HUGE win for NC State down in Miami!! Link to Boxscore
I’m so excited that I can’t wait for tomorrow morning so I can see the impact to our RPI. Regardless of the direct impact to our numbers, a 15-5 (4-1) ACC team who has played a Top 30 schedule is clearly/squarely a (currently projected) NCAA Tournament team.
Of course, things change. The great news for State is that we get two opportunities this week – at Carolina on Thursday and at home against Virginia on Saturday night – to pick up important ‘good wins’ against projected NCAA Tournament teams. Both schools’ RPIs are strong enough that just playing the game will help solidify the Wolfpack’s RPI.
Some other interesting statistics worth noting here:
* NC State has won three in a row and won NINE OF OUR LAST TEN GAMES! When was the last time that kind of streak existed in the last week of January?
* Miami went 2 of 20 from the three point line. Miami’s Malcolm Grant was 0 for 9 and Durand Scott to 4 of 11, for a combined 13 points.
* State’s last two opponents on the road (Wake & Miami) have been held to a combined 4 of 40 from behind the three point line
* It’s the first 4-1 start for the Wolfpack (15-5) since the 2003-04, also the last time it won 11 league games — coach Mark Gottfried’s stated goal for this team. (Link)
* Scott Wood now owns the all-time ACC record for consecutively made free throws and his streak is still in tact at 58.
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We talked about ACC referee, Roger Ayers, in this message board thread last week after State’s loss against Georgia Tech. It was ‘interesting’ to watch him on the court on Sunday.
One poster on another set of message boards shared the following —
“I counted fouls called by Ayers in today’s game.
NC State: 8
Miami: 2
Ayers called 4 of Howell’s 5 fouls, and called Leslie’s technical.”