AM #

    You make the tourney, you can get hit and become national champ. So making the tourney is important.

    Sid’s teams would be well suited for play since they can get hot with the offense.

  2. Wulfpack 02/28/2009 at 11:22 AM #

    There are currently 347 teams competing in NCAA Division I basketball. Maybe it’s just me, but to be one of the 65 is a hell of an accomplishment in my book.

    We have a rich tradition, and for some fans, an expectation to win the whole darn thing. But the fact of the matter is that our “history” is long gone, and our true standard IS to make the NCAA basketball tournament. That’s what our goal is because that is what we have been delegated to. This will be the third consecutive year we will left out of it, assuming no ACC Tourney miracle. I’m sensing some impatience here. If it’s four years, you can bet your behind there will be some smoke.

    If you think Sid isn’t interested in qualifying for this thing, you might want to think again. There aren’t a whole lot of coaches coaching big-time college basketball that survive a string of years missing the Big Dance. It IS the standard, and it IS a good one for our program to shoot for right now. If Sid elevates the level of the program and we make a couple in a row and do well in it, then maybe we can amend the standard from making it, to finally excelling in it. But we’re a long way from that right now. And it’s been that way for, oh, about 25 years running now.

  3. PAJ 02/28/2009 at 11:30 AM #

    I’m not interested in “flaming” anyone. I just think the comments you contributed up until my post were very negative and off base. I simply asked why you’re so negative, BJD95?

    Sorry if that hurt your feelings, but I thought the point of blogs like this was to air all points of view. Is that why my comments were deleted? Eliminate the dissenting opinion to strengthen your critical position with respect to Sidney Lowe? Rather than answer the question, you’d apparently prefer to attack me/my comments as not being well considered. Nicely played, but not correct.

    I don’t think you or anyone else can say whether we will get or not get Wall and/or Cousins. And more importantly I don’t think it’s fair to turn your opinion into some sort of criticism. The outcome is still unknown. Of course if you predict the negative, I’m sure there is a higher probability you’ll be correct since there are numerous teams chasing both players (simple probabilities and statistics). If we do lose out of course you called it, but that doesn’t mean you have anything more substantive or authoritative to offer than an opinion. Neither do I. Nor do I claim to.

    I simply prefer to give credit to our team, players and coaches rather than attribute their apparent improvement to lousy competition. Wake has a very talented roster which makes them capable of beating anyone. Doesn’t mean they will win any titles, but they certainly have the weapons.

    Last time I checked Wake beat Duke and UNC in LJVC, so I don’t see an 8 point loss as a bad showing on our part. I certainly don’t see the result as indicative of weak defense from our opponents. We achieved a home/home split w/ a strong team that’s been highly ranked all year. That’s a step in the right direction as far as I’m concerned. I hope we see more positive steps in the near and long term future.

  4. redfred2 02/28/2009 at 12:17 PM #

    Wulf, I agree with almost every word in your post.

    Basically, all I’m trying to say is that whether we do manage to squeak into any post season play RIGHT NOW, that by doing just the bare minimum to qualify, that does NOT by any means indicate that we have made the necessary improvements that are enough to even compete in our own league. Though I know Lee Fowler and the folks in West Raleigh would love NOTHING more than the revenue it would generate, I just don’t see where all the rush to just “make an appearance” comes from.

    Can we not wait until we earn and actually deserve to be there, or are we just so damned impatient that we are willing to fall right back into the well-worn groove of “barely making it in” as the end all? Has that single aspect become the ONE goal that we focus so intently on, so much so, that we do at the expense of, and lose sight of, any of the enjoyment that comes along the way while going through the NECESSARY process that is required to REALLY become a legitimate BB program/ACC member once again?

  5. redfred2 02/28/2009 at 12:51 PM #

    ^Wulf, just to add, I’m not “negative” or taking any legitimate accomplishments as a “negative” at all. I’m just not going to fall in with the growing number of folks who think that “making it” is what NC State BB is, and what it is all about these days.

  6. Wulfpack 02/28/2009 at 12:52 PM #

    ^I agree. Simply barely making the tournament isn’t the end all, be all. We’ve been there, done that, and it is a false sense of the overall strength of the program. All I *think* I am saying is first you squeak in, get some real tournament experience, and then maybe the following years you have a real shot at doing well in it. I’d much rather we start that process this year as opposed to next, but it looks like next year is going to be when it is most likely to happen, and that’ll be fine since we will be such a young team. That’s fine by me, as long as we get there. Believe me, there is nothing I would LOVE more than for us to be the feared opponent for the majority of teams competing in late March on CBS, and not ESPN or ESPN2…

  7. redfred2 02/28/2009 at 1:27 PM #

    ^I just hope that people will keep in mind that we have seen noticeable progress in what was once a season that didn’t hold very much hope. Like you said, and like I said earlier in the thread, we are going to be very YOUNG next season. Making the NCAA tournament will be even more of a MAJOR accomplishment for a BB team that is still laying a foundation, and one that will be depending very heavily on fresh faces to take it to the next level.

    There are “factors” in place right now that should be laying that foundation and moving us more in that direction as this season winds down, but for whatever the reason, those “factors” aren’t quite stepping up making it happen. I’m afraid that we will be facing yet another rebuilding season in Raleigh, at least as far as the mental aspect of the game is concerned.

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