GAMEDAY HEADLINES: Wolfpack vs Eagles (ACC Tournament Edition)

March 8, 2012

NC STATE BASKETBALL

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Pack focused on Boston College

With all of the talk about the NCAA tournament, and whether N.C. State will be in or out, and potential ACC tournament games with Virginia or North Carolina, the Wolfpack does actually have a game on Thursday.

N.C. State, the fifth seed, plays No. 12 Boston College on Thursday at 2 p.m., which senior C.J. Williams said, is the primary concern of the Wolfpack players.

“We are worried about Boston College,” Williams said. “Boston College beat Florida State. Other people want to talk about other things but we have to worry about them and not look ahead.”

LUKE DECOCK (N&O)
Donahue wary of Leslie

“I think he’s as talented as anybody in the league, for sure,” Donahue said. “I think he’s made incredible strides, not only from last year but the middle of the season on, just so confident. With his size, he’s hard to guard, he can go off the dribble, he’s got a great feel for the game. Very difficult — it’s a hard matchup for our guys, no doubt about it.

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
Wolfpack will have to prove its NCAA worth

N.C. State (20-11, 9-7) went 6-1 against the three teams that finished 4-12 in the conference, including two wins against today’s opening-round opponent, Boston College (9-21). To Vitale’s point, the Wolfpack went 0-5 against the top four teams in the conference.

Wins against elite teams have been elusive for N.C. State. For the season, it’s 0-8 against the top 50 teams in the RPI with a 5-9 record against the top 100. That’s why Jerry Palm of CollegeRPI.com has the Wolfpack even deeper on the bubble.

With about 18 teams on the bubble, fighting over the last nine at-large spots, Palm doesn’t like the Wolfpack’s chances of landing an at-large bid.

“I think by the time N.C. State picks up the number of quality wins they need to get in as an at-large, they will have already won the ACC tournament,” Palm said.

LUKE DECOCK (N&O)
Hard time for ACC with only NCAA 4 bids

There was a time, not too long ago, when four NCAA tournament bids would have been cause for crisis in the ACC. Specifically, 2003, when the league only got four teams in for the second straight year and much hand-wringing ensued.

Since 2002 and 2003, the ACC has bottomed out at four bids three times, in 2006, 2008 and again last year. Once again, the league will be lucky to get any more than four.

North Carolina, Duke, Florida State and Virginia, all of whom have today off, are locks for the tournament at this point.

JP GIGLIO (N&O)
N.C. State ACC tournament Preview

News & Observer
Boston College ACC tournament Preview

Akula Wolf (BackingThePack.com)
Prepping For Boston College Part III

NC State goes for the rare 3-0 sweep when it faces Boston College in the first round of the 2012 ACC Tournament on Tuesday afternoon. The Eagles will be trying to start the most improbable tournament run in league history, though they almost certainly don’t have the skills to sustain a weekend’s worth of fluky above-average play.

Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
N.C. State hoping mid-major underdogs don’t bump it from NCAA bubble

“I’m living and dying with all of them,” Gottfried said. “I’m pulling for the favorites in all of the mid-major leagues.”

So far, so good for the Wolfpack. Now it must handle its business at the ACC tournament here.

N.C. State (21-10) went 9-7 in the league, sharing fourth place and earning the No. 5 seed. It begins postseason play today at 2:40 p.m. against Boston College, an opponent that won’t help the Wolfpack’s 28th-ranked strength of schedule. The winner advances to a quarterfinal matchup with Virginia.

Two victories might be enough to push N.C. State into the 68-team NCAA bracket. Or it might take three, requiring the Wolfpack to reach the ACC final, likely with an upset of North Carolina.

Jeff Gravley (WRALSportsfan.com)
NC State back on track heading into ACC Tourney

“He (Gottfried) kept telling us that UConn went 9-9 in their conference last year and ended up winning the whole thing so we reminisce on that,” said guard Lorenzo Brown.

Scott Wood said that he felt like he was partly to blame for the four-game slide. In that stretch, Wood made only four field goals – total. His slump breaker came after a phone call from his dad.

“He said if you’re going to suck, make sure you do things in other areas of the game,” Wood said. “Make sure you rebound, play good defense and stuff like that. That’s how my family is though. If you play well you get to eat dinner, if not you’re walking home.”

[snip]

“It brings the best out of everybody,” said forward CJ Leslie. “Everybody wants to win and (the winning streak) bring some more excitement to the game.”

Ryan Tice (TheWolfpacker.com)
Putting Mark Gottfried’s first year in perspective

When head coach Mark Gottfried was hired, The Wolfpacker wrote that he may be the basketball program’s most accomplished hire ever. The former Alabama point guard has not disappointed in Raleigh and with the regular season coming to a close on Sunday, it’s only natural to look at how the first-year coach’s accomplishments compare to the most successful coaching debuts in school history.

Gottfried has impressed from the day that he was hired on April 5. He “won” the press conference then assembled a top-notch staff that included two former head coaches and a trio of assistants that had all previously worked with each other.

Mark Gottfried has become just the second first-year coach in NC State history to record 20 regular-season victories.
That trio of coaches, along with the head man, immediately hit the recruiting trail and assembled a class that boasts more McDonald’s All-Americans than Duke and North Carolina combined with ball-handling wizard Tyler Lewis, five-star combo guard Rodney Purvis and five-star shooter T.J. Warren already in the fold. The Wolfpack is also in the running for four-star power forward Amile Jefferson, another McDonald’s All-American, and reports have listed State as the favorite for another four-star, shooting guard Torian Graham.

In addition to refusing to back down from anybody on the recruiting trail, Gottfried and company completely transformed their current group of players and instilled a similar philosophy on the court.

ACC BASKETBALL

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
The old ‘Cocktail Party’ just isn’t what it used to be

Nine years ago, during his first season as basketball coach at North Carolina, Roy Williams famously – or should that be infamously – referred to the ACC tournament as nothing more than “a great cocktail party.”

It’s a statement from which he has since backed off … aggressively.

But he shouldn’t.

Truth be told, that’s exactly what the ACC tournament has become. It’s an outdated relic of a bygone era that continues to exist only for its tradition and because of the cash it continues to generate for the league and ESPN.

And even that river of green may be starting to dry up if the move from the cavernous Georgia Dome to the more cozy Philips Arena next door is any indication.

Sure there will still be some good basketball played, though probably not until the bottom feeders are sent home Thursday. There’s also some important business to be decided.

Andrew Skwara (accsports.com)
2012 ACC Tournament Preview

NC State
Seed: 5
Record: 20-11, 9-7 ACC
Starters: G Lorenzo Brown (12.5 ppg, 6.3 apg, 4.4 rpg, 1.7 spg), G Scott Wood (12.6 ppg, 2.3 rpg, 41.5% 3-pt, 92.5% FT), F C.J. Williams (11.2 ppg), F C.J. Leslie (14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg), F Richard Howell (10.8 ppg, 9.3 rpg)
Top Reserves: F DeShawn Painter (6.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg), G Alex Johnson (4.7 ppg)
Chances Of Winning It All:
Highly doubtful. To reach the title game, the Wolfpack would need to beat Boston College, Virginia and a UNC team that won both their meetings by double digits. But the ‘Pack is a real threat to reach the semifinals, which is what it may take to wrap up an NCAA tournament bid. Mark Gottfried’s team is playing well, having ended the regular season with a big win over Miami and a 12-point road win over Virginia Tech.
What The Wolfpack Must Avoid:
Defensive lapses. The Wolfpack ismuch improved offensively under Gottfried, but still average on the defensive end, with opponents getting too many open looks at times.
Record In Past ACC Tournaments: 63-48
ACC Tournament Titles: 10

ATL_eagle
Can BC win at least one ACC Tourney game?

For this game I think BC will also slow things down. In addition to the usual keys (3-pointers and turnovers) is CJ Leslie. Wood put up big points but the difference between the two games was BC’s defense on Leslie. Anderson will get most of the minutes guarding him, but I do think we should double him on occasion with one of the guards. If Leslie has an off shooting night and is kept off the boards, BC might actually turn the ACC Tournament into a multiple night stay.

NCAA

Key games today (besides NC State & Miami)
Bubble Teams in Bold need to lose to help NC State.

Washington vs Oregon State (3:00)
Northwestern vs Minnesota (5:30)
Arizona vs UCLA (5:30)
Colorado State vs TCU (5:30)
USF vs Notre Dame (9:00)
Stanford vs California (9:00)
Texas vs Iowa State (9:30)
Miss State vs Georgia (10:00)
Oregon vs Colorado (11:30)

***********************************************************

Shawn Siegel (collegehoops.net)
Bracketology: Remaining Teams That Can Steal Bids

While bubble teams were able to breathe easier when Murray St and Creighton won close conference titles, the coast is not entirely clear.

Here’s a brief look at the remaining teams most likely to “steal” bids from the bubble hopefuls**.

ACC
With UNC and Duke lurking, its hard to imagine a spoiler coming from the ACC, but you never know..

Clemson (16-14, 8-8, RPI #138)
The ACC might be down this year, but .500 in that league still counts for something. The Tigers would need to beat VT in the opening round and then steal one from Duke. Clemson only lost to Duke by 7 at Cameron.

Maryland (16-14, 6-10, RPI #110)
The Terps have an easy opening game against Wake Forest, and they’d they have to beat UNC in the quarterfinals.

**I’ll define the bubble as including the following teams:
BYU
California
Colorado St
Drexel
Miami
NC State
Northwestern
Ole Miss
Oregon
Saint Joseph’s
Seton Hall
South Florida
Tennessee
Texas
UCONN
Washington
Xavier

Joe Lunardi (espn.com)
Bracketology

Jerry Palm (cbssports.com)
Bracketology

There’s a little bit of shuffling among the Big East teams after today’s tournament results. Seton Hall remains in the bracket — for now — but replaces South Florida in the First Four. Lehigh and Norfolk State are new to the bracket as well, replacing Bucknell and Savannah State.

Last four in: Seton Hall, California, Colorado State, Miami (FL)
First four out: Texas, North Carolina State, Oregon, Mississippi

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)
NITology: The Field of 32 is Taking Shape

With regular season champs like Iona, Middle Tennessee, and Oral Roberts losing their conference tournaments, the 2012 NIT field is beginning to take shape. The field below is not who I think deserves to be in, but simply a prediction of what the committee would do as things stand today. NIT-Ology is released following CollegeHoops.net’s weekly 2012 Bracketology update.

NCAA BUBBLE: Last 5 In
Northwestern
Seton Hall
Xavier
Texas
Tennessee (complete NCAA projection)

ONE
Colorado St
Oregon
South Florida
Drexel

TWO
NC State
St. Joseph’s
Ole Miss
Dayton

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

WRALSportsfan.com
Gravley: NC State enters ACC Tournament with confidence

WRALSportsfan.com
Leslie: “We can win this tournament”

WRALSportsfan.com
Brown: “It’s not over yet”

WRALSportsfan.com
Howell: “It’s a clean slate for us”

WRALSportsfan.com
Wood regaining shooting confidence

WRALSportsfan.com
Williams: “We can win the whole thing”