GAMEDAY HEADLINES: Pack vs. Hoos (ACC Tournament Edition)

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March 9th, 2010

NC STATE BASKETBALL
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JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Wood leads Pack hitting five 3-pointers, finishes with 22 points

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Observation from N.C. State vs Boston College

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Pack aims to contain Cavaliers’ Scott

LUKE DECOCK (N&O)
N.C. State gets another chance

ANDREW CARTER and JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Wolfpack’s Gottfried looking forward to Virginia matchup

ANDREW CARTER (N&O)
Colleagues pay homage to absent official Hess

CAULTON TUDOR (N&O)
Officials protest on tape; meanwhile, Pack wins

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Wolfpack does what it had to do … win

At this stage of the game it’s not about style points. It’s not about shooting percentages, margins of victory or any other meaningless numbers in a postgame boxscore.

When you’re the N.C. State basketball team, doing whatever you can to keep your NCAA tournament bubble from bursting, the only thing that matters anymore is the result.

Like Al Davis said: “Just win, baby.”

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Hess’ presence felt at ACC tourney, even though he’s not there

Wednesday, word began to leak at Philips Arena that Hess would not work any games during this week’s ACC tournament.

While that may have been good news for State fans still upset over the incident, Hess’ fellow officials clearly weren’t as happy. To show their displeasure, along with their support for their colleague, Jamie Luckie, Mike Eades and Bernard Clinton worked Thursday’s tournament opener between Wake Forest and Maryland with Hess’ initials taped to their shoes.

It was a gesture that didn’t go over well with the State continent. Senior associate athletic director Chris Kingston voiced his concern to league officials, who issued a statement about the situation. None of the referees in Thursday’s other three games repeated the earlier tribute to Hess.

Michael Lananna (accsports.com)
Wolfpack Closes Door On Boston College

1. Philips Arena was virtually empty 15 minutes before Thursday’s opening session began. With North Carolina playing Maryland in the first game Friday, followed by the N.C. State-Virginia matchup, there should be a lot more energy in the arena. Wolfpack fans will clearly be on Maryland’s side, and it’ll be interesting to see if UNC fans root more for Virginia or N.C. State, which needs a win to help its NCAA tournament chances. The Tar Heels appear to match up better against the Wolfpack, but that still might not be enough for the Carolina blue crowd to get behind the Wolfpack’s cause.

Associated Press
Wood Scores 22, N.C. State Beats BC 78-57 in ACC

PAUL NEWBERRY (AP)
N.C. State beats Boston College 78-57

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Observations from N.C. State’s win over Boston College: Will UNC fans get behind the Wolfpack?

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Through three games, a look at the star of the day, the day’s quietest performance and the play of the day

GoPack.com
Defense Leads Way Over BC, Pack Now Focuses on Virginia

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
Scott Wood leads NC State to 78-57 rout of Boston College

PackPride.com
BOX SCORE: NC State 78, Boston College 57

Derek Medlin (PackPride.com)
Observations From The Game: Boston College

Renee Chou (WRALSportsfan.com)
NC State guards cheering section logs many devoted miles

Joe Ovies (WRALSportsfan.com)
NC State clinging to bubble

If NC State doesn’t make the field, look no further than the lack of wins against the top teams in the ACC as the culprit. Coach Mark Gottfried has been working the media circuit to talk up his squad and the conference, parsing through RPI and strength of schedule. As he should, since those are the only things keeping NC State in the conversation.

However, going 0-5 against conference leaders is a glaring hole in the résumé. It’s classic NC State S…uh..stuff that Miami is slotted above the Pack in the projections despite getting swept in league play. The Hurricanes have what NC State doesn’t, which are wins over Florida State and Duke.

Joe Ovies (WRALSportsfan.com)
Refs Unlimited

The ACC has no one to blame but themselves for this situation. They committed their first foul the night Hess ejected Tom Gugliotta and Chris Corchiani from the RBC Center. It took the conference several hours to address the matter, and failed to properly do so with a vague explanation involving procedural matters. Their second foul happened the following Monday, where the ACC released a more substantive explanation and public reprimand of Hess. The ACC fouled again when they pulled Hess from NC State’s next home game against Miami and reassigned him to another conference game, which essentially acted as a form of suspension and prolonged the inevitable return.

[snip]

However, I’m not buying the idea Hess was trying to do the ACC any favors. If he didn’t want to take away from the ACC Tournament, Hess would have worked it. All of this mess is a result of his decision.
Is it done? NC State did “Wolfpack Unlimited” and Hess did “Refs Unlimited.” You’d think it was done, but it likely isn’t. Hess will eventually show up in the RBC Center and all of this will be rehashed again.

Adam Gold (WRALSportsfan.com)
Friday preview

#4 N.C. State vs. #5 Virginia (2:30, WRAL-TV5, 99.9 FM/620-AM)

In January, the Cavaliers escaped Raleigh with a 61-60 win in which the Wolfpack nearly came all the way back from a 10-point deficit. But, that Virginia team was playing with a lot more confidence than the Wahoos are at this juncture of the season. Meanwhile, the Wolfpack appear to be putting things together at the right time as Scott Wood’s jump shot has returned, thus creating plenty of room for Calvin Leslie and Richard Howell around the basket. As long as Mike Scott doesn’t foul out State’s entire front line, the match ups really favor the Pack.

Robbi Pickeral (espn.com)
NC State making its case for a bid

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

microphone

WRAL (packpride.com)
NC State Postgame Press Conference

WRALSportsfan.com
Howell: Confidence is everything

WRALSportsfan.com
Brown: Haven’t seen anyone better than Mike Scott

WRALSportsfan.com
Leslie: If anyone is shooting 3s it’s going to be good

WRALSportsfan.com
Wood: Feels good to have shot back

WRALSportsfan.com
Williams: Our goal is to win each individual game

WRALSportsfan.com
Web only: Adam & Joe break down day one

NCAA

NCAA Logo

Eamonn Brennan (espn.com)
College Basketball Bubble Watch

North Carolina State [21-11 (9-7), RPI: 52, SOS: 19] A win over Boston College obviously doesn’t move the needle, but like so many other bubble teams fighting for those last 12-15 spots above the line (including fellow bubble hopeful Miami), the Wolfpack merely needed to advance and survive and move on to bigger and better challenges, which they will get against Virginia on Friday afternoon. A win there is likewise a must, because this résumé hasn’t changed: The Pack still missed those three big late-season chances against Duke, UNC and Florida State, they’re still 0-8 against the rest of the RPI top 50, still have a marginal RPI themselves, and their best nonconference win is still over Texas. Lots of work to do in Atlanta yet.

Ray Fagan (TSN.com)
Field of 68: Rams, Pack live another day; Northwestern’s drought to continue

Stock Up

1. Colorado State. On a day when disastrous performances by bubble teams were the norm, the Rams easily handled a TCU team they’d split with earlier this season. On Friday, they’ll play a San Diego State team that just barely squeezed past Boise State in the Mountain West semifinals.

2. N.C. State. The Wolfpack are barely on the bubble, but their strength of schedule at least keeps them in the conversation. And the easy win against Boston College on Thursday gives them an opportunity to record a meaningful victory against Virginia, another bubble team, on Friday. The Wolfpack lost to the Cavaliers by one point in their only meeting this season.

3. Texas. The Longhorns pulled off the best win of any bubble team on Thursday, upending Iowa State after trailing by four at halftime. Texas plays Missouri on Friday; the Longhorns lost to the Tigers twice this season, but the second time was only by one point, at home.

ESPN.com
Lunardi’s late-night Bracketology update

LAST FOUR IN

Washington
Mississippi State
Drexel
Seton Hall

FIRST FOUR OUT
Tennessee
Northwestern
NC State
Miami (Fla.)

NEXT FOUR OUT
Iona
Arizona
Saint Joseph’s
Oregon

Joe Lunardi (espn.com)
Bracketology

Jerry Palm (cbssports.com)
Bracketology

Most bubble teams lost and lost badly, which did shake up the bottom of the bracket, but I still can’t seem to get Northwestern out of it. South Florida and Seton Hall have the Big East well represented in the play-in games. Washington dropped out again after another bad loss. The same is true for Mississippi State. N.C. State and Texas are in for now.

Last four in: North Carolina State, Northwestern, Seton Hall, South Florida
First four out: Mississippi, Drexel, Iona, Dayton

Jerry Palm (cbssports.com)
Bubble Watch

CBSSports.com
RPI Rankings (1-68)

NCAA Tournament “Dance Card”

NCAA.com
Men’s College Basketball RPI Rankings

StatSheet.com
Men’s College Basketball RPI Rankings

Shawn Siegel (CollegeHoops.net)
Bracketology: Colorado St In, Mississippi St Out

Last In: Northwestern, Washington, Miami, Seton Hall

First Out: Drexel, Mississippi St, Oregon, South Florida
Further Four: NC State, Ole Miss, St. Joseph’s, Dayton

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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45 Responses to GAMEDAY HEADLINES: Pack vs. Hoos (ACC Tournament Edition)

  1. Howler 03/09/2012 at 10:45 AM #

    In all the memorable tournaments, it seems that there is one individual player who rises above and makes history (del Negro, Randolph Childress, that Maryland guard I can’t think of right now…..). I am thinking we have 2 candidates. I am hoping for magic from Wood, or Leslie, or both.

  2. nav 03/09/2012 at 10:47 AM #

    I don’t know how many of you heard Dr. Yow on the D Glenn show yesterday but she stated that after today’s game they, Athletic Dept, are putting together a package of State’s resume and sending it to each of the members of the selection committee.

    There is no official/formal process for this but she stated that since she knows the email address of each member it can’t hurt to make them aware of the facts.

    I do not know if this is normal or not but thought it was a great idea.

  3. Rochester 03/09/2012 at 10:52 AM #

    ^nav, I have to guess every bubble school does that. I thought you were going to say she was sending our resume to the SEC. Seems like that ought to be next.

  4. Wufpacker 03/09/2012 at 10:52 AM #

    “Illinois fires Bruce Weber. I expect a lot of hand-wringing today. I mean, it’s not like he made 5 NCAA Tournaments in 10 years or anything. Oh, wait, he made it 6 times in 9 years, including a Final Four? How dare they run him out of town!”

    ^ Heh.

  5. wilmwolf80 03/09/2012 at 10:52 AM #

    The bracket stuff is so ridiculous. I would just write it off as silly speculation, but I honestly feel that these ‘experts’ have an impact on who gets in. Under no circumstances would Northwestern be still on the bubble after losing yesterday, other than the human interest story that they’ve never been to the tournament. Seton Hall is a complete head scratcher as well. Honestly, I’ m a little curious as to why UVA is such a lock, outside of being ranked for some reason for a portion of the season, their resume isn’t that great either. The fact is, it’s really stupid to try and compare teams that have not played and have no common opponents, which is why the tournament should be changed anyway. All of the speculation aside, if we keep winning, it all takes care of itself, so just keep winning!

  6. tvp1 03/09/2012 at 10:58 AM #

    Seth Davis says USF passes the “eye test”??? Is the test “they make your eyes bleed”? That tool knows no more about basketball than the average commenter here.

    These “bracketologist” tools (save Jerry Palm) are all fixated on top 50 record (now 3-8 for us). That’s just one factor. OOC SOS is a HUGE factor and we are in great shape there.

    Anyone who has Miss. State in over us as of now is just clueless.

  7. Rochester 03/09/2012 at 11:02 AM #

    Looking over Virginia’s schedule, I’m not sure why they’re so far ahead of us in safe “lock” territory. They went 13-1 in a pretty easy non-conference slate, with their only notable win being against Michigan (and maybe Drexel in some people’s eyes). They went 0-5 vs UNC, Duke, and FSU. Their conference wins are Miami, GT, BC, VT (1-1), NCSU, Clemson (1-1), WF, Md (2-0).

    How is that any better than our resume? One win against Michigan in November? Really? They’ve lost 5 of their last 9. They should be just as on the bubble as us and Miami.

  8. Packfan28 03/09/2012 at 11:36 AM #

    Seth Davis knows nothing. Win today and tomorrow to get in? He has no clue. I will take Jerry Palm’s opinion( who does this for a living) over Seth Davis.

  9. patientwuf 03/09/2012 at 11:36 AM #

    wilmwof and Rochester

    Great points about UVA. They beat Michigan and 2 bubble teams (Drexel and Oregon). We have the same conference record (9-7). Not sure what makes them a lock.

    The selection committee has shown no favortism to the ACC the last 3 or 4 years. The comittee seems to favor teams like Drexel even though they have the weakest SOS in the country. That bothers me-even with a win today we are on shifting sand.

    Joe Brackets last 4 in has no merit-none. I hope the selection committee is more intuned to basketball then Joe Lunardi.

  10. wolfie91 03/09/2012 at 11:53 AM #

    Been saying the say thing y’all are about UVA for a while, and had this discussion with someone on TOS. UVA did have a harder in conference schedule than us, but an easier OOC slate of games. They do have the win over MI and also one over us. I think the difference is they won all but one (TCU) of their OOC games, including the MI one and road wins against Oregon and LSU, whereas we lost 4 of ours, including 2 home losses and a neutral court loss. Those things can make a big difference in RPI.

  11. JeremyH 03/09/2012 at 11:54 AM #

    http://cnnsi.com/2012/writers/andy_glockner/03/05/Bubble.Watch/index.html?eref=sihp&sct=hp_t11_a2

    we still probably need to win a semifinal game to make it in, even after Washington, USF, and Northwestern laid eggs? come on! I’m going to stop reading this garbage and just see what happens today.

  12. BJD95 03/09/2012 at 12:05 PM #

    Virginia’s in because they beat Michigan and we lost to Indiana. Simple as that, really.

  13. tann84 03/09/2012 at 12:10 PM #

    Doug Gottlieb put us in.

  14. ScottieJ2000 03/09/2012 at 12:15 PM #

    Who the *%^* would still have WASHINGTON in!?!?! Seriously!?! RPI of 68 with a SOS of 83 AND zero wins against Top 50. Some idiots have them in over us. Even if we loss to Virginia, we would be ahead of Washington… not in the tournament but still ahead of them.

    I can understand Miss State since they do have 2 Top 50 wins but their RPI is only 71 with a SOS of 70.

  15. ScottieJ2000 03/09/2012 at 12:27 PM #

    To add to the list of games. Watch Saint Louis vs La Salle 6:30pm.

    Saint Louis is on the bubble. RPI ranking of 31 but a SOS of 101 with no wins against Top 50 and a horrible loss to Rhode Island. We also need Xavier to lose so Saint Louis doesn’t get two Top 50 wins.

  16. packbackr04 03/09/2012 at 12:27 PM #

    we have 3 top 50 wins (texas and Miami x2) as of yesterday

  17. BladenWolf 03/09/2012 at 12:40 PM #

    We’ll all know something for certain in about four hours…

  18. ADVENTUROO 03/09/2012 at 1:08 PM #

    This whole bracketology thing is fascinating. I admit to being a novice, so here is some info for folks like me.

    f you google rpi wiki, you will get to a page that explains the RPI. Really a bit complicated and you need a computerized data base to keep it up-to-date. However, it appears to have NCAA blessing.

    If you look at the RealtimeRPI site, VA has about a 10 point lower RPI, which, based on that criteria, keeps them in the Dance…

    Miami is just two notches worse than we are. VA is 41 and we are 53 and Miami is 55.

    I can’t do the rest of the Bracketology equations in my head, so I guess we just keep playing, and hopefully (have a GOOD feeling) keep winning. The longer, as Gott say, you play, the better your chances of being happy on Sunday evening.

    GO PACK!

  19. Texpack 03/09/2012 at 1:11 PM #

    I know that if you look at just the numbers on Washington they don’t blow us away but there hasn’t been a regular season champion from a top 10 conference that has failed to get a bid. I don’t think there has been one with a resume as flawed as this year’s UW team but that regular season championship will carry a lot of weight with the committee.

    Now NW, Drexel, Seton Hall, and Miss St. are all at least as shaky as we are. I think they are weaker but I’m not exactly objective. We also don’t want Arizona to win the Pac-12 Tournament. I can see Cal and UW getting in as at large teams if that happens. I think enough teams crapped their pants yesterday to give us a 25% shot at a bid even with a loss today.

  20. Rick 03/09/2012 at 1:39 PM #

    ” As much as I disagreed with her decision on Coach Lowe”

    LOL WUT?

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