Friday Farrago

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NC STATE BASKETBALL
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Bret Strelow (FayObserver.com)
Wolfpack need to shake off slump

N.C. State headed to Clemson last season with hopes of ending an untimely three-game losing streak.

The Wolfpack faces the same predicament this weekend. And it can’t afford another loss at Littlejohn Coliseum.

N.C. State, the ACC preseason favorite, fell to .500 in the league Thursday, when Duke rolled to a 98-85 home victory. Since beating North Carolina on Jan. 26, the Wolfpack (16-7, 5-5) have dropped consecutive games against Virginia, Miami and the Blue Devils.

The next test is a game at Clemson on Sunday afternoon.

“We’re not going to look at pitches,” N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. “We’re going to keep swinging. I think they feel confident that we can be a great team here down the stretch.”

The Wolfpack snuck into the NCAA tournament last year despite struggling down the stretch. It was 7-3 in the ACC before losing four straight games, starting with a 78-73 setback in which Duke erased a second-half deficit of 20 points at Cameron Indoor Stadium. Florida State and North Carolina defeated N.C. State before it lost in overtime at Littlejohn Coliseum.

Laura Keeley (N&O)
Duke starts fast, holds off of NC State 98-85

The first time Duke faced N.C. State, the Blue Devils were beginning their search for a new offensive identity.

It was clear Thursday night that they have found it, especially early in the game, as the first-half cushion they built didn’t run out in a 98-85 win. But the Wolfpack came close late in the game, making Duke work until the final minute.

“I don’t know how you couldn’t be proud of both teams tonight,” Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said. “That was great ACC basketball.”

Each team traded outstanding shooting halves, as Duke shot 61.3 percent from the field in the first half and led 58-37. N.C. State responded with a 65.5 percent performance to make the game interesting late.

Trailing by 21 points and missing point guard Lorenzo Brown due to a left ankle injury, N.C. State came out strong in the second half. The Wolfpack hit 12 of its first 14 shots, closing the deficit to 12, 78-66, with 9:21 remaining on the clock.

But Richard Howell, who dominated the first matchup, was whistled for his fourth foul on the next possession.

“When a team is in foul trouble, it’s just kind of like you smell blood, and you just keep going at them,” Mason Plumlee said. “When guys are playing not to foul, it makes them susceptible to a lot of things.”

Plumlee finished with a game-high 30 points on 9-of-11 shooting from the field and—in an especially positive development—12-of-16 shooting from the free throw line. Duke ran several isolation plays designed to get Plumlee the ball in the second half, and he was able to post up both Howell and Leslie.

Luke DeCock (N&O)
Curry assures reversal of fortunes

Brett Friedlander (starnewsonline.com)
Duke is back … now it’s State’s turn to regroup and rebound

“They’ve done a great job,” Gottfried said. “I don’t know we’ll use that as an example, but our guys know. They believe in our team.

“We just need to keep swinging the bat. We’re not just going to stand at the plate and look at pitches. We’re going to keep swinging. I think they feel confident they can be a great team down the stretch.”

While that is yet to be seen, State (16-7, 5-5 ACC) figures to be a deeper, more diverse team in the long run as a result of its recent downturn.

Backup point guard Tyler Lewis was once again the silver lining in the dark cloud of a Wolfpack loss by following up his impressive performance against Miami last weekend by contributing 13 points, six assists and no turnovers in his first career start.

In the ACC’s most hostile environment, no less.

But neither that nor the fact that State battled back to whittle a 22-point deficit down to eight in the final two minutes behind some inspired play by center Richard Howell, is any consolation for a team that is clearly battling itself right now as much as it is the opposition. And things won’t get any easier Sunday when the Wolfpack goes to Clemson, a place it has traditionally struggled.

“We’ve just got to stay together, that’s the main thing,” said senior forward Scott Wood, who tweaked his groin during the first half Thursday. “Sitting at 5-5, it’s not a great place to be. But you’ve just got to look at the things you as an individual can do better and make sure we stay together as a team.”

Akula Wolf (BackingthePack.com)
Bad First Half Dooms NC State In Durham

Scoring 1.21 points per possession should be enough to win on the vast majority of occasions–it should be enough to win by quite a lot in most instances. But there are always outliers like this, and NC State got totally buried by an incredible first-half shooting performance by the Blue Devils. It’s tough to overcome a barrage of 10 three-pointers in one half, and Duke finished the first 20 minutes with an effective field goal percentage north of 77.0.

The second half was almost a complete reversal from a shooting percentage perspective, and State outscored Duke 48-40, but the thing that allowed the Blue Devils to stay at arm’s length was its ability to get to the line–they shot 28 free throws, 22 of which they made, in the second half. They made just nine field goals over the final 20 minutes, none of which were threes, and they were still able to win comfortably thanks to that huge advantage at the free throw line.

Jacey Zembal (TheWolfpacker.com)
First half barrage buries NC State

“We didn’t match that intensity at the beginning of the game,” said NCSU senior wing Scott Wood, who played with a groin injury during the second half. “We let Curry and Plumlee get going, which you can’t do when you play against them.”

Plumlee scored 15 points in each half, and lived at the free-throw line, going 12 of 16 in helping foul out NC State senior center Richard Howell and junior power forward C.J. Leslie.

Howell picked up two fouls and went to the bench with 14:07 left in the first half, making it even easier for Plumlee to work on the interior. Howell bounced back in the second half and carried NC State. He knocked in an array of mid-range jumpers and worked hard around the basket for a team-high 23 points and nine rebounds.

“I thought he [Howell] was really good and Plumlee played off him a little bit,” Gottfried said. “He respected his ability to bounce it once or twice. He made a lot of jump shots. He rebounds like he does every night.”

Leslie also found his offensive rhythm in the second half, scoring nine of his 16 points to form a strong one-two punch with Howell. NC State shot an impressive 19 of 29 for 65.5 percent after halftime.

“Howell is the unsung great player in our league,” Krzyzewski said. “He can play for anybody. He puts up amazing efficient numbers.”

NC State’s perimeter defense also improved after halftime. Duke went 0 for 7 in the second half, but the damage was done.

“We just weren’t chasing them [in the first half],” Wood said. “We said all practice that we have to chase them. We can’t try and run over the screens, which we got caught on a couple of times, and they made us pay for it.

“Any time they run those baseline screens and you don’t chase them, you are in a world of hurt.”

MULTIMEDIA/PODCASTS

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WRALSportsfan.com
Gottfried: Need to build on positives

NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said the team needs to build on some of the positives and make sure they are getting better.

WRALSportsfan.com
Leslie: We have to fight a little harder

NC State’s CJ Leslie said the team needs to fight a little harder than they did against Duke.

WRALSportsfan.com
Howell: We didn’t come out with intensity

NC State’s Richard Howell said the team didn’t come out with intensity against Duke.

WRALSportsfan.com
Lewis: Seemed like they couldn’t miss

NC State’s Tyler Lewis said it seemed like the Duke team couldn’t miss Thursday night.

WRALSportsfan.com
Wood: We have to stay together

NC State’s Scott Wood said the team needs to stay together following their loss to Duke Thursday.

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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78 Responses to Friday Farrago

  1. PackMan97 02/08/2013 at 9:36 AM #

    The only issue I had with officiating last night was Howell’s 5th foul. That should never have been called with contact so incidental when they had more or less been letting them play.

  2. DC_wolf 02/08/2013 at 9:48 AM #

    PackMan97 – they’re taking a much harder look @ swinging elbows now (which he did) – I believe the commentators even said that..

  3. packof81 02/08/2013 at 9:57 AM #

    Tyler Lewis IS our point guard. He is earning the role of leader too. He wants it.

    If the rest of the team was playing with Tyler’s intensity, we’d be winning games. Why is that not happening? Does Gott have a handle on this? Now would be a real good time to snap out of whatever it is.

  4. the_phisherman 02/08/2013 at 10:10 AM #

    I agree that the officiating was fine with the exception of the flop when Rich’s elbow sweat hit Plumlee’s nose. We just aren’t going to win a game that is called as tightly as last night’s game was called. We can’t survive.

  5. JVM4PACK 02/08/2013 at 10:17 AM #

    Phis…your right we can’t survive, right now it doesn’t feel like we are surviving at all, with the losses just racking up, those close last second losses and losses to teams we should not have lost too are starting to really drag our record to mediocre at best

  6. vtpackfan 02/08/2013 at 10:26 AM #

    We will be fine with Zo back in and logging minutes and guarding at multiple positions. Most of the fouls drawn were because Wood and Warren can’t defend high end athletes in open space. Play a team like Duke in the ACC and play with three guards some.

    Hate the folks-all of them- who don’t want Gott here because he is a Wooden/Harrick disciple that stresses learning the process through exemplifying were the achievements are and going back over mistakes without punitive embellishment. You should all burn everything Red and White until Gott is gone. Go to Walmart while your at it and by stuff supporting who you really think is the epitome of teaching and coaching- Roy Williams. Or become a Turd fan since he’s just another cut from the same cloth. Get the best talent-chide and tell them how worthless they are until something goes your way.

  7. highstick 02/08/2013 at 10:50 AM #

    In the first half, I could have sworn the “older Curry brother” had shown up again to torment us.

    I’ve give kudos to Lewis for scoring the first 3 point cause the rest of the team couldn’t hit their toe with a brick at that time.

    “We are what we are” at this point…Just hope we get better and learn.

  8. hpack 02/08/2013 at 11:42 AM #

    Folks, This was a game that Duke simply was not going to lose. While last year’s game at Duke was a ref screw job, this year’s game looked like duke simply played better than us. Fouls on Howell and Leslie defending Plumblee looked legit. Fouls on Warren looked legit. Heck even the fouls on 3pt shots by Curry looked legit. The game was almost a mirror image of the game in Raleigh. Home team starts out hot, jumps to big lead. Visitors try to fight back but never really threaten.

  9. PackerInRussia 02/08/2013 at 12:18 PM #

    Well, I guess they proved people wrong who said they play to the level of their competition (at least in the first half).

    I think it’s a little concerning that, at this point in the season, they’re still talking about needing to come out with energy in the beginning and to play with intensity the full game. If it ain’t happening now, then when? I surely hope something happens and they star t playing hard for 40 minutes, but we keep hoping that the previous loss (a butt-whoopin, a last second tip-in, poor performance, what have you) will wake them up. I just hope they’ve not turned off the alarm clock.

  10. Mike 02/08/2013 at 12:23 PM #

    It’s amazing to me all the positive pub for Lewis, and I am thrilled to see it. However, this time a week ago, everyone on this board was calling him a bust, a waste of a scholly, a sure fire transfer after the year.

    Lewis was a HS AA from Oak Hill. Kids dont get to Oak Hill because they are bad players. It disgusted me to see all the comments criticizing an 18 year old freshman but I kept my mouth (or fingers) shut. Now all of a sudden everyone here is speaking like the 2nd coming. I am thrilled for Tyler but I have not seen anyone detract their negative comments earlier.

    Way to go Tyler, keep up the good work, and continue to fight for all of us an inch too short, a step too slow, who just know how to win baby win.

  11. JeremyH 02/08/2013 at 12:30 PM #

    Maybe we can convert Brown into a defensive stopper when he comes back : )

  12. Alpha Wolf 02/08/2013 at 12:40 PM #

    Bottom line: this team is now out of free passes and is on the verge of officially playing for its NCAA lives. It MUST win at Clemson and it MUST win at GT and it MUST take care of business at home, lest it will be squarely on the bubble and needing a big run in Greensboro.

  13. JVM4PACK 02/08/2013 at 12:54 PM #

    Agreed Alpha…we went from all that stupid pre season favorite hype to now fighting to get a nod to the dance, we have to right this ship and start stacking up the wins

  14. Gene 02/08/2013 at 12:55 PM #

    One comment by the announcers in the 1st half jumped out at me (I paraphrase): Duke’s pretty thin on depth tonight, with Harriston and Kelly out, they have only 8 scholarship players dressed to play.

    We have 8 scholarship players dressed to play on a good night, when no one’s injured.

    Maybe the problem with this team is something people said about Lowe’s early teams, who are you going to bench, when you have no depth?

    In short, how can a coaching staff enforce discipline, when the players know they are in no jeopardy of losing playing time, if they screw up or don’t play hard.

    I don’t know, maybe this is a problem again. Might explain the lazy-ass play we’ve seen on several occasions.

  15. ADVENTUROO 02/08/2013 at 1:06 PM #

    I sit with a really great bunch of LTR and a few of them were not exactly a Tyler Cheerleading squad. They would moan and make little snide remarks. Now, remember folks, his numbers were NOT that great for the first 200 or so minutes he played. Nothing really bad, but nothing that would have been noteworthy.

    But in two games, he has racked up numbers that any all star PG would envy. The other intangible is his attitude and intensity. Highstick, if I remember correctly, Lewis had our first FIVE point and we only had 8 or so near the mid mark of the first half.

    Now add in the little (well maybe COLASAL) lack of class by the Cameron Crazies. Chanting about his grandmother was really cruel. Folks have stated that we did the same for Chis Paul’s Grandpa. Probably, I have been to every home game, save one when I was in the ER since 2006, and I don’t remember it. But I do remember a cheap LOW shot to the Gentailia of Julius Hodge (?) though.
    I wrote a comment in the N&O last night about the lack of class and was called a whiner, a redneck, a John Deere rider, liar, fill in the blank. Turns out the N&O has an article about it and THEY report the same thing that Mark Armstrong (WTVD) did.
    My hat is off to Tyler. If he HOF. That includes Towe, Lowe, Corchiani and perhaps Brown. Now THAT is some heady company. Maybe we will see his name in the rafters.
    I have NOT given up on the team. I still think, barring some unforseen injury, that we will NOT be playing on Thursday in the ACCT and have a shot at the Sunday slot. I think we will be a 4, or maybe a high 5 seed in the NCAAT and Gottfried will get his Sweet 16 bonus and has a shot as the Elite 8 one also.
    Rome nor the 74 nor the 83 team was built in a single season (that is trademarked….so I will SUE). We just have to find our own way. We are one scholarship short of a final four team….but who knows what will happen next year.
    Coach will NOT start (but, he did not consult with me) Lewis when Brown returns. BUT, if the combo of Tyler at PG and ZO at #2 is as potent as I think it will be, then Tyler wll join the Fab Four in minutes. Brown’s atleticism and rebounding skills make him a really awesome player.
    Finally, if you have read this far…..PLEASE CONSIDER THIS…..

    Tyler’s Grandmother, as most know, passed away exactly a week ago. Here is the Obit.
    http://nicholsonfunerals.com/obituaries/2013/02/02/margie-lewis/

    I would urge EVERY SFN reader to consider a donation to the Scholarship Fund at her church. That would speak VOLUMES about how much we think of her grandson. Obviously, we all have demands on our tax free charitable contriubtions and there are thousands, maybe millions of them out there….but it would really mean a lot to him if we expressed our gratitude by honoring her….in his name.

    Along the same line…..Did you know that NCSU students have raised over $250,000 in donations to Stop Hunger Now. I heard the line last night in either a radio or TV spot. I only becme aware of SHN when our church did a “Meal Packaging” event. Each Meal costs a Quarter. NCSU is a MILLION MEALER.

    http://www.stophungernow.org/site/DocServer/NCSU_Moe_s_fundraiser_March_19_2012.pdf?docID=2941

    That is something that we all should be proud of…..DUKE or UNC ain’t in the list….

  16. JeremyH 02/08/2013 at 1:08 PM #

    I must admit I underestimated the importance of CJ Williams on this team in terms of leadership and defense. I knew that he did a lot of the little things (hence glue guy), but I didn’t know he was the only one! And I think many of us thought that Purvis would be able to be an equivalent or slightly better contributor than Alex Johnson. The jury is still out on this one, since AJ struggled with his shot for a while before becoming a major contributor.

    A lot of our players are athletic and wiry, and we don’t have the strength to handle teams inside. Adding Jefferson would not have fixed this lack, but losing Painter unexpectedly certainly precipitated it. Now, when you have unfixable flaws you get exploited over and again.

    I’m happy for Lewis’s emergence because it gives us a cool head, since sometimes we play disorganized at times. But the point guard can’t do everything. These guys have got to get on the same page.

    I love Leslie, but why is it so hard for him to find the open man when they collapse three guys on him? Its become the Hickson effect. So are totally screwed if you have guys thinking about their numbers.

    How can a 6-8 athletic guy like Warren get exploited so badly over and again but someone like Curry? “Hand down, man down.”

  17. DC_wolf 02/08/2013 at 1:08 PM #

    Gene, I was having the exact same thought last night when C.J. gave up a board due to not boxing out or the lane for an easy layup – who can you bring in if the starter isn’t executing? I saw Vandenberg tried a couple of times but he was a step or 2 behind the pace of the game.

  18. fullmoon1 02/08/2013 at 1:34 PM #

    Any word on Woods injury? He was gimpy after he hit the floor and was clearly slowed down and hampered by his knee. Basketball is way more physical than it should be these days. I’m noticing more head injuries/concussions.

  19. fullmoon1 02/08/2013 at 1:36 PM #

    I can’t blame players for lack of boxing out, Anya defensive intensity by a player In Red is deemed a foul. The refs took us out of the game defensively early on. The flagrant on Howell is indefensible. Clearly not a flagrant. I was really hoping to see a little physical revenge in the end.

  20. PackerInRussia 02/08/2013 at 1:38 PM #

    “Rome nor the 74 nor the 83 team was built in a single season (that is trademarked….so I will SUE).”

    Unless a large corporation decides to bully it away from you.

  21. PackerInRussia 02/08/2013 at 1:39 PM #

    I agree about Warren and Purvis’s play possibly being affected by the freshman wall. Fortunately, Tyler looks like he could run through one.

  22. 1.21 Jigawatts 02/08/2013 at 1:47 PM #

    Looking over the remaining schedule and along with the Four Factors, Possessions, Offensive/Defensive efficiencies, and RPI based on results from Home and Away conference games I came up with how the Pack should fair in those games.

    Solid Favorites:
    vs. Virginia Tech (156)
    vs. Boston College (141)
    vs. Wake Forest (137)

    No shock on these home games against the bottom of the conference teams being solid favorites. I just don’t see the Pack losing to any of these 3 in Raleigh.

    Slight Favorite:
    vs. Florida State (59)

    I wanted to put FSU in the solid group because they just aren’t a very good team on the road but they have found a way to win 3 road games already (CU, MD, GT).

    Even Matchups:
    at Georgia Tech (135)
    at Florida State (59)

    FSU hasn’t been that great at home this season, part of it may be the shellacking they were handed by Duke, but comparing State’s stats on the road vs FSU’s at home very even. GT isn’t a great team at home but they aren’t bad either.

    Slight Underdog:
    at Clemson (139)

    Clemson will try and slow this game down just like they were able to in Raleigh. The difference is the Pack just isn’t as good on the road as we are at home. Shocking I know.

    Solid Underdog:
    at UNC (32)

    The holes still like to play right into our game but they appear to be a better defensive team at home than on the road. If they can shoot the 3 and get to the line like the Pack’s trip to Durham then it’s another doom. Plus if any of you yahoo’s show up wearing Red just be prepared for flying BB’s coming your way.

  23. PackerInRussia 02/08/2013 at 1:48 PM #

    Just looking through the play-by-play. Here’s a fun sequence from the first half:

    Missed Jumper by TJ Warren
    Rebound by TJ Warren
    Missed Layup by TJ Warren
    Rebound by TJ Warren
    Missed Tip-In by TJ Warren
    Rebound/Missed shot by Duke
    Rebound by Richard Howell
    Missed Layup by Richard Howell
    Rebound by Richard Howell
    Missed Layup by Richard Howell
    Rebound by Richard Howell
    Missed Layup by Richard Howell
    Block by Amile Jefferson
    Rebound by NC State
    Turnover by CJ Leslie

    At least those rebound stats are padded. Couldn’t see the game (only Gametracker), so I have no idea what that sequence looked like.

  24. JohnGalt78 02/08/2013 at 1:52 PM #

    This season has me wondering if Leslie is ready for the NBA. They don’t care much for defense there, true. So maybe he’s good to go. Is his offensive game even ready? Does the NBA put much stock in “team” play? Movement away from the ball? Coachability? They guy can be awesome at times. But equally, he will suck it up in a lot of different ways. As Bonehead said last night (as it was happening), on a Leslie rebound, fast break….he was NOT going to give the ball up. Rather he becomes our PG and F’s it up. Other times before driving the baseline, when the baseline is not available, after doing a 3-5 second head fake jig and dancing around, resulting in a turnover. Other times simply NOT moving w/o the ball. Is his departure a done deal? Would it be good for us for him to stay or leave????

  25. Rochester 02/08/2013 at 2:47 PM #

    Sometimes I think Leslie already left for the NBA.

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