N.C. State Wolfpack (10-4, 1-0) vs. Pitt Panthers (10-3, 0-0) – 12pm, PNC Arena; TV: ACC Regional (WRAL locally)
Pittsburgh team page ; GoPack preview w/ stats and game notes
It’s the first game of the new year for the Wolfpack, and they’ll look to move to 2-0 in ACC play as they face the Pitt Panthers. The Pack will also look to rebound from a tough stretch in December, concluding the OOC portion of their schedule with a home loss to Cincinnati.
It will be interesting to see how N.C. State comes out and looks today, given the post game demeanor of coach Mark Gottfried after the Cincinnati loss. The usually upbeat and positive Gottfried displayed a much different tone after the game, speaking openly about playing time and finding energy. The season is not at a loss by a long shot, and a win today would help quell some uneasiness surrounding the team.
Pittsburgh enters today’s game riding a six game win streak after starting out 4-3. The Panthers do not have any signature victories to this point, but possess an RPI of 66 nonetheless. Their OOC slate was marginally better this season than it has been in most seasons under Dixon, so they have a chance to really move up in the RPI in ACC play. Pittsburgh’s losses this season have been to Hawaii, SDSU, and Indiana.
In Pittsburgh, N.C. State faces another ‘defense and rebounding’-minded opponent who will look to wear the Pack down physically. The Panthers may be salivating at the opportunity to grind N.C. State down today after the Pack has shown struggles against physical opponents thus far in the season. We’ll have to see how the Pack has adjusted after the Cincinnati game.
Other links of interest: N&O look ahead of ACC play ; WRAL look ahead to this weekend’s conf. games
Quick note: there are multiple spots available here at SFN to discuss the state of the program and the tenor of the current season. There is a nice statistical breakdown of the season here; a great OOC rewind and RPI breakdown here; there is also excellent discussion about the program at-large in this thread and in this thread. Let’s try to keep this particular thread focused on today’s game and have some fun (this is supposed to be fun, right?).
Also on that note, as the game progresses please try to keep in mind that stating a negative fact does not equal a negative slant or tone, and a positive fact does not equal a positive slant or tone. “We need to stop turning the ball over so much” does not mean “Fire the coach”. We all have our opinions on how to solve everything, and that’s great – let everyone know. Let’s just try not to be at each others’ throats when those opinions don’t quite line-up, and perhaps save those program assessments for more appropriate threads 😉
Enjoy the game everyone and Go Pack
Hold the mic closer Cat, I can’t hear you 🙂
