Offense goes cold in 59-47 loss to ‘Hoos

09-10 Basketball ACC & Other College Basketball Sidney Lowe91

If NC State fans thought the 27-point first half effort against NCCU Saturday was cringe worthy, hopefully they didn’t watch the second half of tonight’s game against Virginia. NC State could do little against Virginia’s impressive defense, going scoreless for more than seven minutes in the decisive second half in its sixth ACC loss of the season.

When Tracy Smith left the game in foul trouble, so too did NC State’s offensive identity. The Pack could never recover when Smith reentered the game and Virginia put the game away late with a couple of clutch buckets and free throws.

I’ll defer to other publications for game recaps because I didn’t get a chance to watch the entire game.

WRAL - Scott’s 13 lead Virginia past NC State 59-47

Sylven Landesberg always attracts a lot of attention on offense, and on a night when he couldn’t shoot, he found Virginia teammates that could. The whole team then made it really hard on North Carolina State to do the same in the second half.

Mike Scott had 15 points and 11 rebounds and Virginia held North Carolina State scoreless for more than seven minutes in the second half on the way to a 59047 victory Wednesday night.

Pack Pride - Offense silent as Pack falls to Cavs 59-47

Another game, another costly scoring drought.

A week after an eight-minute stretch without a point cost NC State a chance at beating North Carolina, the Wolfpack repeated the feat. This time on the road against Virginia, the Pack did not score from the 17-minute mark of the second half until the 10-minute mark. In that stretch, the Pack’s three-point lead turned into an eight-point deficit en route to dropping its third-straight ACC contest 59-47 on Wednesday night.

The scoring drought was just the low point of an abysmal offensive game for the Pack. Scoring its lowest point total of the season, the Pack shot 38 percent from the floor but was just 2-of-11 from behind the arc. And while they got to the free-throw line, they still couldn’t turn it into points, shooting just 56 percent from the charity stripe.

Here’s the box score.

09-10 Basketball ACC & Other College Basketball Sidney Lowe

91 Responses to Offense goes cold in 59-47 loss to ‘Hoos

  1. 61Packer 02/03/2010 at 11:13 PM #

    The two teams picked to be the worst teams in the ACC are as far apart in the standings as they can be after tonight’s 59-47 UVA win, their second over us in less than a month.

    The reason isn’t abysmal offense. The reason is abysmal coaching.

  2. jbpackfan 02/03/2010 at 11:21 PM #

    Lee Fowler should be fired tonight. It is so clear that Lowe is in over his head, and he never should have been put in this position. It’s not fair to him, considering what he did for this school 27 years ago. Actually, Fowler should have been fired in 2006 when he offered the job to Steve Lavin.

  3. jamieinkorea 02/03/2010 at 11:27 PM #

    Impressive defense? Come on… It was poor offense. It was like watching kids playing at the playground. When are we going to have a game where we DO NOT GO SIX MINUTEs WITHOUT SCORING? Come the $%@# on! That is the curse of Jimmy V. We go MINUTES without scoring. I’m done! DONE!

    And, when are we going to defy expectations when we’re supposed to be bad? We’ve done the defying of expectations when we’re supposed to be good, but when are we going to do the opposite?

  4. JeremyH 02/03/2010 at 11:47 PM #

    it’s kind of frustrating to watch this team, aye. our guards are not able to take the ball to the basket or hit outside shots, around the 15 minute mark in the second half, lately. there is certainly a bad pattern emerging here.

  5. ncsu05mit10 02/04/2010 at 1:17 AM #

    During the game one of the commentators mentioned UVA’s dominant win over UNC, then our upset over Duke, and said something like:

    “When teams are the ‘NC States’ of the world, those wins mean a lot.”

    Goddammit.

  6. fullmoon1 02/04/2010 at 1:46 AM #

    It is really hard to defend and stick up for Sid after the string of losses. The nccu win is no consolation. I like Sid and think the world of him but it is hard to stick up for him after that loss. I am not sure I have seen a team have a 6-7 minute drought in so many games. Looking back even in the wins there were droughts. With 3 minutes left and only 10 down, I am puzzled as to why we did not foul to stop the clock. Even if Va hits the free throws it stops the clock. Most acc teams or div 1 teams for that mater would consider a 10 point deficit possible to overcome. What I thought was passion and hustle from Javi in previous games now looks more akin to personal frustration with opposing players. That was a very ugly loss to an ok va team at best. I am frustrated that Sid was not able to take advantage of a down year in the acc as va has. The pendulum for this team swings wide and from very good(duke win) to very bad(every loss). We were not even trading baskets. Another thing I thought was odd was Howell camping out at the top of the key on offense. Several times all 5 players were outside the 3pt arc for an extended period of time. That ain’t right. The wide swings of this team are inexplicable. That was a turd of a game. It was like watching your toilet overflow and then standing in it not even reaching for the cut off valve or plunger. The band playing on the titanic comes to mind as it sank.

  7. wufpup76 02/04/2010 at 2:46 AM #

    Well that was disapointing …

    Bet no one has ever said that before when it comes to N.C. State athletics.

  8. Wufpacker 02/04/2010 at 5:03 AM #

    “it’s kind of frustrating to watch this team, aye.”

    I would have to nominate this for understatement of the year. Yes, its “a little frustrating” in the same way that someone having a heart attack is “a little under the weather”; the same way that Tiger Woods is “a little unfaithful”.

    That game was “UGLY” in every way that something can be ugly. The really irksome part is that I really expected a much better effort (from both teams, actually) tonight, and after watching I really can’t fathom why I expected anything more.

    When you score only 19 points in one of the two halves you will not win often. When you go 7+ minutes without scoring you will not win often. When the opposition doesn’t even manage to score 60 points themselves, but somehow still lays a double digit loss on you, that is pretty bad.

    Defensively we might as well not even have shown up. I’ve never seen a team (UVa) get so many open shots…fortunately they missed most of them in the first half. If they had been hitting them in the first half we would have been behind at the half by around 15. I don’t think I’ve ever seen so many wide open 3’s rattle out.

    Again, I’m not sure why, but I thought tonite might turn out to be a turning point for the season, a springboard into the 2nd half of the conference schedule where we might even make some noise. At this point, however, it appears the only noise we’ll be making is a gigantic sucking sound, which will be coming from the RBC (or anywhere else we play). And if tonite does, in fact, turn out to be a turning point then the rest of the season is not going to be very good, that much is clear.

    But I suppose that is to be expected at this point. I just hope that Harrow, Brown, et al, were not watching tonite. That kind of exhibition might just cause them to reconsider.

  9. Wulfpack 02/04/2010 at 6:31 AM #

    Come on, guys. We would have won that game if it weren’t for the 7 minute scoring drought…..

    Midseason ACC Report Card Grade: D+

  10. wolfonthehill 02/04/2010 at 6:35 AM #

    Sid’s gotta learn to leave Tracy out there. If you take him out, we lose… leave him in & we at least have a chance.

    (Incidentally, he had 3 fouls in about 25 minutes… at that pace, he wouldn’t foul out…)

  11. Gene 02/04/2010 at 6:53 AM #

    “When are we going to have a game where we DO NOT GO SIX MINUTEs WITHOUT SCORING? ”

    The Duke game. Savor the memories of such as exceptional performance. Best advice is to tune out to NCSU athletics as much as possible. Not worth the upwelling of negative emotions associated with teams that lose more than they win.

  12. Wulfpack 02/04/2010 at 7:38 AM #

    That’s the lowest scoring total we’ve had since 2005-06 when we had 42 at Iowa. It is also the lowest we have had in conference play since 1999-2000, where we also scored 42 at Clemson.

  13. Rick 02/04/2010 at 7:42 AM #

    I broke a rib Tuesday night.

    Watching the Pack play is more painful.

  14. Rochester 02/04/2010 at 7:43 AM #

    I dreamed about our basketball team all night and woke up pissed off. We, as NC State alum and fans, don’t deserve this. I can’t take any more bad basketball, but I have to keep watching because one of these days we’re going to win somehow and I don’t want to miss it.

    I’m most disappointed in the way we seem to go through a quitting spell every game (with the miraculous exception of the Duke game). Sure Costner and Fells looked like they quit a lot and you wanted to yank them right off the court. But now a new roster looks like they give up when things don’t go right. It starts with a 2-3 minute dry spell and snowballs because they start pressing, then suddenly we’re down double digits and they lose all semblance of a team. What’s the common factor? Unfortunately, it’s the coaching staff.

    A good coach who was sound on fundamentals and a good motivator would have this team at least in the middle of the ACC. I think Harrow and Brown might make us better next year, but it’s still hard to imagine us reaching our ceiling under this coaching staff. I think they could take a roster that should go 12-4 in conference and get an 8-8 or 9-7 record out of them. We have a roster right now that should be good enough for 8-8 or 9-7 and we’ll be lucky to go 4-12.

    I’d love to know what the players honestly think of Sid as a motivator and leader.

  15. tuckerdorm1983 02/04/2010 at 7:54 AM #

    i think that every time we get the ball Smith must touch it. He will be the point guard/center. The offense must run through him. Anything else is laughable. Otherwise they just pass and dribble the ball around the outside for 33 secs or so and then heave up something. What we should do is when smith gets the ball wait for the double team and pass to someone cutting to the basket or get it back outside. Otherwise we are screwed. Because Coach K would not double Smith they got beat. Our other win came when Wood nailed 3 pointers against FL State. If Wood and Smith can both get it going we can really win some games. In my humble opinion that is the only way. Otherwise WTNY!!!

  16. travelwolf 02/04/2010 at 8:01 AM #

    I saw 2 problems yesterday: our defense sucked – we gave them way too many open outside shots – letting our defenders get screened off; AND, we couldn’t hit anything – that was the basic problem with our offense. We are getting decent offensive looks, the ball just isn’t going in. Virginia had people that made contested 3 pointers when they were at least 5 feet behind the 3-point line – not to mention the times that they were open at the 3-point line. We just couldn’t do that, and that was one difference.

    I still believe this team is getting closer to winning games. Maybe it’s a mental thing with them now. Woods supposedly makes 30 in a row – maybe he needs to make 50 in a row before he gets the green light. or 30 in a row with someone coming at him. it doesn’t do any good to make 30 in a row when the gym is empty – and my guess is that is when he’s ‘hot’.

    tracy smith is amazingly good – i’m afraid he’s going to bolt for the NBA after this year.

  17. Wulfpack 02/04/2010 at 8:04 AM #

    If Smith isn’t involved, we lose. It’s that simple. Sid even said it in his postgame. He, in so many words, said our guard play sucked and once Smith got his 3rd, we were toast.

    My question is, why sit Smith? If you know that’s the case, play him until he’s done. If that really is our only option, mine as well get as much as you can out of him.

  18. ryebread 02/04/2010 at 8:06 AM #

    Hmm… Coming in, I thought one of two scenarios would play out.

    1) UVA is better coached, has good guard play, plays tough defense, plays a tempo control offense (which negates the only real way we can score — in transition) and has already beaten us at home. We were reeling and going on the road. This is a sure, double digit loss for NC State as we’re staring our kryptonite in the face.

    2) UVA is coming off of an emotional win on the road. They’re young and don’t know how to follow that up with a win in a “classic trap game” (don’t get me started on how pissed off that makes me that we’re a trap game for UVA in the first year of a coaching change). We really need a win, would come out motivated and punch them in the mouth. We’d end up squeaking one out.

    I was at a bar in Durham for an alumni association (not NC State) event. The game was on at the bar and I could occasionally take a peak at the score. I saw us lead the first half and go in the break up by three. I saw us leading by about 3 in the second half. Then about 10 minutes later, the game had been switched to another one. It told me all that I needed to know. I came home and checked the score, but knew that scenario #1 had played out.

    It also says something about the level of indifference I’m quickly approaching. I didn’t buy tickets this year for the first time in a long time. It wasn’t due to the economy either — it was due to the fact that I wasn’t going to give LF money to watch what I anticipated to be a bad product. I chose to go to an alumni association event for a school that I don’t have a degree from instead of watching our game on TV. When the game was switched at the bar, I didn’t ask them to turn it back. I didn’t even bother to set the DVR.

    SL will get one more year because of the timing factor (can’t afford another coaching search led by LF and the admins have bigger fish to fry). It’s NCAA or bust for him though. I can’t see the big money alums putting up with much more of this. I’ve been in his corner from second one and have been pulling for things to work out, but I’ve pretty much come to my conclusion.

    It’d take some drastic staff changes (which I’m not sure he’s willing to make) to truly right this ship. The “best” case scenario that I can see is that we start winning just enough games for him not to get fired on a yearly basis. The recruiting ultimately tails off and this gets ugly (sound familiar)? I see about a 5% chance that the staff harnesses Brown and Harrow and maximizes their talent to a Sweet 16 run.

    Sit tight. It’s only going to get worse.

  19. Dogbreath 02/04/2010 at 8:09 AM #

    The problem with our program is that we’ve resembled the UNC teams of 01-02 going on the last 6 years. You can’t win with only 2 or3 ACC caliber players on your roster.

  20. lsutton5144 02/04/2010 at 8:19 AM #

    I’ve never been able to understand how the players on the floor could concentrate or payattention to what the other team is doing with all that damn whistling going on.

  21. choppack1 02/04/2010 at 8:28 AM #

    “You can’t win with only 2 or3 ACC caliber players on your roster.”

    Who are the 4 ACC calibre players on UVa’s roster? They’ve got 2 quality players would would play a great deal for anyone in the conference – the rest is a bunch of role players.

    I find it sadly amusing that after 4 years, when the game ends – it’s always about how we didn’t “run our stuff” and “didn’t execute.” Hmm, that seems to happen in the vast majority of our ACC games – and it certainly happened a lot when someone was in the NBA. At what point does that light go on and you say, “Maybe it’s me.”

    Contrast that w/ how Bennett praises his team and the talent he inherited. Night and day – just like the results.

  22. thekind 02/04/2010 at 8:30 AM #

    I hate it Sid, but your in over your head. He has got to have the worst assistant coaches in the country. Old Monte looks like he is working over a hangover every time I see him.

    Screw next years recruiting class. Start over!

    The good news is that if it took Sid to wash our hands of herb, it was still worth it.

  23. Class of 2009 02/04/2010 at 8:32 AM #

    Unless Lowe can pull an amazing season turn-around, this will be his second season in a row that even his most avid supporters agree is a total and complete failure. Poor results with a team in transition (Lowe’s second season) and even poor results due to your own inexperience (last season) might be acceptable for a coach new to the NCAA game, but you have to eventually set the bar somewhere. Sid will get the rest of his contract next season, but if he is going to run another 0-8 on us, I think it’s time to start the coaching search.

    An interesting side-note, the problem won’t fix itself if we keep treating the symptoms and not the disease. As long as Lee Fowler is running the program, we simply will not be successful.

  24. coach13 02/04/2010 at 8:49 AM #

    I think it is appropriate that most of the crticism is pointed at El Sid. I felt bad for those kids last night. They honestly looked like they didn’t know what to do on offense…and Sid could not tell them, adapt, change, or anything. They just withered there on the court, while the general just whistled and pointed.

    He needs to change completely what he is coaching. This pass along the perimeter with 1 guy in the middle crap is not working. I think he is trying to isolate players for 1 on 1 mathcups, but we don’t have the players for such an advantage.

    And we just don’t have complete players, and some are much further behind than others. Davis is clueless and therefor useless on offense…i.e. not what you need during a scoring drought. He hustles, has heart, just not needed in this one. Sid just wouldn’t try anything or anyone new. I would have thrown player ater player til I found someone who could score.

    I saw pick and rolls, with the screen guy (Horner) rolling to the basket open…but no give back. Then I saw the same thing but Horner just stood there after the pick and watched. They don’t know how to run offense. They needed some motion. THEY NEED COACHING!

  25. wingatewolf 02/04/2010 at 8:52 AM #

    There is no alternative but to fire Sid now. If we wait until next year we might see an exodus of talent leave (see Cedric Simmons, etc.) and we’ll have to rebuild AGAIN.

    The 2 players signed will help and only the school can let them out of their contract. And for the sake of humanity, they HAD better not do this.

    Three coaches to pursue, Jamie Dixon (Pitt), Bryce Drew (Baylor), Tubby Smith (Minnesota).

    Idiots like the news media etc. think that we fans expect to be up there with UNC and Duke. We should never, ever, be below a .500 team in the ACC. We should be in the top 5 of the ACC every year and that is a realistic goal. We won’t be invited to the NIT this year and that puts SL’s record in Les Robinson range. It’s embarrasing to see the RBC half-empty for games.

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