Some Wolfpackers on the idiot message boards wanted to see a blowout tonight in light of Winthrop’s struggles to this point of the season.
They got their wish.
The Wolfpack did it with defense tonight, cruising to a 26 point victory. (For the record, Davidson previously beat Winthrop by an almost identical, 27 points.)
The Wolfpack (3-0) held Winthrop to 29 percent from the field, delivering for the first time the kind of performance you’d expect from an ACC team against an opponent from a so-called mid-major conference.
N.C. State had struggled at times while winning 65-59 over New Orleans and 69-56 over High Point in its first two games. But against Winthrop, senior center Ben McCauley scored 15 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for his first game in double figures in both categories since the 2006 ACC tournament, and the Wolfpack ran out to a 40-24 halftime lead.
Though Winthrop has struggled to score at times this season, the 48 points were 10 short of its previous season low.
The Wolfpack placed four players in double figures and committed only six turnovers on the evening with Javi Gonzalez and Julius Mays running the point as Farnold Degand remains sidelined with tendinitis in his knee.
The ballhandling duties must have taken a lot out of the combination of guards because Gonzalez and Mays combined to go 0-8 shooting from the field. For the night, the Wolfpack hit only 7 of 23 three pointers for just over 30% from the arc and only 30% from the floor for the game.
State fans hope the Wolfpack can avoid some of unexpected losses to cupcakes that plagued the program last season (ECU & New Orleans). On the immediate radar — the team will try to get through exams and avoid an upset from UNC-Greensboro (Sunday) before traveling to Charlotte to play Davidson on December 6th.
