Because when State fans think of which school(s) we hate we think….UNC…Duke…Maryland…Georgia Tech.
February 9, 2012
NC STATE BASKETBALL
Akula Wolf (BackingthePack.com)
Talking Georgia Tech With From The Rumble Seat
As we approach the re-match with Georgia Tech, I caught up with BirdGT at From The Rumble Seat. Turns out he doesn’t know what the hell happened in Raleigh either. Personally I expect it to happen again, whatever it was.
1.) What’s the best way to slow down Glen Rice?
The best way to slow down Glen Rice is to slow down his teammates. Tech is a very turnover heavy squad this season. If State can apply a lot of pressure in the 1st half and force some turnovers, they will easily negate Rice’s scoring. Tech has the 4th worst A:T ratio in conference play and the 3rd most turnovers in 2012 ACC play. Unfortunately, Tech’s primary handlers outside of GRJ, Mfon Udofia, Jason Morris, and Brandon Reed, have a combined assist:turnover ratio of 39:54. Press those three and Tech will give State some easy transition points.
The other frustrating aspect of GRJ’s game is that he doesn’t come on strong in the first half. He makes out like a bandit in a riot in the second half when the games are either close and Tech needs clutch shots or when Tech is down big and no one is guarding him. The first half is a mystery. Since December 22nd’s win over Alabama A&M, Tech has gone 2-10 and been outscored by about 7 points in the first half. The only leads Tech had at the half in any of those games were NC State, FSU, and BC where Tech went 2-1.
BirdGT (FromTheRumbleSeat.com)
Backing the Pack joins us with Info about the Wolfpack
FTRS: I think any outside observer looking in at State wants to know how things have been since the departure of Sidney. So how are things?
BTP: Much, much better. Fewer whistles, too. Apparently Sidney Lowe didn’t really care how hard his players worked during the offseason, or if they worked at all. Simply adding some additional structure to practices and getting the guys motivated to workout has made a difference. State also appears more organized at the offensive end, which is paying dividends as well.
Gottfried certainly has benefited from the schedule and the experience that Lorenzo Brown and CJ Leslie picked up last year, but I think his impact has gone well beyond that. At least so far.
GoPack.com
Men’s Basketball Travels to Georgia Tech
NC State begins a two-game road swing starting with Thursday’s game versus Georgia Tech. The game is set for a 7 p.m. tip and can be heard on the NC State Radio Network and seen on ESPNU.
The Pack is looking to even the season series following a 82-71 loss at home to the Yellow Jackets in January. NC State enters the contest riding a two-game winning streak after posting wins at Boston College (56-51) and at home over Wake Forest (87-76) last week. Tech enters the game following a 51-47 victory over BC at home on Saturday, which snapped a six-game slide for the Yellow Jackets.
With a win, the Pack can improve to 4-1 in conference road play and earn its 18th victory of the season, the most wins since the 2009-10 season when it posted 20 victories.
Ken Sugiura (AJC.com)
Georgia Tech faces N.C. State again
Georgia Tech’s game against N.C. State on Thursday night gave coach Brian Gregory reason to review the Yellow Jackets’ first game against the Wolfpack, an 82-71 upset win in Raleigh.
Given that Tech lost the next six games after that win, the replay left Gregory encouraged for an unexpected reason.
“We’re a much better team [now] than we were in that particular game,†Gregory said. “We do a lot of things much better.â€
The Jackets’ Jan. 11 win over N.C. State was probably the most unlikely of the season. Tech played with superior effort, out-rebounded the Wolfpack 34-29 and made 31 trips to the free-throw line, the third most this season. The Jackets shot 9-for-15 from 3-point range, their only game this season higher than 50 percent, with Glen Rice Jr. scoring 22 points off the bench.
The weeks since that game have made clear that Tech played over its head and N.C. State played unusually poor, allowing the Jackets to cover up flaws. Gregory said that his players are creating better shots for their teammates and function better on defense, particularly in the half-court game.
ACC BASKETBALL
Andrew Skwara (accsports.com)
ACC Midseason Report Card
N.C. State (17-7, 6-3)
Analysis
The Wolfpack has made big improvement under first-year coach Mark Gottfried. State already has more ACC wins (six) than all of last year (five). Gottfried is getting more out of the team offensively and several players have improved. But the Wolfpack is still lacking quality wins. Only one of their ACC wins came against a team with a winning league record (Miami). A bad loss to lowly Georgia Tech at home puts an ugly blemish on State’s resume too.
Where They Need To Improve
Big games. At North Carolina, the Wolfpack played itsworst game of the year in a 19-point loss. They need to handle the spotlight better with a brutal three-game stretch looming that includes games with Duke and FSU and a rematch with UNC.
GradeB: Gottfried deserves some substantial credit. Gottfried has less talent than Sidney Lowe had since former leading scorer Tracy Smith is gone, but he’s producing much better results. The new system is bringing out the best in the players.
2 Duke (20-4)
8 North Carolina (20-4)
30 Florida State (16-7)
36 Miami (14-7)
44 Virginia (19-4)
55 NC State (17-7)
87 Virginia Tech (13-10)
94 Maryland (14-9)
133 Wake Forest (11-13)
142 Georgia Tech (9-14)
183 Clemson (11-12)
212 Boston College (8-16)
