Tar heels down thin Wolfpack, 67-55

Forgive me if you wanted or expected more from us. Forgive me if you actually want to analyze and dissect Saturday’s game between NC State and UNC. But, I just don’t have it in me. I’ve got so little excitement and engagement about this season and about this team that I don’t understand why we would all waste our time and efforts. At 10-8 overall and 0-5 in the ACC, this team is going nowhere fast; and this season has become one of those seasons where I’m doing what I can to invest in other aspects of my life so that when/if we are ever good again then I won’t feel guilty about caring and paying attention. It happens every now and then…and, this is the year. Missing the tournament 20% of the time and making the NCAA four out of every five years is a pretty appropriate expectation for this program.

Of course the refs sucked on a trip to the Dean Dome. That is a given. After State got a well officiated game in Chapel Hill last season (oh what a surprise…we WON), then you can rest assured that we will come nowhere close to another win for at least the next decade. Don’t take our word for it —

Lol at Greenberg on playing in the Dean Dome "sometimes you're playing the 5 on the court and the 3 in Black & white"

— Red and White (@RedWhitePodcast) January 16, 2016

State is getting royally screwed by refs in the Dean Dome. #shocker Fouls called on back to back trips were not even close to actual fouls.

— BDevilU (@BDevilU1) January 16, 2016

The ACC is a lot like Making A Murderer if you're NC State. We're still paying for crimes we didn't commit. ACC is like Monotowoc Co Sheriff

— statefansnation (@statefansnation) January 16, 2016

The headlines and storylines on this game is that Carolina just used its depth to wear down State. Yep. That’s about right. But, as deep as UNC’s roster may be – the story there is that NC State is TOO THIN; it isn’t that UNC is SO DEEP (although they are very deep). State is 10-8 and 0-5 in part due to the fact that Coach Gottfried and staff could only find a way to fill the roster with 9 scholarship players that includes one kid that is clearly not Division One ready – Shaun Kirk. This leaves eight players, and one is injured, in our coach’s fifth season where his recruiting has had the benefit of momentum created by four straight NCAA Tournament appearances and two Sweet 16s. It is THIS lack of strategy and lack of tactical execution of running a program that has State sitting in the cellar and has most of us pulling our hair out.

In case you didn’t know, NCAA rules allow you to have thirteen student athletes on scholarship in basketball. So, the next time the Wolfpack Club comes calling for your dollars I think you should ask why they need more money if our coaches can’t/won’t spend the scholarship money that we provide them today?