Pack Wins In Lowe-vertime: NCSU 84 – Miami 81

08-09 Basketball General186

UPDATE: 850 The Buzz has put post-game interviews online.

Julius Mays sank a three-pointer from the top of the key with 2.8 ticks left on the clock to give NC State a three point win in OT.  Sidney Lowe moved to 5-0 in overtime games, and he did so with a combination of solid coaching moves, tenacity by his team on the floor and some good luck at key moments down the stretch of the extra period.

1 2 OT T
Miami Hurricanes 25 45 11 81
NCSU Wolfpack 39 31 14 84

Courtney Fells had 24 points to lead the Wolfpack, who blew a 19-point lead early in the second half and a pair of leads late in regulation and in overtime before Mays shot sealed the win for the Pack. Brandon Costner added 21 points and Ben McCauley had 12.

Your post-game thoughts here.

ht: “russelbuzz” of 850 The Buzz’s Blog for “Lowe-vertime” phrase.  We like it.
08-09 Basketball General

186 Responses to Pack Wins In Lowe-vertime: NCSU 84 – Miami 81

  1. BJD95 01/28/2009 at 10:51 AM #

    I remember the game where we blew a 10-point lead in the last 5 minutes. IIRC, Juan Dixon nailed a 3 at the buzzer to beat us. Think that was a Sunday night home game.

  2. Bubba 01/28/2009 at 10:58 AM #

    3 home wins against Maryland in the RBC IIRC

    3-5 overall

  3. Classof89 01/28/2009 at 10:58 AM #

    Did the research…we are 3-5 against Maryland at the RBC Center since it opened. Wins in 2000 (1st time), 2005, and 2006. Didn’t play last year…

    We have to sweep the homestand vs. BC and Maryland to go to the NIT. Period. And even then will need two more to guarantee a winning record (Virginia at home, and ????). I just don’t see the level of sustained effort necessary to win all three of those home games. I have a feeling we will pull an effort like the FSU game in at least one of them…

  4. Sam92 01/28/2009 at 11:02 AM #

    ok, i’ve been on the sid stinks bandwagon, but credit where credit is due – overtime wins are tough to get and speak well of coach and team, good game for sid and the whole bunch

  5. Bubba 01/28/2009 at 11:03 AM #

    3 home wins against Maryland in the RBC

    3-5 Overall

  6. W0LFPack 01/28/2009 at 11:37 AM #

    I just read another amazing article by another N.C. State blog… it’s wolfpackhoops . blogspot . com

    I don’t know if it’s against the rules to post stuff like this, but what the hell. It seems to be one guy whose obsessed with our athletics program. He breaks down recruiting, every game, and basically everything N.C. State basketball. He let’s you know stats from high school recruits games, what they’re averaging on the year, how well their team is playing, etc. Seems to be a really informative website. If you do per chance visit it and decide to comment, keep the comments positive, I would really hate to see negative comments move over there.

    Regardless…quotes from his website about the game last night:

    “a-MAYS-ing”

    “Tonight we need to give credit where it is due. Sidney Lowe coached one heck of a game. From his starting line-up to his substitution pattern, Lowe showed his doubter that he does know how to handle his team and tonight you saw mental toughness at work. A move that will go unnoticed by many and I actually heard criticized by some fans, was a move that won NC State the ballgame. Simon Harris, who had logged all of 1 minute in regulation, started the overtime and locked down Adrian Thomas (#30) who was eating Tracy Smith’s face off every time he got the ball. Thomas is a strong 6’7 that has 3 point range and perimeter prowess. Simon Harris locked on Thomas and played outstanding defense which helped State fend off the Hurricanes in the final minutes of the game.”
    I really enjoy this comment. I think he hit the nail on the coffin. Smith may be the most productive offensive player we have, but defense is something he still has to work on. Thomas was playing a hell of a game, and Harris had fresh legs. It worked to perfection, SO WHY are we even wondering why Sidney did it?? Do you go up to a civil engineer and ask them why their bridge doesn’t fail?? No, because it works…who cares why it works. Anyways, more quotes…

    “During one particular stretch, in which Miami had come back to take the lead, Sid called a timeout that marked the turning point in the second half. In the huddle Sidney said, “Why are you afraid to win!? You stopped cutting hard, you stopped defending hard….why are you afraid!?” From that point forward the intensity was at 100% and the Wolfpack fought it’s way to the victory.”

    “Some more good news…2009 recruit Scott Wood was at the game and got to see his former high school teammate, Julius Mays, hit the game winning 3. CJ Leslie also was taking in the game with a group of friend….and yes, one did happen to be John Wall, who after the game ran down the tunnel like a kid at Christmas to give some dap to Courtney Fells. Leslie has been sitting his past 2 high school games with what we believe to be a sprained ankle. We’ll let you know for sure when we hear more.”

    And finally, a good word from an assistant (even if we get beat, you love to see this kind of attitude from the bench).

    When asked how the Pack plans to defend the Tarheels, assistant coach Larry Harris responded, “We’ll have the guys mentally prepared, but we don’t have to say much to get the guys ready. We’re going to go at them. They’re going to come at us, but we’re going to throw it right back at them. We’re going to battle their a**.” He also had a word for the fans at the RBC: “Bring your megaphones, your bats, and your musket guns…its going to be a war.” So anyone going to the game, take the last sentence to heart, and do your part (that was my rhyme for the day. You’re welcome).

  7. wolfpackbball 01/28/2009 at 12:09 PM #

    BAC79, I think I have to take you to task on one of your points.

    “We, including myself, have had to accept the fact that Lowe was a desperate hire by LF with no college coaching experience but with a deep love and commitment to N.C. State basketball. That doesn’t mean that we should accept or like the Sid’s long learning curve.”

    I’ll agree with every single word of what you have written, except the accept. IMO, we absolutely have to accept Sid’s long learning curve. Regardless of who was at fault for the mess, we did have a mess here 3 years ago. It, if you remember, became comical in the media. Coaches turning us down left and right, hell, coaches that weren’t even offered the job were reportedly turning us down.

    Now we’ve got one of us. He’s in a job he wasn’t prepared for and he IS learning. He obviously knows the game of basketball and is learning to coach it. The fact is that he wants to win more than the rest of us. Not just for his team or for himself, but for NC State. Those qualities alone merit an extended learning curve. PERIOD. It irks me to no end to see people throwing him under the bus, and doing it constantly. WE KNOW HE WAS NOT READY FOR THE JOB, BUT NOW HE’S HERE. I have no clue how our own can call for him to go without giving him his two upcoming classes to work with.

    BTW, most of that is not directed toward you BAC, others on this and other boards are really sh*theads about calling out Lowe.

  8. TOBtime 01/28/2009 at 12:19 PM #

    First you lose by a little, then you win by a little. We might get beat Saturday and should if physical talent were the only measure of a team. However, this team is showing flashes of Sid’s first year when the play and consistency finally came together amazingly well. I believe that year a much more physically talented hole team got beat in Raleigh. I believe that’s why you actually play the game?

  9. tcthdi-tgsf-twhwtnc 01/28/2009 at 12:24 PM #

    If State could give Les an almost unlimited run of awfulness before giving him the AD job. Stuck with Herbert for the most uninspiring 10 years of college basketball imaginable to mankind. then having HS takeoff along with his final recruiting class. Then I think it is appropriate to give Sid sometime to grow.

    I’m as unhappy as anyone with NC State athletics but State will continue another 20 year drought if fans think the answer is to find a new coach 2.5 years. Season one was well ahead of expectations, season two is best forgotten, season 3 we can hope to see improvement.

    SFN: Your (deleted) last paragraph was over the line and completely unwarranted. Additionally, we are not turning this into a Sendek thread.

  10. Mike 01/28/2009 at 12:29 PM #

    It’s pretty simplea actually. Some of you want Lowe gone and will look for every little thing to criticize. I am not saying Lowe is another K or Dean, but it’s amazing to me how good those coaches are when they have the horses, and how average they are with average players.

    I was at the game, and frankly for those that wanted Haith, Sid outcoached Haith last night and last year for that matter.

    Many comments about stupid, bone head plays. In the huddle, I am sure Sid said “OK guys, let’s save the ball inbounds under our own basket”. Many of you siad that’s the first thing you learn in 5th grade. Well if you learned that in 5th grade, then you should know that before you came to State. In the heat of the battle, kids do silly things. That is not Sid’s fault.

    We lost a 19 point lead, and yes, we can point some fingers at Sid for this. But why did we lose that lead?
    1. McClinton got hot, which was only a matter of time. He threw in some circus shots that we actually played good D.
    2. Miami scrapped the zone in the 2nd half. Fells, Costner, Horner, and Degand all stood around the 3 point line waitingto shoot. Playing man, they have to move, cut, screen etc. They stood (coaching would be to sub for guys with movement and energy)
    3. We got no calls for us – they got all the calls. Not making excuses but the calls can affect the momentum.
    4. We missed a couple shots, took a couple bad shots. Mays pulls up on a break and misses from 15, poor shot. Costner threw up an airball on the next possession I believe. Those hurt, but those on the spot decisions are not on Lowe.

    Last time I looked, WE WON THE GAME. No such thing as moral victories in losses – no such thing as lucky wins. We won, be glad, and enjoy it. This team must learn to win and they are progressing. Sid is still not the coach we need him to be, but he is learning.

    Finally, the turnout last night was pathetic. The arena was maybe 1/2 full. Wall was there, Wood was there. What kind of message do you send those guys with the 1/2 full crowd? If you dont want your tickets, call me. It’s bad enough that UNX fans leave in the 3rd Q of a game they still have a chance to win. It’s worse when we dont even bother to show up for a game.

  11. CStanley 01/28/2009 at 12:31 PM #

    “I remember the game where we blew a 10-point lead in the last 5 minutes. IIRC, Juan Dixon nailed a 3 at the buzzer to beat us. Think that was a Sunday night home game.”

    BJD95, I believe that was Drew Nicholas. It was the year after they won it all, Dixon & Baxter had left. Gilchrest was a freshman. Nicholas finished off their comeback by hitting a three from about the 4th row of the student section.

    This was also in the midst of our bed shitting performances against them in football. Add to it the debacle in the tournament the following year. Maryland really had our number for a while.

  12. Clarksa 01/28/2009 at 12:37 PM #

    “BJD95, I believe that was Drew Nicholas. It was the year after they won it all, Dixon & Baxter had left. Gilchrest was a freshman. Nicholas finished off their comeback by hitting a three from about the 4th row of the student section.”

    I think it happened twice…That year the Twerps won it all, Dixon pulled one out in the NCAA tourny just like he did in Raleigh.

  13. redfred2 01/28/2009 at 12:42 PM #

    I didn’t really think about it, but some one was comparing and contrasting politics and basketball over on the last thread. Now if everything they were saying is correct, then I’m thinking that we fans need not worry about a thing, our new President will save the day for NC State BB for us.

    As a matter of fact, and according to that guy, he probably already has.

    But now, if the entire planet, as well as NC State’s BB program, hasn’t totally turned around in the next four years, then you can bet your sweet ass that there will be a good excuse for it, and according to that guy there won’t be anything that this new President could have done about it.

    It’s just the way it all works.

  14. MP 01/28/2009 at 12:53 PM #

    > “It irks me to no end to see people throwing him under the bus, and doing it constantly. WE KNOW HE WAS NOT READY FOR THE JOB, BUT NOW HE’S HERE.”

    Agreed. We owe him our gratitude every day that he is here, even if he doesn’t make it for the long haul. Which I hope he does.

  15. BJD95 01/28/2009 at 1:02 PM #

    We don’t owe him gratitude. He does get paid, after all. Being head basketball coach at NC State is a prestigious, well-compensated job, not a charity gig.

    The question about “learning curve” is whether it’s fast enough to keep him from being eaten alive. Every coach is going to learn from experience, but find yourself in the ACC’s shitty tier and are running to stand still…

  16. Gene 01/28/2009 at 1:03 PM #

    “Finally, the turnout last night was pathetic. ”

    I’d love to see the RBC center filled on a nightly basis, but so far it hasn’t happened.

    We’ve never had sparkling, sold out every night, attendance at the RBC center, even for ACC games.

    Some of the issue is the good seats are in the hands of corporate owners, who don’t put butts in their seats on a regular basis.

    Some of it is fan frustration with the product on the floor or lack of interest in the opponent.

    I checked the boxscore and the official attendance was over 15k. Unless it’s a premier game, due to the reasons above, don’t expect a 19k turn out on a nightly basis.

  17. BoKnowsNCS71 01/28/2009 at 1:18 PM #

    Kinda reminds me what Jimmy V used to say about being in a position to win at the end of the game. That last 3 was sweet and long overdue.

  18. BoKnowsNCS71 01/28/2009 at 1:19 PM #

    Wish those corporate seats were on stubhub.com so real fans could go.

  19. newt 01/28/2009 at 1:30 PM #

    Of course 15K is more than Reynolds held even before the renovations.

  20. blackdom 01/28/2009 at 1:45 PM #

    Must have counted by 2’s because on tv it looked pretty damn empty.

  21. Alpha Wolf 01/28/2009 at 1:51 PM #

    “Wish those corporate seats were on stubhub.com so real fans could go.”

    First of all, the Wolfpack needs a ticket exchange plan like the Hurricanes use. It is more than possible, considering that the same operator runs the arena for both teams.

    It’s more than possible to determine which seats’ tickets’ are used or unused for a given game. I would like to see an escalating level where when seats are unused for conference games, the owners automatically get an email reminding them of the importance of attending the game and with links on how to use the ticket exchange in order to sell or donate to charity those ducats.

    Lots of folks would love to sit in the prime seats and see a game. It’s VERY different to sit fifteen rows up in the RBC mid-court than it is to sit upstairs anywhere, or even folks that just want to go to the game at all. Priority for resales should go to current WPC members (if that could be done.)

    Nothing is so hard to fix as it is when you decide it can’t be done, and that’s what the WPC and the AD seem to have decided re: empty RBC seats.

  22. Gene 01/28/2009 at 1:57 PM #

    Why should the WPC and AD care? The money’s all the same for them.

  23. Alpha Wolf 01/28/2009 at 2:03 PM #

    ^ Casual fans can become opportunities for future season ticket sales and/or WPC membership, for one.

    Plus, they can get a small but appreciable revenue stream from the service charges. The Canes don’t do it for free and they net some profit.

  24. Clarksa 01/28/2009 at 2:44 PM #

    “Wish those corporate seats were on stubhub.com so real fans could go.”

    Plenty available on stubhub for the UNC game…courtside tickets are going for $175/each.

  25. Alpha Wolf 01/28/2009 at 2:46 PM #

    ^ And sadly, too many will be bought by UNC fans.

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