NC State 72 Miami 70

10-11 Basketball140

It could have been the ultimate disaster after losing 17 point lead at home on the day of the celebration for 100 Years of NC State Basketball.

Thank God it wasn’t.

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For a running conversation that unfolded during the game, you can click here.

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10-11 Basketball

140 Responses to NC State 72 Miami 70

  1. VaWolf82 01/24/2011 at 11:51 AM #

    Why would anyone be more upbeat about beating UM?

    – They are clearly one of the worst teams in the ACC; currently next-to-last in the ACC standings.

    – They have been in absolute free-fall since the ACC season started losing 4 of their last 5.

    – State nearly snatched defeat from the jaws of victory by blowing a 17pt lead IN RALEIGH.

    Which of those things makes you upbeat about the victory?

  2. 61Packer 01/24/2011 at 11:54 AM #

    I was there. Miami actually led by 1 late in the game.

  3. PoppaJohn 01/24/2011 at 11:56 AM #

    ^ agree with your point brad, the team showed some toughness at the end and I was proud of them. We’ve seen them give up earlier in the year. Hope that is behind us.

    Fact – Yesterday we beat a team we should have beaten – everyone on this post would have preferred a larger margin of success, but it counts as one W.

    Fact – we lost to the seven teams we’ve played that are better than us -I personally think had we played to our potential we might have UPSET a couple of them – but the stats show they are all ranked higher than we and we were predicted to lose – and lose we did.

    Opinion – I think we are playing better. Ryan is definately better, he has discovered defense and his offense is more under control. Richard played the game of his career yesterday, he was excellent. He needs more floor time. I thought Scott’s defense was better yesterday, especially when he shut down that guard on the final play – they were looking for a three. Great work on his part, he’s a smart ball player. CJL is getting better – however his signature move still involves giving the ball to the other team. (I really hate to hear that he is determined to go to the NBA next year as per C Tudor) Javi is coaching, where he belongs. I think Zo has hit the freshman wall, he’s played a lot of minutes this year. Bringing him off the bench is the right move. Tracey is solid every game, and CJW is coming off the bench and doing some excellent work. Painter is doing well as a backup.

    These signs of improvement are good, and we’re heading in the right direction. Had we not lost Tracey for so much of the pre-conf season, we might be further ahead and have higher expectations.

    Sadly, I fear that these good things are happening too late and it’s going to take a miraculous finish to get us to the dance.

    My greatest fear is we’ll finish the season in the NIT and Sid will get a pass due to what might have been had TS not had surgery. I say he either shows it this year and he stays, or we treat him with respect but ask him to leave. We can’t stand a “maybe one more year” coach any more. It’s bad for recruiting, and it sure isn’t winning us enough ball games.

  4. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 12:10 PM #

    “Which of those things makes you upbeat about the victory?”
    ==============================================================
    The “W” in the win column.

    When the season is over, none of what you wrote will show up in said column.

    Just the “W”.

  5. 61Packer 01/24/2011 at 12:23 PM #

    I don’t think BC or FSU is better than we are. Clearly we’re a better team than BC when you look at personnel.

    And I predict we’ll be moaning the same thing about Clemson and perhaps even UNC after this week.

  6. packfan03 01/24/2011 at 12:37 PM #

    Which of those things makes you upbeat about the victory?

    This has to be a trick question, right?

    Just as it is ridiculous to hand out moral victories in losses, it’s ridiculous to hand out moral defeats in wins.

    Miami has a respectable RPI, regardless of what you have inferred from their last four games. As one of more statistically based authors on this site (your wonderful RPI posts), I would have thought you would appreciate the win.

  7. nycfan 01/24/2011 at 12:45 PM #

    As an aside, what’s up with the 100th anniversary thing? Didn’t State also (purport to) celebrate it last year, at least with an unfortunate centennial logo in the media guide and maybe a few other events?

    I actually left at the 16:00 time-out in the second half to take the boat out for a spin and was amazed when I turned to the game on Sirius to hear that it was tied … that said, State figured out how to win it, so you’ve got to take some consolation from that. As a Carolina fan this year, my mantra has been that even ugly wins are wins, and so long as we’re on track for the NCAAs not get upset about how poorly UNC played so long as they win. Heck, I’ve only been irritated about ONE loss, and that is the obvious GaT debacle.

    Since State is in a lot worse position vis-a-vis the NCAA Tournament, ugly wins are even more frustrating for you guys, but you can’t go a crazy run (however unlikely that may actually be) without winning that Miami game and for the youngsters on the team holding a big lead against a decent team is not something they’ve exactly had a chance to get a lot of experience with, so there is some positive in seeing the senior Smith help pull they young guys over that hump and hope they learned something …

  8. wolf pack 01/24/2011 at 1:02 PM #

    To TOB4Prez and all of our fan base that keeps stating how great of an offensive coach Sid is….please give me some examples…
    As far as I can tell..and I assure you I’m by no standards a basketball guru or proclaim to be….There continues to be long spans of time during the game that we don’t score…we dont’ tend to score a lot of points…Can ANYONE back up there comments (that sid is a good offensive basketball coach) with some facts??

  9. 61Packer 01/24/2011 at 1:12 PM #

    Offense starts with good shooters. NCSU has been, in the past few decades, one of the WORST-shooting teams you’ve seen anywhere in the D-1 level. We’ve got all this so-called talent that couldn’t identify a 10-foot jump shot from a dunk, which is part of the reason we always shoot so poorly in games.

    Watch our offense and watch the number of off-balance shots taken at close range, never off the glass, shots just thrown up one-handed or underhanded that seldom go in. Wood is the only decent shooter we have, except when Harrow is on the foul line.

    We need to quit recruiting dunkers and start recruiting shooters.

  10. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 1:16 PM #

    ^^^He’s a master at isolating guys to exploit mismatches, but he needs a solid PG to see that plan out. When we run a high/low… that means we’ve got a guard that’s looking (normally for Tracy) to get the ball inside, and if he (Tracy) doesn’t feel a double team, he makes a move and hopefully scores, if he does feel it, then he (should) look for the open man (ie- the man who the doubling down defender is guarding), or kicks it back out to the guard for a shot or another entry pass. When doing this, it will give the impression that the other 3 are “just standing around, waiting for something to happen”, and in a sense that’s true, but they should also be looking for openings in the defense to move into to perhaps get the pass from Tracy once the double team comes. Also, we run a lot of pick and rolls, which gives the PG and (again, typically Tracy) a chance to rub off a defender on the screen and make a move to the basket, again, the others are instructed to CLEAR OUT to make room for this two on two game, but should always be looking for a place to move to, to get their shot off.

    Scott Wood is the best 3pt shooter in the conference, but that wouldn’t mean a hill of beans, if Sid were not a able to draw up plays (see- the multiple screens he runs off of) to get him open looks. There is a distinct reason that Scott leads the league in 3ptrs made and is shooting at a high % from beyond the arc… because HIS COACH makes that happen.

    These are just a few examples, but suffice to say…. Sid has the ability to draw up the plays (on offense) that can produce buckets, if the guys do as they’re told, and stick to the gameplan. When we go into a drout, watch the number of 1-1 moves guys make, and ultimately miss… they’re NOT sticking to the plan and are deviating due to impatience. This is an area where Sid can still improve, he needs to CALL THEM OUT (the offenders) in front of their peers to embarrass them and they will quickly learn that he’s not going to stand for them NOT listening to his instructions. And, as I’ve mentioned in this thread already… Sid needs to bring in a strong defensive minded asst. to help him get the charges to understand the concept of “help defense” and how rotate over to stop the dribbler.

    Progress is being made.

  11. MP 01/24/2011 at 1:26 PM #

    Hat tip to packfan03 for the well-reasoned posts in this thread.

  12. VaWolf82 01/24/2011 at 1:27 PM #

    Miami has a respectable RPI, regardless of what you have inferred from their last four games. As one of more statistically based authors on this site (your wonderful RPI posts), I would have thought you would appreciate the win.

    Because I appreciate solid numbers, I realize that this victory is neither impressive nor one to be especially proud of. The fact that it is clearly State’s second best win of the season would actually depresses me if I let State BB affect my well-being.

  13. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 1:28 PM #

    61packer hits on something that we do have an issue with…. which, IMO- is the lack of a mid-range game (10-15ftrs), even Scott has trouble burying shots in that range. It’s a lost art around the game though, unfortunately… if the kids aren’t working on their “dunks”, they’re working on their “3pt shots”. More practice needs to be done shooting 10-15 foot jumpshots (elbow jumpers)…. watch Nolan smith knock those down when he gets inside the 3pt line. The only people we have on our team now that show a desire to shoot those elbow jumpers are CJ Williams and Lo B… and while both of them are decent shooters (both right around 80% from the FT line), they still need more work on them, but at least those two attempt the elbow jumpers. Tracy’s developed a decent 12-15 foot baseline jumper, and he needs to continue shooting that… ala Thurl Bailey, but we also need him underneath to board misses, so it’s a catch 22.

  14. 61Packer 01/24/2011 at 1:50 PM #

    It’s like somebody told me several years ago when we were struggling under HWSNBN. When I asked him what was wrong with State basketball, he said simply “We can’t shoot and can’t hold on to the ball”.

    There has been absolutely NO improvement in those two critical areas since Low arrived, except that right now Gonzo is riding the bench. But an amazing number of posters are defending #10.

  15. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 2:08 PM #

    “But an amazing number of posters are defending #10”
    ==========================================================
    How would one go about doing that??

    I believed he made steady improvement from his frosh to jr year, but has regressed this season almost entirely because his ego can’t handle the reality that Ryan is far better. He can be a solid back-up if he’d just embrace that role and use his improved skill set to become a sparkplug off the bench, but he just doesn’t seem mentally strong enough to accomplish that. I hate it for him, but I’ll say that he didn’t look “down in the dumps” when walking off the court after yesterday’s game… maybe he too, is growing up.

  16. Ed89 01/24/2011 at 2:45 PM #

    nycfan, you completely lost me with this — “As a Carolina fan this year, my mantra has been that even ugly wins are wins, and so long as we’re on track for the NCAAs not get upset about how poorly UNC played so long as they win. Heck, I’ve only been irritated about ONE loss, and that is the obvious GaT debacle.”

  17. swamppack 01/24/2011 at 3:49 PM #

    You ever felt like you were in limbo, hanging by a thread, niether here nor there, on auto pilot, standing there with a blank look on your face or just on the edge of the twilight zone? That’s how I feel a lot as a State b-ball fan. You keep seeing the possibilities but more times than not you are devastated by the outcome. Yes the Clemson game is just as important in the W/L column but I can’t help but feel the saturday game against Carowhiney is the statement maker. Are we sick of being a whipping boy or is it time for things to change on tobacco road? I’m just a fan. This coach and these players have a chance to do something major in a complacent, lazy ACC this year and for years to come. Will we see it? “LET’S GO WOLFPACK” ch,ch ch ch ch “LET’S GO WOLFPACK” ch,ch ch ch ch.

  18. smfrank 01/24/2011 at 5:19 PM #

    Do people not forget that our greatest moment was a miracle! We lost 10 games (7 conference) and needed to win the ACC tourney to get invited!! We went through a stretch in January where we barely won and were 2-6 in one stretch during the month. We also lost the last 2 heading into the tournament. We were supposed to be better than that…

    and guess what – we were!

    That is why there are so many “delusional” fans in wolfpack nation. We’ve all seen the Jimmy V speech a thousand times, we’ve watched him run frantically around the court.

    I bleed red. I never wish ill will on any coach, any player, or faculty member (except the one that gave me a bad grade on a final exam) at NCSU. I can’t help it – I want to see us succeed every second at everything. I watch dreaming that each play will be the one that sparks the season into something special. I don’t see the joy in watching games to laugh in my villain voice at Lowe’s state of misery or to dissect every wrong doing. There have been many positives in the games lately (except the FSU game). I truly believe this team can and wants to turn it around. Let’s get some positive vibes going as a fanbase!

  19. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 5:26 PM #

    ^^^apparently they do, to your question posed.
    Because there are more than a few (that frequently post here) that have indeed, GIVEN UP.

    Nevermind that the coach behind said miracle urged us (STATE FANS NATION) not to.

    Kinda sad, really.

    This team (players and coaches) has definitely NOT given up, and I’m not about to give up on them.

    GO WOLFPACK!!!!

    ps- well said smfrank!

  20. Beagle Pack 01/24/2011 at 5:28 PM #

    Was anyone else bothered by our lack of time outs at the end of the game? The only one I remember that looked like a complete waste was the first one Sid took. I think he called that one simply to yell at Scott Wood. Then there were two to “stop” the comeback from Miami and one by Harrow to save a turnover. Not sure where the other one went, but it would have been nice to have at least one with the game on the line in the last 2 minutes.

    I’m also curious about the age breakdown of people that support Sid versus want him to resign. I was too young to remember seeing him play and lead us to a national championship. I am on the side of hoping he will resign if this team doesn’t make the tourney (and I seriously doubt they will). My guess is that the people that want to keep him remember those glory days and don’t want to turn on him. I can understand that. If Philip Rivers coached our football team to 5 straight losing seasons, I would probably still want him to continue coaching the team.

  21. VaWolf82 01/24/2011 at 5:45 PM #

    My guess is that the people that want to keep him remember those glory days and don’t want to turn on him.

    Based on what posters have said here, you are wrong.

  22. bradleyb123 01/24/2011 at 5:48 PM #

    Which of those things makes you upbeat about the victory?

    The one you omitted, where we blew a 17 point lead, and had a 1 point lead with five minutes remaining, and we kept our composure and held on for the win.

    Like I said, I’m not defending Sidney. Just saying there are some positives to this particular win. Positives about our players, not the coach.

  23. pack44fan 01/24/2011 at 5:55 PM #

    Welcome to the roller coaster ride that is NCSU basketball. It’s hard to be hopeful when your team has gone 22 and 47 the past 4.5 years in ACC play while averaging 1.2 road ACC road wins per year. I think everyone is hopeful things will improve this year, but it appears to be doubtful based on recent past history.

  24. TOB4PREZ 01/24/2011 at 5:58 PM #

    “did we give up when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?”

  25. Wolfy__79 01/24/2011 at 6:49 PM #

    the final timeout concerned me! ..sure there are alot of positives to take from this win. the past two seasons we have lost those games, i was waiting on their final two possessions for those guards to nail three pointers.. but they did not! so, for the first time in lowe’s tenure, or one of the first.. he survived that particular situation. hopefully these are growing pains. if we were able to look at this season alone and forget the previous 4 then it would still be disappointing but folks would be a little more optimistic. not only does our head coach need to move forward, but so do the players most importantly and also the fans. we won’t do so until the players.

    one thing i’ve noticed under Sidney Lowe is that he relies alot on the players to do their part. he’s certainly not a micro manager.. which is his biggest weakness. he’s yet to have the developed game manager on the floor and in year 5 he’s still having to whistle and hollar at players in the middle of a set on the floor. i heard yesterday when he was talking about a conversation with jimmy v.. he said something to the effect that he had to tell/convince V that they could take care of business on the floor. and that fits perfectly with my perception of his style of coaching. so far it’s not working.. but MAYBE (note the big maybe), as the players move forward so will the rest of us. but most importantly, it’s just taking far too long. as seen by the rest of the league, we are becoming the whipping boy.

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