NC State tied for first place in the ACC; Roger Ayers in first place for fouls called vs State

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.

———————————————————————-

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.”

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11-12 Basketball

64 Responses to NC State tied for first place in the ACC; Roger Ayers in first place for fouls called vs State

  1. wolfonthehill 01/22/2012 at 6:49 PM #

    Should be (and need to be) 5-0 right now… but 4-1’s OK as long as we win 1/2 this week. These are all the teams we should beat, and we dropped one of them… now we have to go get one against someone better than us.

    Proud of the response by the guys today – I was certain we were going to complete the fold/melt-down and drop a crushing game. It’s a different day when we hang on & win.

  2. statemech 01/22/2012 at 7:13 PM #

    As has been said many times: the fact we are 4-1 is awesome, we should be happy with the HUGE improvement we are seeing in such a short time. Scratch-your-head games will happen to any team, and GT may be our only bad loss right now. That’s fine by me considering our recent history. Our team has a lot of fight and is constantly improving, no use dwelling on the wtf loss, let’s just beat the shit out of carolina, they are very beatable and I know we can do it. Go Pack!

  3. Smasher 01/22/2012 at 7:18 PM #

    I hate to be a debbie downer but I can’t help but think we’re a team actually hitting some threes from 1 or 2 losses. You guys are seeing the same game I am, the past two games have seen teams put up uncontested threes that just don’t go in.

  4. statemech 01/22/2012 at 7:22 PM #

    We are 4-1, we should all sit back and realize how awesome that is. Every team will have a wtf loss, and GT is probably our only bad loss right now. There is no use worrying about that game. There will likely be at least one more wtf loss this season. The fact that we have won 9 of our last 10, especially when compared to our recent history, is something to be celebrated. We have a legit coach and a team that is improving every time they get on the court. This game was very similar to Stanford & Indiana down the stretch, but this time we stuck it out. First you lose by a little, then you win by a little, and then you win by a lot.

    Let’s be proud of our GREATLY IMPROVED Wolfpack and look forward to Thursday and hopefully beat the ever-living shit out of Carolina. They are very beatable and there is no reason to think we can’t take them on. Go Pack!!

  5. quypack93 01/22/2012 at 7:30 PM #

    Boy, some of you guys have forgotten the Lowe era too soon. You should be happy. May be you can’t do that.

  6. 808WOLF 01/22/2012 at 7:31 PM #

    We will beat unx. Mark my words

  7. 61Packer 01/22/2012 at 7:31 PM #

    I can be happy. I’d be happier without a program this year than I would with one led by Lowe.

  8. turfpack 01/22/2012 at 7:44 PM #

    I’ll take 15-5 and 4-1 it beats the last 5 years.

  9. packof81 01/22/2012 at 7:50 PM #

    So far, so good. I’ll take it. This is a welcome departure from 2 decades of suckage.

    As for Ayers, let’s keep an eye on him.

  10. choppack1 01/22/2012 at 8:11 PM #

    Folks..we are in a good, not great position to get an at-large bid. We’ve got 11 games left. After this game we should have a top 50 rpi.

  11. Prowling Woofie 01/22/2012 at 8:26 PM #

    Exactly, Rochester. I’ll drink a little Koolaid simply because we’re NOT the lower tiered team this year. The guys are playing well – they just need to get more practice closing out the wins. That’s uncharted territory compared to last year; they’ll get better at it.

    For what it’s worth, Sene for UVa is out for 6-8 games, so that should help us in the paint against them.

    As for Thursday, our ‘bigs’ have to play smart, vertical, no-reach defense. I’d stack our starting five up against anybody, but we don’t go two-deep at every position like UNX. I like the four days of prep time. Maybe Howell and Leslie get extra time on defensive technique in practice this week…

  12. turfpack 01/22/2012 at 8:27 PM #

    ^^^^So we go 6-5 we’re in?????????

  13. Thinkpack17 01/22/2012 at 8:30 PM #

    Lo can and will play a lot better than he did today. I like how everyone said something to Scott after he sunk the record free throw. Great team unity.

  14. logarithm 01/22/2012 at 8:39 PM #

    The coaching staff has been able to motivate players and get tough, gritty play out of the guys after the GA Tech game. I’m looking forward to see the motivation they’re able to muster against a rival squad. Were any of the current guys on the team the last time we beat UNC-CH when we shot like 70% from 3 point land and beat them when they were something like #2 in the nation? The first time a Sidney Lowe coached team played them and first brought out the red blazer?

  15. WeAreCured 01/22/2012 at 8:49 PM #

    Smasher:

    If my Aunt Cecilia had testicles, she would be my Uncle Cecil. There is not one team in the country who wouldn’t have an extra loss or two or an extra win or two if not for the play of the other team. Enjoy the moment.

  16. Wolfy__79 01/22/2012 at 8:57 PM #

    as far as the ayers foul subject, calvin had no business complaining to the extent he did and he was t’d up! that’s what should have happened. a few of howell’s fouls were silly fouls, ntm some of the rest our fouls! i don’t what appears to be biased officiating at times but some of our fouls today were not ayers fault.

    the gt game, was terribly officiated imo but that should have lost the game. our guys need to step it up and quit with the silly fouls.

  17. Wolfy__79 01/22/2012 at 8:59 PM #

    ….and yes, many of the 3’s taken in the last two games were quasi uncontested so yes we “held” them to a low percentage and had something to do with it, but not all. credit to our improved perimeter defense and influencing poor shot selection.

  18. Howler 01/22/2012 at 9:02 PM #

    I hope everyone stops and smells the roses for a while this season. We have every reason to be optimistic for this season and the future. Coach Gott basically has taken last year’s team and made them winners. With his recruits, I fully expect us to make regular work of beating the blues in the next few seasons. It is time to shake off the negativism that has surrounded our basketball team for decades now.

    Out of the last four halves that the Holes have played, 3 of them have been bad. I believe that Howell and Painter can go in and push Zeller and Henson around quite a bit. Guys, we might win this one!

  19. VaWolf82 01/22/2012 at 9:05 PM #

    After this game we should have a top 50 rpi.

    UM doesn’t have a very good record. I’ll be surprised if State moves up that much.

  20. GAWolf 01/22/2012 at 9:05 PM #

    Wood only needs about 30 more for the real record. Let’s do this Scottie!

  21. ancsu87 01/22/2012 at 10:09 PM #

    I continue to be impressed with the basketball IQ of this team. Yes they made some mistakes as Miami made its rally but when they closed it to 4 at 1:44 left, with the crowd in the game, we ran off 5 straight to close it out. We did not fold. Overall we played like we knew what we needed to do. When it the last time you can say that about a NC State BB team.

    Should we have been 5-0? Sure. However UVa lost at home to VT. I am sure everyone thought UNC and Duke should have beat FSU. I have not drunk the NCAA Championship or even making the Tournament Kool-Aid yet but everyone has to have drunk the “We have a good BB coach/program going in right direction” Kool-Aid right?

  22. ancsu87 01/22/2012 at 10:26 PM #

    Looking forward to Thur. He is what to expect from the NC media:
    http://www.shelbystar.com/sports/state-61488-tar-test.html

    “Then, in Herb Sendek’s final year, a pair of decisive losses to UNC in contests where the teams entered their matchups similarly ranked took the luster off a 10-6 ACC finish. The resulting fan discontent ultimately led Sendek to leave for Arizona State.”

    Over and over and over and over …….

    If we lose by a blowout I am sure the media will “wet their pants” in their eagerness to search the internet for Wolfpack fans bitching and whining about Coach Gott.

  23. choppack1 01/22/2012 at 10:51 PM #

    Their record is mediocre..but I think their rpi was better or about even with ours. Since its a road game we get an extra bump too.

  24. ancsu87 01/22/2012 at 11:06 PM #

    The instant ranking update I saw has up from #65 to #55. UM went from #53 to #65.

  25. MrPlywood 01/22/2012 at 11:19 PM #

    Gotta say, the “if Miami had hit some threes” argument just makes no sense to me. It’s just a non-starter and a fatalist way to think. You’re assuming change (improvement) on their part but not assuming that State would react in any way.

    I can play that game too. Had State not committed numerous turnovers, fouls and played some sloppy D in the last 8 minutes or so, Miami doesn’t get within 10 and State wins going away.

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