Don’t feed the Dogs under the table this Thanksgiving

06-07 Basketball11

Who could go for some cold turkey on white with stuffing and cranberry? If fleeing the scene of the feast is possible and you live near the RBC Center in Raleigh, NC then I suggest checking out Friday night’s game against Gardner-Webb. Good tickets should be available due to the holidays, and now might be a great chance to see new head coach Sidney Lowe up close and personal to get the leg up in your knowledge of current ACC Basketball programs. The Wolfpack are off to a nice 3-0 start and will be looking to likely improve on that against a younger Gardner-Webb squad (0-4) out of the Atlantic Conference.

Look for Bulldogs to come out swinging early in an effort to not fall into an early deficit. In three of their first four games their shooting has been really off the mark to begin games. Against Texas Tech in their home opener it was rebounding, especially on the offensive end that helped them pull close against Bob Knights Red Raiders. Freshman C Auryn MacMillan and Jr. Ricky McPhee do alot of the Bulldogs damage on the offensive end, with Jake Sims, Chris Gash, and Takayo Siddle providing the pivotal outside scoring.

The last outing against UNCG saw the Bulldogs start off hot, only to fall behind by half time and ultimately come up a bit short after a spirited comeback. Tough man-man defense is a trademark of this team. It keeps them competive in most games, but can also leads to many personal fouls. Opponents are getting to the charity stripe far to much this season (UNCG shot 26 for 32 from the line), so if Gardner-Webb can’t solve that problem against NC State, don’t expect outside shooting or offensive rebounding efforts to be enough to pull off the upset. Happy Holidays, and Go Pack!

The ACC/Big 10 challenge is coming up quick, but as the title states we don’t need to be giving anything away by looking ahead. The ACC/Big 10 is to this program what the Big Four Tourney used to be in Sid’s playing days. In a way, The 27th will be the day Sid has finally arrived. If anyone can support the coach and the team tommorrow night or Monday then have at it. Wolfe was wrong (like so many holes) and you can come home after all.

06-07 Basketball

11 Responses to Don’t feed the Dogs under the table this Thanksgiving

  1. Cardiff Giant 11/23/2006 at 3:26 PM #

    Well said! I may try to make it out for this one.

  2. Coach Lee Fowler 11/23/2006 at 3:34 PM #

    “…The ACC/Big 10 is to this program what the Dixie Classic used to be in Sid’s playing days.”

    Huh?

  3. BJD95 11/23/2006 at 4:06 PM #

    I’ll be there! Looking forward to it.

  4. tractor57 11/23/2006 at 4:37 PM #

    I thought the Big Four tourney was the thing during Sid’s playing career not the Dixie Classic.

  5. legacyman 11/23/2006 at 4:59 PM #

    Poster meant Big Four. Dixie Classic ended about 1960 or 1961.

  6. tmb81 11/23/2006 at 6:10 PM #

    Likewise the Big Four ended in 1981 (Sid’s Soph year). Still the reference is a bit off since the Big Four was a tournament format played in one venue (Greensboro) where the ACC/Big 10 challenge is a “one and done” in multiple venues.

  7. HungryLikeTheWolf 11/23/2006 at 7:09 PM #

    I’ll be there tomorrow night, too! I’ve been watching the games online, but I can’t wait to see them in action live for the first time this season! Should be fun.

  8. powersd 11/23/2006 at 7:28 PM #

    Schedule says the game is Monday the 27th, not Sunday as stated above. Which is correct? I don’t want to miss it.

  9. vtpackfan 11/23/2006 at 9:40 PM #

    Good call on the game being on Monday night , I didn’t mean to confuse anyone more then I usually do. It was a bit of fuzzy math mixed with watching basketball too late last night (right on Zags!) and seeing the promo’s on ESPN for the ACC/Big Ten match up.

    My use of the analogy of Dixie Classic (or Big Four) with the Michigan game was really loosely a metaphore for Sid’s “true” arrival back running with the Pack again. Many times Coach Case used to use the tourney as showcase for the nation to see what ACC basketball was fast becoming. Many recruits from NYC and beyond were pulled away from the Madison Square mystic when they heard about and saw in person the barn burners going on down below the Mason Dixon line in these contest.

    Indeed they were in single elimination form, but with todays hurry up, don’t make me wait lives many live, a single game played under the national spotlight ESPN establishes for the ACC/Big Ten gives it the extra lift in importance that a tournement format would otherwise provide.

    Finally, I wanted to put forward the idea that many years have past since Sid walked out on to the court before a big time college game representing NC State. Its a different era, and it’s not Reynolds any more he calls home, but part of us want to see Coach Lowe bring to the table part of that point guard’s perspective he blessed us with so many years ago. You hope that with time passed he gained wisdom, but that he also didn’t forget what it was like to lace em up for that first big tilt before you’re dropped into conference play. It may not end up the best of outcomes but you can really pull for Sid and the boys to come ready for battle, but lets roll the Dog’s first.

  10. vtpackfan 11/24/2006 at 10:39 PM #

    State up 13 with a little over 10 mins to play. High scoring game by the looks of it, only wish I were there. Go Pack!

Trackbacks/Pingbacks

  1. StateFans Nation » Blog Archive » State Achieves Highest RPI in Recent Memory - 11/24/2006

    […] As of today, NC State is currently rated #7 in the Ratings Percentage Index (after peaking at #6 earlier in the week). Of course, we had to throw this entry up before the Wolfpack’s game later today against (#326) Gardner-Webb. […]

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