Wednesday Woolgathering

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January 11, 2012

NC STATE BASKETBALL
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GoPack.com
ACC Hoops Action: Pack Entertains Georgia Tech On Wednesday

The Wolfpack looks to improve to 2-0 in ACC play when it entertains Georgia Tech on Wednesday at the RBC Center. Gametime is 9 p.m. Doors open 60 minutes prior tipoff. Wednesday’s game can be heard on the NC State Radio Network and will be televised on RSN with Mike Hogewood (play-by-play) and Mike Gminski (color analyst) providing the description of the action. Check your local listings for the channel in your area. Pack fans across the country can see the game via ESPN Full Court package.

Wednesday’s game closes out a six-contest homestand for the Pack during which NC State has assembled a six-game winning streak. A victory over the Yellow Jackets would tie State’s longest winning streak since the 2007-08 season.

Josh Goodson (WRALSportsfan.com)
State is better than Duke

NC State is better than Duke. Yeah, I said it.
I believe State is better than Duke at something in basketball.
During a delicious pregame media meal recently before the NCSU-Delaware State contest, I said to some of my media brethren, “I believe NC State’s starting 5 is better than Duke’s.”

As you would expect, I got the “are you drinking?” response. Sure, if you look on the surface, that does sound crazy, but it doesn’t take much time to sit down and analyze both teams less than a week into ACC play, and come to that conclusion.

Let’s break it down position by position:

Point Guard: Lorenzo Brown vs Tyler Thornton/Quinn Cook.

Edge: Brown: The most important position on the court is the point guard. Let’s go ahead and use the expected clichés…floor general, quarterback, etc. I’m going to go with Lorenzo Brown on this one. Of all the matchups, this is the most one-sided. Brown has turned into a VERY good point guard. Just look at the stats. Against Maryland, Brown churned out 11 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. For the season, Brown averages 12 points, 5 rebounds and 7 assists.

Neither Cook nor Thornton is close to that sort of production at the position many deem to be the most integral part of a team. Brown being the point guard is also responsible for making the rest of his team better. Let’s see…NC State’s starting 5 EACH average 12 points. I’d say that’s helping the team be better.

J.P. GIGLIO (N&O)
Gottfried embraces Pack mentality

DANIEL SHIRLEY (macon.com)
Georgia Tech hits road in ACC

Ken Sugiura (ajc.com)
Georgia Tech seeks new road results

Even if the Jackets remembered to bring those intangibles to Raleigh, the challenge will be considerable. The Wolfpack are 12-4 under new coach Mark Gottfried and began ACC play with a 79-74 win over Maryland on Sunday. Forward C.J. Leslie leads N.C. State with 13.5 points per game, one of five players who averages in double figures. Gregory was wary of point guard and Centennial High grad Lorenzo Brown, who has averaged 6.8 assists per game. Further, the RBC Center is one of the louder arenas in the league.

While the Jackets are 7-8 and on a four-game losing streak, they have managed a 2-2 road record, already surpassing last season’s road victory total. That includes their Dec. 7 win over Georgia, which ended their 13-game losing streak in Athens. To center Daniel Miller, the win did not hinge on a strategic adjustment or emotion-filled pep talk. Rather, it was almost the opposite.

“We got the lead and we didn’t destroy it,” he said. “We just kept doing what we were supposed to do, and it turned out for the best.”

Guard Jason Morris invoked the same all-out effort theme as his coach.

“I feel like that was our problem, sort of, last year,” he said. “We came out a little too relaxed to start games.”

Still, the Jackets can hardly consider themselves road titans. Any team that can lose to Fordham (Sagarin rating: No. 242) while getting out-rebounded 45-30 will invoke more snickers than fear in ACC circles.

“You can [talk about effort] as much as you want, but we’ll see once we tip off how it goes,” Morris said. “But that is the plan, coming out full-fire, full-fledge, because we have lost the last four games.”

ACC BASKETBALL

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Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Opening hoops weekend provides hope for ACC

I am, by nature, a glass half empty kind of guy. But even I’m tired of hearing and talking about all the gloom and doom surrounding ACC basketball these days.

Yes, the league is down, perhaps historically so.

At the same time, I’m a lot more encouraged about the future – both for the rest of this season and especially long-term – than I was a few days ago after what I saw during the opening weekend of conference play

Surprisingly, the most positive sign came from a team that lost.

While both Wake Forest and Clemson showed unexpected improvement in their respective home victories against Virginia Tech and Florida State, it was Boston College’s performance at North Carolina that provided the most hope that there may yet be life at the bottom of the standings.

Andrew Skwara (accsports.com)
Midweek Preview Part 2, Jan. 11

Georgia Tech (7-8, 0-1) at N.C. State (12-4, 1-0)
When: 9 p.m. (EST)
TV: RSN (Sirius 93)
What’s at Stake?
If N.C. State’s going to land a spot in the NCAA tournament, these are the kind of games it can ill afford to drop. Georgia Tech is in the midst of a rebuilding year and sits 155th in the RPI. But the Yellow Jackets did put a scare into Duke in their ACC opener. Playing well here – against a hot Wolfpack team riding a six-game win streak – is a chance to prove that wasn’t a fluke and that Brian Gregory’s club is truly improving.
Key for the Yellow Jackets
Get Glen Rice, Jr. plenty of touches and open looks. Rice looked like the best player on the court against Duke, hitting tough shots and finishing in traffic.
Key for the Wolfpack
Balance. This well-rounded club is at its best when sharing the ball. That starts with Lorenzo Brown penetrating off the dribble and setting up scoring chances for his teammates.
Numbers Game
Rice is coming off a career-high 28 points in a loss to Duke … N.C. State’s Scott Wood has made 47 straight free throws, which is the third-longest streak in ACC history … Wood is shooting a league-high 46.1 percent from 3-point range (41-of-89) … During its current six-game win streak, N.C. State has made 102 of 118 free throws (86.4 percent) …Georgia Tech ranks third in the ACC in rebounding margin (+6.7 rebounds per game) but last in turnover margin (-3.5 turnovers a game).
Prediction
N.C. State 79, Georgia Tech 66 – Even if Rice goes on scoring tears, he won’t have enough help. The Wolfpack’s balance will win out with ease.

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

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GoPack.com
All-Access with Men’s Basketball

Go inside the War Room with Head Coach Mark Gottfried and the rest of the Men’s Basketball Staff as they prepare for an upcoming game.

RiddickandReynolds.com
R&R Podcast: Episode 33

RiddickandReynolds.com
R&R Podcast: Our Final Conversation With Chuck Amato

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

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16 Responses to Wednesday Woolgathering

  1. howlie 01/11/2012 at 8:37 AM #

    Not sure of the assumption we “win out with ease” when Duke struggled against them.

  2. Wufpacker 01/11/2012 at 8:44 AM #

    I was worried about this game even before their showing against Duke.

  3. NewBernWolf 01/11/2012 at 8:49 AM #

    Heck, I’m still ticked off that the gates open 60 minutes before gametime instead the of the usual 90 minutes for ACC games. Not enough time, people.

  4. Plz2BStateFan 01/11/2012 at 9:47 AM #

    I wonder if I am the only StateFan that is a bit nervous of getting into this team and expecting something more than mediocre.

    The eye and sniff tests agree with the positive views. The little things the coaching staff/players are showing in public and in games align with these expectations.

    But yet I hesitate.

    The ghosts of the past……

  5. WolfBlood 01/11/2012 at 10:04 AM #

    I hate bees.

  6. primacyone 01/11/2012 at 10:19 AM #

    Game Day. Let’s Go Pack!

  7. bill.onthebeach 01/11/2012 at 10:42 AM #

    ^Plz … Time heals all wounds.

    FWIW… This team needs chemistry and a positive, consistent personality that is exhibited on the court for forty minutes.

    I am thinking that the more tough, close games we win… the faster we can build the solid foundation we need now and for the future.

    Blow-Out wins don’t help so much, especially at the end when the game tends to get sloppy and players naturally tend to revert to their ‘individual’ ways…. i.e., CALVIN.

    That said, I won’t complain if we beat Tech by twenty.

  8. Alpha Wolf 01/11/2012 at 11:05 AM #

    Win tonight and on the weekend and we are a little more than 1/4 of the way to the dance. And an all-important Thursday off come ACC Tournament time.

  9. EasternWakeWolf 01/11/2012 at 11:24 AM #

    Fox Sports South, channel 646 on DirectTV.

  10. logarithm 01/11/2012 at 11:28 AM #

    I don’t know much about the GA Tech game but it seems they rely heavily on Rice Jr to put up points, much like Maryland did with Stoglin. That worked out OK for us.

    Anybody know of any recruits to be in attendance tonight? I guess a 9pm tip off is a little too late for a school night.

  11. gcpack 01/11/2012 at 11:41 AM #

    GaTech’s close game with Duke may have more to do with Duke not being as good as expected this year at least on the road. Remember Duke also got blown out at Ohio State and lost at Temple.

    Of course Duke has slumped before only to end up with a NC.

    If we are going to lose only 5 games in conference to make the NCAA GaTech isnt one of them. UNC twice, at Duke, maybe Uva and another road game would be the expected losses.

  12. triadwolf 01/11/2012 at 1:08 PM #

    “UNC twice, at Duke, maybe Uva and another road game would be the expected losses.”

    NC State never does things as expected…

    We may get to 11-5, but more than likely it’ll be by losing to someone like GT and then beating UVA or Duke.

    I’m with Plz2B, I just can’t totally buy in yet – too jaded by the past I reckon. But I like what I’m seeing and want to be optimistic; I just can’t seem to get rid of that knot in my stomach I get before every game.

  13. Texpack 01/11/2012 at 2:22 PM #

    I think a lot of people are afraid they’ll have their dreams crushed if they get too excited about this team too early because they have suffered through the same cycle of raised expectations followed by dashed expectations repeatedly. I hope that’s why there isn’t more buzz surrounding this team so far. I’m very reluctant to believe that disaster isn’t lurking just around the corner but I would love dearly to be proven overly pessimistic.

  14. packof81 01/11/2012 at 2:57 PM #

    I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

  15. wardncsu 01/11/2012 at 4:36 PM #

    Texpack nailed it. It seems every time we get good press we find a way to blow it. I’ll sit back and enjoy the wins win we have won them.

  16. ADVENTUROO 01/11/2012 at 5:59 PM #

    NewBernWolf,

    “Heck, I’m still ticked off that the gates open 60 minutes before gametime instead the of the usual 90 minutes for ACC games. Not enough time, people”

    U B HRD!. I just got an email from Chris Kingston, Exec Sr. Assoc AD (what a title). The RBC will return to the 90 minute or 1.5 HOUR opening beginning with the BC Game on Jan 19. Really long email, and you guys know that I am verbose. I THINK it said that they will return the the 1.5 Hour opening for ACC Games. Don’t know if there are any remaining Non-ACC Home Games left, but tonight, don’t show up 90 minutes early without a rain suit.

    Several the ranking WPC members in our section of the Champions Club expressed a LOT of opinions to the CC Management during the MD game.

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