Syracuse Game Thread (Sunday AM Update)

This is a huge game and State can win it.

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SFN Sunday Update

This best sums up what we saw (WRAL):

“Not to say that we’re arrogant, but we’re No. 1 in the country for a reason,” the senior said. “Going into someone else’s home, it’s always going to be tough. Like I said, we held our composure — that’s what I took out of this game.”

The short version: State played hard and at times, extremely well, but wholly inconsistent.

State led 29-23 with 8:16 remaining in the first half before Syracuse turned into the nation’s top-ranked team and ended the half on a 24-4 run for a 47-33 halftime lead. State opened the second half on a 17-3 run and by the first TV timeout had tied the game at 50 and then kept it close until just before the under-eight TV timeout, when Syracuse capitalized on a string of about a half-dozen turnovers to push the lead to 10, and then extended it over the final minutes.

Box Score (ESPN)

State fell to 6-4 on the season, and will be at St. Bonaventure Tuesday, 7pm.

About Rick

1992 and 2002 graduate from NCSU. Born and raised an NCSU fan. I remember the good ol' days and they weren't in the last 20 years.

11-12 Basketball Editor's Picks General Mark Gottfried NC State NCS Basketball

224 Responses to Syracuse Game Thread (Sunday AM Update)

  1. GAWolf 12/17/2011 at 9:30 PM #

    That’s very true, whiteshoes.

  2. swamppack 12/17/2011 at 9:33 PM #

    I see the fundamentals as being much better this year than the last 5 yrs. I just don’t see that belief in the body language of the players that they deserve to win or are going to win anything.

  3. Whiteshoes67 12/17/2011 at 9:36 PM #

    I still think this team finishes .500 or better in league play..

  4. swamppack 12/17/2011 at 9:40 PM #

    Whiteshoes, I agree with that and will say that they SHOULD finish 3rd in the league but will not.

  5. timberwolf 12/17/2011 at 9:47 PM #

    The 7 min mark Cuse buried 3 threes which was a back breaker. It’s that 7 – 5 min mark where we roll over. But the reason is definable.

  6. Wulfpack 12/17/2011 at 9:55 PM #

    We could finish 3rd in the league and as far down as 7th or 8th – I really have no idea how we will do. We seem to disappear at key moments in ball games and have no killer instinct. We have very little depth, but neither does the majority of our peers in the ACC. We’re 1-4 against key competition, so that does not give me a whole lot of hope. We’ll see how it goes.

  7. tractor57 12/17/2011 at 9:56 PM #

    I see some lingering issues but I see fewer as we go through the season. The final ranking in the conference will depend on how much we progress and how much our competition progresses. The reasons we are not #1 in the nation material are obvious but I do see marked improvement over last season. Hell we can actually inbound the ball this year.

  8. swamppack 12/17/2011 at 9:59 PM #

    Hell we can actually inbound the ball this year…………..that’s funny but so true.

  9. swamppack 12/17/2011 at 10:01 PM #

    We actually finished a couple of fast-breaks tonight also, by making a basket that is.

  10. tractor57 12/17/2011 at 10:07 PM #

    At least we now are discussing real BB instead of how to inbound and pass the ball. The team is a WIP but it is also obvious the attitude is different, the basket ball knowledge is greater and there is no waiting on coach to whistle in a play. In my view those are MAJOR changes. Basics to be sure and we might not see a lot of improvement in W-L this year but there already has been major strides taken.

  11. Rochester 12/17/2011 at 10:07 PM #

    Syracuse’s second five all looked like NBA talent. We showed up at a gunfight with a knife and inflicted a few wounds, but we were simply outgunned/outmanned. Next year’s recruiting class will go a long way toward resolving that. If we can put consecutive classes together, we’ll turn things around.

    As for this year, when CJL and Zo Brown are on the floor we’re one team, and when CJL cramps up and Alex Johnson mans the point we’re another, pretty bad, team. We don’t have the depth to be good, but in a down ACC I think we can still make some noise. Most of the teams we’ll play in league are nowhere near as good as Syracuse.

    I love that we didn’t quit. The first five minutes of the second half were outstanding. But it wasn’t a fair fight and it’s hard to sustain that with tired bodies or backups.

  12. Dogbreath 12/17/2011 at 10:08 PM #

    Disgraceful situation with regards to attendance, specifically the corporate seats that account for 70% of the courtside, lower level seats. I hate the shit out of the ESA.

  13. tractor57 12/17/2011 at 10:11 PM #

    +1 Rochester!

    Even so the current team without CJL and Zo play better than the team with those two last year. Not good enough for sure but better and with a real coaching staff I do expect the other guys to progress some as the season goes on.

  14. Thinkpack17 12/17/2011 at 10:29 PM #

    Cuse fans aren’t nearly as loud on TV as they were in real time. Thank God.

  15. mak4dpak 12/17/2011 at 11:04 PM #

    My first time back in years, and was glad to see the potential, but since our bench scored 4, and their bench 46, as well our 19 turnovers, we doomed ourselves for a loss, and certainly need to develop our bench play. But still optimistic about this season. And was shameful regarding the attendance, and the many empty seats on the lower level.

  16. xphoenix87 12/17/2011 at 11:04 PM #

    “As for this year, when CJL and Zo Brown are on the floor we’re one team, and when CJL cramps up and Alex Johnson mans the point we’re another, pretty bad, team.”

    This is right on. It’s immediately noticeable when they go out, especially Brown. Alex Johnson just brings nothing to the table at all. It’s not just offensively. Neither Zo nor CJL are great defenders, but their size and athleticism alone make a difference. Zo is 6’5, he’s hard to shoot over. At least one of those 2 threes Jardine hit was from the point, right over top of Johnson. Leslie isn’t terribly disciplined, but he’s the only big man who’s a real shot-blocking threat. You could see it in the second half, they were driving to the hole with no fear at all of being stopped at the rim.

    The good news is that we played one of the top 10 defenses in the country, and we shot 58% from the floor and 50% from 3. That’s a step in the right direction.

  17. Texpack 12/17/2011 at 11:06 PM #

    ^I see the fundamentals as being much better this year than the last 5 yrs. I just don’t see that belief in the body language of the players that they deserve to win or are going to win anything.

    Really? Were you watching how we don’t go meet the pass? Were you watching them repeatedly get WIDE OPEN looks from 3? Were you watching our best perimeter shooter with his feet glued to the floor hoping the Syracuse defense would just go away so he would be open? Were you watching Calvin repeatedly trying to put the ball on the floor and turn it over because that that just isn’t in his skill set? Did you see that our training staff can’t keep Calvin properly hydrated? Most good rec league teams can do all of the above consistently.

    I see very little reason to believe we will finish any better than we did last year.

  18. Thinkpack17 12/17/2011 at 11:13 PM #

    ^No better than last year? You mean overall? Or ACC? Hell…I’ll take that bet either way. What’s your paypal email?

  19. 87stategrad 12/17/2011 at 11:46 PM #

    I can tell you one thing, Syracuse fans are the most obnoxious people I’ve ever had to endure. The RBC seemed to be at least 25% orange tonight, and they were far worse than any UNX or Duke game. Not looking forward to putting up with these jerks on a regular basis.

  20. WolftownVA81 12/17/2011 at 11:51 PM #

    Not happy with the outcome tonight but very pleased with the overall effort and that we didn’t quit when we got down in the first half. I think playing these tough games early will pay dividends when we get into the conference schedule. I’m hoping for a few upsets down the road. I fall into the category of seeing a lot of improvement over past years. Keep up the good work guys.

  21. the_phisherman 12/17/2011 at 11:56 PM #

    It’s mostly the same team as last year guys. The fundamentals aren’t going to completely change overnight. I was proud to watch the guys fight back to start the second half. But you’re right. As soon as the subs come in, that’s all she wrote.

  22. MISTA WOLF 12/18/2011 at 12:00 AM #

    Tonight’s game can be described as so. It was like being at a strip club. They come out(2nd half) and get you all pumped up and leave you blue balled in the end. The inner excitement could not be released. Oh well maybe next time. Just trying to make you guys laugh and relax.

  23. MISTA WOLF 12/18/2011 at 12:07 AM #

    I will say that CJ Leslie is still showing his old self by trying to do to much. Instead of letting the game come to him he instead tries to put the team on his back way too early into a game.

  24. Wolfy__79 12/18/2011 at 1:06 AM #

    this was a win for me tonight despite the loss! as i’m sure this has been said multiple times on here tonight, depth is an issue.. but not what most are saying. we have plenty of depth at 4 & 5, but not 1-3! we’re getting pretty decent production out of some of the players but 1-3 have to score an avg of 15 to keep us going. painter, howell and calvin have to learn how to both face up and play with their backs to the basket. howell needs to realize he is a big boy and beast the paint. leslie needs to face up more and quit dribbling like a high school star.. of the three, painter seems to be doing a good job but settles too much for a jump shot. getting more reliable points out of these guys will loosen things up for the guards and make the offense more fluid.

    in defense of alex johnson, i think some of us are expecting too much of him. he contributes alot but is coming into game situations where not only is he unclear of what’s happening but also his teammates are unsure of what they need to do. this aspect actually looked much better against one of the best defenses in the country tonight.. way better than i expected. but give the kid a break, by year’s end he will be lightening the load on lorenzo!

    ,those three’s were absolute killers tonight.. defense is one of our weakest areas..particularly going under screens on the perimeter. the players aren’t developed enough to be lockdown defenders yet.. but they will be.

    as far as someone’s comment about brown’s defense, he is a good defender. but has some weak areas.. he’s doing a good job. if you are paying attention, he’s pulling a heavy load. when he gets tired his mistakes are more pronounce.

    now that we’re coming into a lighter span in our schedule pre acc play.. things should settle down enough where MG can mix the lineup up enough to get some more production from the bench boys!! keep the faith.

    nothing but good stuff tonight!!

    GO PACK!

  25. Wolfy__79 12/18/2011 at 1:16 AM #

    … on where we’ll finish in league play, if we continue to learn how to attack on offense as we did tonight and sure up some of the defensive issues i think this team can finish as high as third. alot of that is questionable right now b/c we really don’t know how good some of the teams are in the league but i’d say we’re in or close to the top half of the league. we’ve played some pretty decent competition and gotten better each time. let’s hope for a top 3 finish..

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