UNC 93, NC State76

Tar Heel fans, who made the trip to the RBC Center for the first two rounds of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, turned up in pockets. With their light blue and the pink in the N.C. State student section — an homage to Kay Yow — the place looks like a maternity ward.

Just a guess, but that is the most UNC fans in N.C. State’s building for a State-Carolina game in 15 years. A 15-point favorite, the Heels did not disappoint their traveling fan base.

Note: It’s not like the 2003 State-Carolina game at the Smith Center, which was a virtual home game for State, but there’s a good amount of blue sprinkled throughout the building, especially the upper deck, which mostly has been empty this season.

About StateFans

'StateFansNation' is the shared profile used by any/all of the dozen or so authors that contribute to the blog. You may not always agree with us, but you will have little doubt about where we stand on most issues. Please follow us on Twitter and FaceBook

08-09 Basketball NCS Basketball Sidney Lowe

107 Responses to UNC 93, NC State76

  1. charger17 02/01/2009 at 3:06 PM #

    The only thing I’m saying is when NC State has a successful B-ball program in a few years, I expect Noah and 61 to post a copy of their most recent comments and admit they were wrong before anyone else does. I understand frustration, but those are purely emotional comments that have no realistic credibility.

  2. BAC79 02/01/2009 at 3:11 PM #

    My only disagreement with Noah is that Sid will continue to suck. None of us can predict the future. But we sure as heck can look at the last 2.5 years and conclude the job is not getting done at the coaching or playing level.

    You want evidence that Lowe may have a people management problem. Look at the last half of last year. Sid totally lost control of the team. Several players had their heads up their backsides and it clearly showed on the court. If this is not a lack of people management skills, then I don’t know what is.

    Just for discussion, if we finish the year this year with 4 ACC wins and finish next year with 5 ACC wins, is this meaningful progress to the point we should jump on the Sid bandwagon for 4-5 more years beyound that? When do we stop and admit the experiment is a failure?

  3. Wolf Dog 02/01/2009 at 3:21 PM #

    Wolfpack_1995 Preach it Brother!

    61Packer. “This coaching staff….has been dismal at every level”

    SO was Coach K before Duke look how that turned out.

    I got to agree with with Wolfpack_1995. Our problem is we put up with too much crap. Lets take a long term and well documented spur to our program. Mr. Tudor with the N & O. I was at the game and guess who I noticed sitting in with Woody and the UNC radio boys. That is right Mr. Tudor! You would think the local sports beat writer be hanging and supporting the home team. Not so in our case. Then he slams our program in his article the next day. What does he know about our program? Zero! He has spent no time around it! If the jack ass where in Alabama, Columbia, Auburn, Mickigan, Ohio State or elsewhere he would be run out of town. We should demand the same.

    See Tudor like Noah and all the other Blue birds. They all love to see us get lots of bad press and can Sidney. Then liberal Noah, Tudor, and everyone be all over us for firing a minority coach and not giving him a chance when we gave white Sendeck all the time in the world. That way we lose our recruiting class, Costner certainly does not come back, and players transfer. Really set the program back for years to come. Make sure we not going to do anything in basketball for the next decade. Their real agenda is they scared Sid is going to succeed. They remind of those that went after V. Couldn’t have a coach in the UNC system that was more popular than Dean. Tudor was right in their with them back then and here he is again.

    Don’t let the Tudors and the Noahs of the worlds trick you into their agenda. They in no way shape of form have the best interest of NCSU in mind.

  4. charger17 02/01/2009 at 3:25 PM #

    What if Sid was able to win the ACC regular season title for the next five years straight, but never was able to get passed the second round of the NCAA tourney? Is that “progress”? Should the fan base continue to support him?

    I think we expect to be at a certain “level” of program just because we’ve been there before. Some of us have unrealistic expectations about what it takes to get back to that level, just like those same people would have unrealistic expectations about “success” or “progress” once we returned to that level.

    The bottom line is this: the goal is to win as many National Championships as possible, as soon as possible, and to achieve whatever “progress” is needed to move us in that direction. It’s not even what our record against any particular team or conference record is in the meantime. Putting an expectation level at X number of wins for future teams and coaches is simply a waste of time.

  5. Wulfpack 02/01/2009 at 3:43 PM #

    Well I will tell you what “progress” isn’t. “Progress” is not finishing 10th place or worst in the ACC for three consecutive seasons.

    That’s where we’ve been, and that’s where we currently are.

  6. PackGirl 02/01/2009 at 3:44 PM #

    So what exactly happened at the end of the game? I know there was a technical on both Ben and Copeland but why didn’t State shoot any foul shots? They called 2 fouls on Ben, first for making contact with Copeland and then he also got a technical after that? I was watching closely and I don’t see what he did to get 2 fouls called. Also, that seems weird that 2 technicals cancel each other out. Technicals are not guaranteed points – why wouldn’t they have to shoot them? If someone could explain exactly what happened I would appreciate it.

  7. charger17 02/01/2009 at 3:50 PM #

    Okay, Wulfpack. Let’s get rid of Sid and go find “progress”. Who’s with me?!?!?!

  8. Wulfpack 02/01/2009 at 4:00 PM #

    Not saying get rid of him now. I am saying the program has not improved since his arrival and he’s teetering on the edge. 1 more year of this crap and you can damn well believe there will be a serious movement to have him out of here.

  9. Wolfpack_1995 02/01/2009 at 4:17 PM #

    Thanks Wolf Dog.

    IMO all NC State cares about is money. That includes the quadtuplets of Lee Fowler, Chancellor Oblinger, UNC President Erskine Bowles, and ACC commish John Swofford.

    Lee Fowler was happy with Sendek b/c of the revenue generated by going to NCAA tourney…Who cares if we actually won anything…The basketball program will also continue to bring in money based of the agreement with the RBC Center.

    Also look at the coach brought in to replace Amato in TOB…TOB is just like Sendek in terms of having a reputation to make it to bowl games…That’s it.

    Let’s look at Chancellor Oblinger who has been basically status quo since he’s been in power…He is a puppet of the UNC system and goes along with what is handed down. He did nothing when he was president of the College of Ag. & Life Sciences at State…

    Then take Erskine Bowles a UNC grad who could give two shits if State does anything…Also look at the ACC commish in John Swofford who was the former AD at UNC..

    Fowler, Oblinger, Bowles, and Swofford will do everything in their power to make State be revenue worthy but on the flip side they will also do everything in their power to keep us from winning or competing for titles…This way UNC has the clear track to getting both money and championships…

    The cards have always been stacked against us…including the MEDIA.

  10. sf59 02/01/2009 at 4:58 PM #

    As some of you may remember, I have had some beef with Ben over the past year and a half. However, he deserves all the credit in the world for standing his ground and not losing his cool on Cope. It was the most i cheered the whole game.

    I see imrpovement and thats really all i hoped for after last year.

  11. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 5:34 PM #

    ^Pack Girl –

    Intentional foul on Ben; followed by double technical – one on both Copeland and McCauly each

    The double tech’s do in fact cancel one another out, sorta like offsetting penalties in football

    Roy sent Copeland to the locker room, he was not ejected

    Holes get the result of the intentional foul since the tech’s are canceled out so far as free throws are concerned

  12. PackGirl 02/01/2009 at 6:15 PM #

    ^Thanks. That seems like a strange rule to have them cancel each other out though (when they may not have made the free throws if they actually shot them). I still don’t understand why Ben got the technical – what did he actually do?

  13. packalum44 02/01/2009 at 8:28 PM #

    We have improved since the beginning of the year. We are still not very good though. We played really well against UNC for the most part and if we played like that every game, we would be decent. We didn’t play scared which was nice. I hope we can win a few more games…if Ga. Tech beats Wake then anything is possible. Did not see that coming…

    I also think Walls is going to go to State. He is a celebrity here and I think he would relish the attention. He also would make a dramatic and profound impact if he is as good as advertised. This would really help his draft stock as opposed to going to Duke or Memphis where he won’t be the best guy on the team.

  14. Sweet jumper 02/01/2009 at 8:32 PM #

    Great job Ben McCauley. The Holes did not learn their lesson when Travels Hopsborough paid for trying to dunk in the final seconds of an alrady decided game against Duke. I hope Roy chewed out Copeland for the dunk attempt and Frasor for the pass. Classless.

    I went to Duke-UVA game today. Cameron Indoor reminded me of the homecourt advantage we gave up when we left Reynolds. The Duke fans I talked to root for State when we are not playing them, but they always root against the Holes. I can relate. They fear us signing Wall. Several said we would be top tier with a Grade A point guard. Come on John, stay home.

    The person who defaced Coach Yow’s likeness in the tunnel had the right to do it, but they need to take credit for their work so they experience all aspects of freedom of speech and can hear the majority opinion on their actions.

    The Boss should be hired to do all Super Bowl Halftime Shows!

  15. Afterglow 02/01/2009 at 8:58 PM #

    packalum44-Unless you know something I don’t; the last I heard, Wall was going to either Kansas or Memphis as pointed out by him when asked by a reporter. I’ve always felt he would go to Memphis although you never know… It would be great if he came here, I just think at this point it’s a pipe dream.

    Based on the energy the past two games, perhaps this team has awakened.

  16. hball57 02/01/2009 at 9:01 PM #

    You know, I understand the frustration of Pack fans. That’s why I try to wait a day to post. I try to get some perspective before I start ranting.

    Until the season has ended, I try to look at each game on it’s own and see how it looks moving forward. I am disappointed that we didn’t beat UNC. I thought we needed to do three things to have a chance – shoot in the low 50% range for the game, hit 40% of our threes and keep turnovers 10 or less. We did 2 out of 3 which isn’t good enough. I contend we lost it in the first half by missing shots at the rim.

    I am encouraged by the PG play. I think Degand and Mays combined for 17 pts, 5 assists, 4 TOs and a steal, while shooting 2-3 from 3. Courtney Fells had a 2nd good game in a row. Brandon played OK, but he was fighting fouls trouble. I guess refs have let him know he will not get a charge call in any game. Horner played well again. Looking at the schedule, while UNC away may be a stretch, but anyone else can be had (wake is very talented but woefully inconsistent). With 11 games left, we can win 7 or 8. Going into the ACC tourney, that would be 18 or 19 wins, which is a great step forward.

    Now some of you will come with the”we stink” theme, but if you don’t think we are improving you are either blind or delusional. By the way, for those who want to discount the Marquette game, ask the Big East how good Marquette is.

  17. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 9:06 PM #

    ^First time in a while I will be cheering really hard for the Blue Devils against the Holes

    Usually I’m kinda meh when these teams play hoping that both could somehow lose

  18. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 9:18 PM #

    ^Speaking of Marquette, talk about a tale of two seasons since that game

    Oh well, spilt milk and all that

  19. wufpup76 02/01/2009 at 10:13 PM #

    Great game (Super Bowl)

  20. transylvania 02/01/2009 at 10:29 PM #

    About the result I expected. I was proud of our guys for not completely throwing in the towel and making a couple of late surges. However, the sad reality is that we were overmatched at every position. In truth, Saturday’s game was already lost twenty years ago when our administration essentially gave up on basketball. Hate to say it, but until some new choices are made, we will have to be content with beating the Holes once every twelve tries.

  21. TheCOWDOG 02/01/2009 at 10:48 PM #

    good game indeed, ’76. A little less interjection via stripes would have made it a better one.

    Think it might be a first that TheCowdog has ever brought the zebras into the equation.

  22. packalum44 02/02/2009 at 7:52 AM #

    Afterglow,

    I don’t have any inside knowledge about Wall. I just have a feeling…Wall, Brown, Howell, Costner, Smith…will be our starting 5. All of whom are blue chip 4-5 star recruits. Wood, Mays, Horner off the bench. Lack of talent will not be an excuse, youth will. Oh wait, (pinching myself). Yeah, its a pipe dream. Plus, we would still suck.

  23. kyjelly 02/02/2009 at 7:57 AM #

    “Not a single asst coach has left Sid’s program” Do you think any program in their right mind would want any of them to caoch? Same with Sid .
    “Sid’s a great guy and a class act,Bonner said.” Which sadly has nothing to do with his coaching ability or lack of it.
    WTF

  24. whitefang 02/02/2009 at 8:32 AM #

    I pray Noah’s wrong.
    I don’t think he is.

  25. newt 02/02/2009 at 9:44 AM #

    Julius Mays was a bright spot. He looked very poised for a freshman. He hit 2-3 from the field, 1-1 from 3 (a big one that stopped a UNC run), went 2-2 from the line, and dished 3 assists in 14 mins.

    Basketball is about having the best players, which means it’s about recruiting. Sidney has shown some potential in recruiting to NC State. Since we cannot hire a coach that would immediately bring in the nation’s top class, the best chance for NC State to land the types of players we need in the shortest amount of time is to support Sid and see what we can bring in.

    If you really want to improve our basketball outlook (and all of our athletics program), the best approach would be to make the school as a whole more desirable to recruits by improving the college experience – things like supporting a revitalized Greek system, improving Hillsborough Street, beautifying the campus, and improving the overall image of the school. UNC and Duke are easy to recruit to for reasons not related to basketball.

Leave a Reply