One more look at Duke, link style

09-10 Basketball ACC & Other Big Four Rivals Sidney Lowe8

Here’s some links from the web today worth looking at for those still savoring Wendesday night’s win over Duke. Enjoy these, because tomorrow morning it’s on to Maryland.

No heartbreak this time for the Pack – Ken Medlin

Tracy Smith knows how to throw a party.

On the day he turned 22 years old, Smith scored 23 points to lead NC State to an 88-74 win over No. 7 Duke.

“This is the best present,” a smiling Smith said in the post-game locker room, wearing a red birthday party hat that fit the festive mood.

But the celebration extended well past Smith’s birthday.

This time, it’s NC State making the clutch plays – Austin Johnson

Duke had no answer for the N.C. State offense, as the Wolfpack shot 58 percent upset the No. 6 Blue Devils 88-74 on Wednesday night at the RBC Center. For once, it was N.C. State making a back-breaking shot.

The Blue Devils had cut the Wolfpack lead to just eight points, and the Devils had stalled the Pack offense. With the clock ticking down and Brian Zoubek in his face, Javi Gonzalez pulled up from way behind the 3-point arc. His prayer was answered right as the buzzer sounded, sailing through the net and putting a dagger in Duke’s comeback hopes.

“It was time for us to hit one of those,” head coach Sidney Lowe said.

Pack Shreds Devils – J.P. Giglio

Duke, picked to win the ACC, and N.C. State, picked to finish last, met Wednesday night at the RBC Center. Sure enough, one team looked as good as it gets in the ACC, and the other looked lost. It just wasn’t the way anyone expected.

N.C. State shredded the No. 7 Blue Devils for a convincing 88-74 win and, in the process, flipped the ACC on its ear.

Smith Celebrates Birthday with Win Over No. 7 Duke – Tim Peeler

NC State junior Tracy Smith stood in the RBC Center interview room, his pointy red hat perched firmly on top of his head, celebrating one of the best gifts he had ever received as a birthday present: a mid-court celebration with Wolfpack fans following his team’s 88-74 victory over No. 7 Duke. The Pack out-hustled and out-played the Blue Devils throughout the game, shooting a sizzling 58.2 percent from the field, and Smith was practically unstoppable by Duke’s front court players.

Smith – who played high school basketball at Durham’s Mt. Zion Academy, not far from Duke’s campus – scored a game-high 23 points and grabbed four rebounds on his 22nd birthday.

Here’s some really great work from Duke Basketball Report. Props to those guys for being as objective as I’ve seen in a while.

State spanks Duke

Normally after a loss, we try to find something positive to say.  There just weren’t a lot  of positives about this game.   Aside from the play of Nolan Smith, there just wasn’t that much good to talk about, unless of course you’re a State fan.  And then there is a fair amount.

In Mike Krzyzewski news, here’s Coach K’s press conference. Notice the snappiness. Gotta love it.


 

Check back tomorrow for a Maryland preview and more.

 

09-10 Basketball ACC & Other Big Four Rivals Sidney Lowe

8 Responses to One more look at Duke, link style

  1. coppertop 01/21/2010 at 7:09 PM #

    Great closing comments from coach K. Unwilling to make excuses when offered and gave credit to NC State for playing lights out against them. There is definitely a reason I like duke better than UNC.

  2. newt 01/21/2010 at 7:31 PM #

    From DBR: “We have a friend who is a State grad who told us years ago that the difference between Cameron, and (then) Reynolds is that at Cameron, they chant in unison but at Reynolds, they just scream their heads off.”

    That is exactly right!

  3. travelwolf 01/22/2010 at 2:15 AM #

    after watching the game on espn360.com, we didn’t seem as dominant as i thought while i watched the game live. also, we screwed up a lot of transition baskets – that’s an area that needs improvement. i also noticed us missing many defensive assignments – but duke was shooting so poorly that they couldn’t capitalize on those opportunities. i believe one reason for their poor shooting was because of our high energy and aggressive defense.

    one last observation… i can’t remember when we played such an uptempo game with red and white streaking across the tv screen. could it be that Lowe’s preseason comments of wanting a team that can run are coming to fruition? it’s only one game, but it’s a great start!
    another thing that i noticed while watching the game the 2nd time was that we aren’t as good as it appeared to me watching the game live. on the other hand, we are getting better every game – and that’s something that could eventually put us into the NCAA tournament. will we lose to ACC teams in the bottom of the conference? – definitely. so be emotionally prepared for that!

    i like the fact that Lowe is using so many subs – and keeps rotating them. if we can wear Duke down, we can probably wear most other teams down. the energy that our players had yesterday was amazing!

    it’s a great win to build on. one thing that amazes me about this team is that they have yet to get blown out since the NW game. almost every team that’s not in the top 25 has a down game now and then – but we’ve doing very well since the beginning of December!

  4. fullmoon1 01/22/2010 at 9:08 AM #

    As much as coach K irritates me, it is refreshing to hear him in comparison to his baby blue counterpart, Roy Williams. He gave credit where credit was due and offered no excuses. I can say i respect coach K even though I may not like him. Ugh, I feel dirty. I think we may have rekindled an old rivalry. Now we are competitive again and its fun and I think Duke fans/team are hungry for the next match up. The contrived rivalry they have with unc loses a little bit of luster with unc having such a down season.

  5. Classof89 01/22/2010 at 9:08 AM #

    Thanks for the link to DBR…refreshing to read comments from someone (unlike any of the knuckleheads that pass for the National basketball media these days, particularly on the “Worldwide Leader”) who understands the history and ebb and flow of ACC basketball over the decades.

    The author is exactly right–without a strong NC State program, ACC basketball loses a lot of what made it the greatest in the land in the 1970s and 1980s.

  6. GAWolf 01/22/2010 at 10:35 AM #

    The DBR is more fair to us than our hometown newspaper.

    That says volumes about both outlets.

    It’s funny, I used to hate Duke more than Carolina. It was mostly due to the lack of connection to the state of NC. Similarly, the make up of the student body, predominantly concocted of “those” from above the Mason-Dixon Line, concerned me some.

    However, with the deterioration of Roy’s principles and personality (and sanity) over his stint back in Chapel Hill, I have found my feelings for the two institutions have traded places. I dislike them both… a lot. But if given a choice, I believe I’d prefer Duke over Carolina in a head-to-head match up. That wasn’t the case before.

    I fully expect Roy to take a “K-Sabbatical” after this Carolina team crumbles in the spot-light of being reigning national champions… dragging down with it Roy’s ability to be rational.

  7. Prowling Woofie 01/22/2010 at 11:05 AM #

    Agree with Classof89 – the DBR article is spot on. The ACC as a whole is better when NC State is relevant. Shoot, I’d like to see the Big Four Tournament resurrected. Even if you came out of that weekend 0-2, you still had a chance to fairly evaluate where you stood against real competition !

    I did not attend NC State (went to Washington & Lee, so have no connection to a Div I alma mater program), but have been a Wolfpack fan since our family moved to Raleigh in 1970. My dad – A Duke grad – bought season tix to the State games, figuring any ACC basketball was better than no ACC basketball, and at least he’d get to see his Blue Devils in person once a year. State games became our father-son activity during my middle school (junior high) years. Of course, that coincided with the David Thompson era, and I became – and have been since – a diehard Pack fan.

    Out of loyalty to my dad, I have kept Duke in second place, however, and appreciate the level of excellence their program has attained. Am looking forward to NC State regaining that status, and am encouraged that we are heading in that direction after Wednesday’s game. What fun to be in attendance – the atmosphere was absolutely electric at times, and the team played inspired ball. They looked like they were enjoying themselves, which can’t be said for many Wolfpack teams in the last dozen years or so…

    Hope the improvement that maturation brings continues for this group.

    Flatten the Turtles !!!

  8. ADVENTUROO 01/22/2010 at 8:08 PM #

    I always thought Mikey was a class act. He did NOT make any excuss. However, if you listened to his post game comments on WRAL, it sounded like someone in SHOCK. He did NOT give an intelligent answer and kept repeating himself. When one of the reporters interjected a comment about a state player, he jumped all over him.

    Mikey was NOT a happy camper. I’ll bet the Dookie team would have RUN all the way back…just to keep from riding the bus with him. It would NOT have been a pleasant ride.

    They probably had to re-do the ulphostery due to Mikey’s torrent of epitaths…

    IT WAS GREAT.

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