Your “We Done Did It Again” FSU Open Thread

The University of Miami is a good basketball team.

The University of Miami is a good basketba…….

Seriously folks. That’s twice this year we’ve made daU look like a REALLY good team. The sad part is that we looked pretty good in spurts as well. But when crunch time crunched….

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Dennis Smith Jr. Still Getting His

Well would you lookit THAT? Up to number two this week. I bet that’ll bode well for our future of landing 5* one and doners into the program.

No?

Yeah, probably right. Still though, at this point this season is shot. I’m pulling for DSJ to pour it on and go #1 overall (won’t happen) and make this season look like even a bigger waste than it already did.

Ho hum, another Freshman of the Week award….

In two games last week, NC State’s Smith averaged 22 points, 12 assists, 6.5 rebounds and two steals. He opened the week by registering his second triple-double of the season with 13 points, 15 assists and 11 rebounds in NC State’s overtime loss to Syracuse. Smith became the first player in ACC history to record two triple-doubles in league play in the same year. He is the fourth player in ACC history to record two triple-doubles in a single season, and the first since Clemson’s Sharone Wright in 1992-93. Smith is also the first ACC freshman to record two triple-doubles in the same season since Virginia’s Ralph Sampson 1979-80.

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The Gap Widens

The gap that is, between “them” and us…..

But hey, at least we’re not BC…..right? Nope, we’re not. We’ve only managed to go 1-5 vs #51-100 (read that again….yikes), while they’ve gone 5-2 (reminder….we’re one of their 5 wins in that slot).

So no….we are not BC.

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NC State @ Florida State

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the ‘Noles (20-4, 8-3 ACC) are good. And I don’t just mean kinda good.

I see them as a legitimate Final Four threat. They’re big, strong, fast and poised. Up until two weeks ago they were a top 5 team, then they hit the road to GT and ‘Cuse and dropped both. ACC road games….AMIRITE????? So now they’re under the radar again to some degree. But no less dangerous.

They then bounced back with a road win at Miami, then absolutely destroyed Clemson at home.

Now, the bruised and battered Pack (14-10, 3-8 ACC) is heading for the gauntlet. Think it was bad at home vs Miami?

Tipoff: Wednesday, February 8th, 7pm

Coverage: ESPN2

FSU’s Hamilton: NC State ‘is a team that we have a tremendous amount of respect for’ (NewsObserver.com)

RALEIGH –

N.C. State has been far from good this season.

The Wolfpack (14-10, 3-8 ACC) ranks 13th out of 15 teams in the ACC and has lost three straight conference games.

But despite the Pack’s struggles, Florida State coach Leonard Hamilton said he has no plans to look past his opponents. N.C. State will play at No. 14 Florida State (20-4, 8-3 ACC) Wednesday night in Tallahassee, Fla.

“I think that the new players, sometimes it takes a little time to adjust,” Hamilton said. “When you go back and watch their games, they are extremely dangerous. You saw what they did at Cameron (vs. Duke), and they led Miami for about the entire game.”

There is no doubt N.C. State is a dangerous team. The Wolfpack averages 81.4 points per game, which is ranked No. 32 in the country, and five players average double-digit points. N.C. State blew out Virginia Tech 104-78 at home and stunned Duke 84-82 at Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this season.

“This is a team that we have a tremendous amount of respect for,” Hamilton said. “There’s no doubt we definitely realize that we need to be at our best, because this is a team that can get hot and do a lot of damage.”

Pack Hits Road to Face #14 Florida State (GoPack.com)

Pack Tracks
– NC State fell to Miami, 84-79, Saturday afternoon at PNC Arena. Dennis Smith, Jr., led the Pack with 31 points (10-15 FGs, 5-8 3-pt FGs) and added nine assists. Terry Henderson contributed 21 points after hitting 5-of-6 three-pointers in the game.
– Dennis Smith, Jr., was named ACC Freshman of the Week for the third time this season on Monday. Smith opened the week with his second triple-double of the season, scoring 13 points, passing out 15 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds vs. Syracuse. He is just the fourth player in ACC history to record two triple-doubles in a single-season and is the first player in ACC history to register both triple-doubles against an ACC opponent.
– Dennis Smith, Jr., is averaging 19.2 points per game and 6.96 assists per game. His points per game average would be the highest for an ACC freshman since Maryland’s Joe Smith averaged 19.4 ppg., in the 1993-94 season. His assists per game average would be the highest for an ACC freshman since Georgia Tech’s Kenny Anderson averaged 8.1 apg., in the 1990-91 season.
– In the last five games, junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu is averaging 16.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per contest. He is shooting 61.4 percent from the field (35-of-57) and has shot at least 60 percent from the field in four of the five games.