Team Effort Kills Bugs Dead NCSU 86 – Georgia Tech 65

08-09 Basketball General99
NCSU (14-9) 44 42 86
GT (10-14) 33 32 65

raidbugsA team effort today in Atlanta yielded the first back-to-back conference wins of the year for NC State in a surprisingly easy victory despite 20+  Wolfpack turnovers.

Box Score

Please post your postgame thoughts here.

08-09 Basketball General

99 Responses to Team Effort Kills Bugs Dead NCSU 86 – Georgia Tech 65

  1. choppack1 02/14/2009 at 11:13 PM #

    I see only one reason to be concerned about this win:
    21 Turnovers.

    We’ll have to do better in that department. It’s worth noting that Tech is a very physical and athletic team – that does play good D. Like us, they turn the ball over. They aren’t nearly as good in the half court as we are. Still, they’ve played most of their opponents tough

  2. wufpup76 02/14/2009 at 11:18 PM #

    “Hope we bring it wednesday night.”

    ^If the Holes are going to beat us Wednesday night, make them EARN it … every second of it

  3. Astral Rain 02/15/2009 at 12:47 AM #

    If that VT game hadn’t been choked away, some would be thinking Bubble Watch right now.

    I thought the team was going to fold after that game- and Sid had lost them. I hope I was dead wrong.

    That said, I want at least 2-4 the rest of the way to feel confident about Sid improving. I’d love to see 4-2, as that would be serious bubble potential (though we’d bubble out most likely into a top NIT seed)

  4. txpack 02/15/2009 at 12:49 AM #

    Just watched the reply on ESPN360.

    State played a good game against the worst team of ACC. A win is a win.

    Turnovers are a big concern. Here is the breakdown:
    First 5 minutes of the 1st (6 TOs)
    1* – Smith passed to the back of Fells after a defensive rebound
    2 – McCauley lost the ball at top of the key
    3* – Costner inbound and incepted by GT (GT 3 pts)
    4 – Fells lost his dribble at top of the key
    5 – Gonzalez bad pass to the middle (GT 2pts of free throw)
    6* – Smith bad inbound to Fells’ foot (GT 2pts)

    Last 3 minutes of 1st (3 TOs)
    7 – Gonzalez bad pass intercepted (GT 3pt3)
    8 – Costner bad pass to Gonzalez out of bound(GT 2pts)
    9 – Degand bad pass to Fells, intercepted by GT (GT 2pts)

    1st 5 minutes of 2nd (5 TOs)
    10* – Costner inbound went out bound (GT 2pts)
    11 *– Smith lost Costner perfect pass under basket
    12* – Smith lost defensive rebound to GT
    13* – Degand bad pass out of baseline
    14* – Degand bad pass (GT 2pts)

    15* – McCauley lost ball when went to basket
    16 – Degand lost the ball when drove to basket (GT 3pts)
    17 – Williams bad pass
    18* – Williams lost the ball to double team and called for intentional foul
    19* – McCauley lost the ball
    20 – Smith lost Degand’s pass
    21* – McCauley lost the ball after received an inbound (off own foot)

    1, 3, 6, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 18, 19, 21 (total 12) were careless inbound and passes. Our point guards (Degand and Gonzalez) were contributed to 7 TOs. Smith, however, were related to 5 TOs, which is the area he needs to work on. McCauley had 4 TOs by himself and missed few free throws.

    For us to have a chance against UNC, our point gurads need to step up and continue making plays. We have to move pass the half court within 5-6 seconds when pressed, so we can have time to setup half court offense. Our bigs need to cut down the TOs and make good passes out of double teams.

    If we can play tight against UNC Wednesday, I see the possibility of 8-8 on ACC play.

  5. choppack1 02/15/2009 at 1:31 AM #

    Astral – if we go 8-8 and win our first round tourney game – I’d be surprised if we don’t go.

  6. MrPlywood 02/15/2009 at 1:40 AM #

    NIce job txpack. Now how about diagramming all the shots the team made to shoot 61.4% overall, 52.9% from 3, 79.3% from the line and out-rebounding Tech by 7 while winning by 21.

  7. ryebread 02/15/2009 at 5:43 AM #

    I couldn’t remember the last time we won by 20+ in an ACC road game. I had to check the media guide and the last ACC road win of 20 or more was on January 29th, 1989 by 23 on the road against Maryland. The best win in the last 5 years on the road in ACC play was by 18 @ BC and the best in the last 10 or so were a couple of 18 point games and a 19 point game.

    Despite the turnovers, there was little for Pack fans to complain about today. Onward and upwards! I hope this is a sign for greener pastures ahead. 🙂

  8. wufpup76 02/15/2009 at 6:13 AM #

    “Astral – if we go 8-8 and win our first round tourney game – I’d be surprised if we don’t go.”

    I’m not sure – I’m thinking we would have to do more (such as winning at the very least one more in the ACC tourny in addition to the first round) … Though, I’d love for this to be correct and it very well could be

    A lot of things will change over the next few weeks, and this may be enough … Depends on who we beat under this scenario

    The home games (UVa, Md, BC) are musts – that gives you 7 while we’re dreaming 🙂 … That leaves @Holes, @Wake, @Miami. A win in Chapel Hole would obviously be most helpful, but would mean we would lose our last 2 on the road including the last game of the regular season … A win at either Wake or Miami doesn’t do as much, but is still very helpful

    ^I’m still not seeing it – I’m of the mind that we would need 2 wins or more in the ACC tourny should we get to 8-8

    Of course, all things being equal some of the teams being considered as “Last 4 in” possess less than stellar resum-es

    I think for the 8-8 + 1 tourny win scenario to work out, we would need quite a few teams to choke/collapse and for ALL of the one-bid leagues to stay that way … For example, Butler in the Horizon, Davidson in the SoCon, etc … Of course we may need the same to happen even if we were able to get to 9-7

    There is nothing in our non-conf. to fall back on, and our cpu #’s need a lot of help … Of course Kentucky has crap cpu #’s but will probably get a 5 seed b/c their name is ‘Kentucky’, but I digress

    Why don’t we just win out, get to 10-6 and have all of this be a moot point? 🙂

  9. Wulfpack 02/15/2009 at 6:16 AM #

    8-8 and an ACC tourney win may put us on the bubble, but we’ve beaten no one out of conference and that will be a problem for us.

  10. ryebread 02/15/2009 at 6:39 AM #

    Before ACC play started, I got flamed on for saying that our non-conference losses would prevent us from making the NCAA tourney barring a miracle run. I just didn’t think that this team could do more than 7-9 to 8-8 in the ACC. Pair that with a 13-0 or 12-1 non-conference record and we’d have been right on the bubble. Sitting there at 10-3 with no quality non-conference wins just puts too much pressure on ACC play.

    At 4-6, we’re still going to have to split down the stretch to make 7-9 and we have some very difficult games left on our schedule. Losses are almost guaranteed at UNC and Wake. We had to go to OT to beat Miami on our home court and we have them on the road. We’ve struggled mightily against BC and Maryland. The only game left on the schedule against a team lower than us is UVA. In my mind, it’d take a fairly impressive run to get to 8-8 and I just don’t see that happening — 7-9 is about my best case scenario.

    Still, I’ve argued from the beginning of the year that the NIT was a reasonable expectation for this team. I’m not at all happy to be going to the NIT, but it’d be marked improvement from last year’s unmitigated disaster.

  11. redfred2 02/15/2009 at 10:56 AM #

    Degand had own thread on here the other day because of his improved play against Wake. And Javi, by all estimations, played pretty well yesterday. Now I ask, was that, or was it not, ACC competition that both of those players/guards were facing in those two games/WINS?

    Seems to me that even without the proper time to search or sift through, and when basically grasping for warm bodies to fill a roster in order to just have a few decent practice sessions, that this Head Coach and his Staff D-I-D actually still come up players who can and will positively contribute during their playing days at NC State.

    Which brings me to my point. And take this with a grain of salt because I’m not talking down to anyone, I just know because I’m older and I’ve seen it happen on many occassions in the past. Unfortunately for many of you younger fans though this is a whole new experience and nothing that you have ever witnessed involving your years of being an NC State BB fan. But the next time you see a young kid struggling to get his bearings on this level, maybe, just maybe, you should use this very clear and most recent example as guide for when NOT to trash a young player BEFORE he has time to settle in and make the proper adjustments. It does happen, and it can present itself even over the short time period of just a few weeks, but that’s only if the opportunities have been granted to begin with, and if those opportunities are built upon by the player himself.

    If I was a defense attorney representing Sidney Lowe’s rights and abilities as the Head BB Coach at NC State University, and while admitting that it has taken a long while for the proper evidence to even begin showing itself, I’d have to say that we’ve had a very good week in “court” as a whole over these past few days. It’s looking much, much better than it did just a few weeks back. But even for me, and though the scales may have tipped a little more favorably in one direction over the course of just a few days, both sides still have some valid points, and this thing is still very much up in the air. At this point more evidence is neccessary before the jury can settle on a definitive verdict in this case just yet.

  12. VaWolf82 02/15/2009 at 12:03 PM #

    we’ve beaten no one out of conference and that will be a problem for us.

    Which one of Herb teams had an impressive OOC win to propel them into the NCAAT? The key to making the NCAAT is beating good teams…whether they are in conference or OOC.

  13. ClassOf95 02/15/2009 at 12:42 PM #

    Whoever has the twinkling of a thought that maybe we have turned the corner, I’ll be happy to come over and slap you in the face.

  14. redfred2 02/15/2009 at 2:43 PM #

    “Whoever has the twinkling of a thought that maybe we have turned the corner, I’ll be happy to come over and slap you in the face.”

    I don’t really believe that they’ve “turned a corner” or anything myself, but they are making headway and showing definite signs of improvement. Though they had already shown that were capable of better play earlier, I was beginning to wonder if there was EVER going to be any amount of consistency involved.

  15. Greywolf 02/15/2009 at 4:32 PM #

    “They beat Wake by 2, lost at FSU by 4, lost at home against Maryland by 1, and lost at Va Tech by 5. Then we crushed them by 21”

    Those close losses can sap the spirit of a team. We’ve seen it happen to the Pack. GT was ripe to be crushed BY A TEAM looking for the ability to put a team away. If I were coaching in the ACC, I’d be scared shiftless of the Pack right about now.

    redfred2
    February 14th, 2009 at 7:54 pm
    “I’d have to say that the differences between Degand and Javi’s playing styles is also a contributing factor in the turnovers. Degand plays the perimeter and drives, pretty much waiting to see his teammates get open on their own. Javi goes anywhere and everywhere, sometimes where he shouldn’t, forcing the action and giving his teammates angles and options that haven’t been available to them until just recently. Their reactions to Javi’s willingness to do that should continue to improve, and that should continue to improve the effectiveness of the offense accordingly.”

    Hi redfred,
    Are you not drinking today? 😉 The above is right on. Your other long post is also more to the crux of the matter of coaching than some of the Simple Simon analysis of substituion patterns we don’t understand and don’t agree with. Coach Lowe is shuffling players based on their particular abilities to contribute in certain situations, match-ups and how they are showing up in practice.

    Thank you for standing up for Sid — not that he needs us to stand up for him — when so many want to find fault under the guise of constructive criticism. I guess in a perfect world when we don’t understand what someone with Sid’s basketball IQ and training does, we would look to see and speculate what he WAS up to instead of using our failure to comprehend as PROOF of Sid’s incompetence.

  16. redfred2 02/15/2009 at 8:12 PM #

    “Are you not drinking today?”

    I love it when that particular question is phrased that way. It leaves a little gray area and makes it where a simple “yes” or “no” answer doesn’t really seal the deal either way. So yes Greywolf, I am not drinking today.

  17. redfred2 02/15/2009 at 9:34 PM #

    Greywolf, I don’t know if you noticed but someone, wish I could remember who???, typed a post about the BB player’s good grades under Sidney Lowe thus far. I waited to see how many would respond to that post, and it ended up taking so long to see any real responses one way or the other, that I forgot about the post myself. I found that kind of telling when thinking back on some the highbrowed posts from some members of this particular crowd around here, and in more ways than one.

    Anyway, who knows how this thing will ultimately shake out? I’m just trying to give the guy a fair shake while he’s here working with our best interest in mind and while he is trying to make things better for all concerned. And especially because this time, there is someone who is doing it all, in the name of the Wolfpack of NC State University. Thanks for the compliments though.

  18. Greywolf 02/15/2009 at 10:17 PM #

    redfred,
    Alpha Wolf pointed out that Degand might have been benched for academic reasons, a game or 2 ago.
    goes along with what you are saying above. Both AW and GW were in high praise of Sid for that. Some members of this board have a hair trigger for benching people and de facto cutting them from this team. Sid may have been a while getting his degree but IMO he has settled into the role teacher working with student athletes most admirably. Think of the players some of us wanted out of here with their scholarships used for new recruits. Most have won a game for us since the attempted lynching took place.

    As far as the compliments are concerned, you and quite a few others now make me proud to be a regular here on SFN. We can win and at the same time have academic excellence here at NCSU. We can be known for fairness and integrity while doing it. I can’t say much about it for obvious reasons, but I actually agree with some things that have been done by our administration — things that are ridiculed here. I prefer to go by the spirit of integrity and what’s best for a young man than by the letter of the rule forcing a young man to go against his choice of education institutions. I’m talking about LOIs.

    Go Sid, Go TOB, Go Pack!!

  19. Noah 02/16/2009 at 10:17 AM #

    redfred, why do you go **** yourself?

    Didn’t you quit this board?

  20. Rick 02/16/2009 at 10:56 AM #

    “redfred, why do you go **** yourself?

    Didn’t you quit this board?”

    Why I did not like redfred’s tone either I would ask that we not turn this into the other board.

  21. Classof89 02/16/2009 at 10:59 AM #

    Nice win. With its horrific out of conference schedule and performance, this team would need to get to 9-7 in the ACC and win two games in the tournament to make the NCAAs. That isn’t going to happen, but I’m glad the team has played their way back into NIT contention. But I caution anyone to assume that we have any guaranteed wins left on the slate. Virginia taking out Clemson this weekend shows that they are also playing better and haven’t thrown in the towel on the season (unlike the Bees). And as for Maryland, having witnessed some of the ass-whoopings Gary Williams has administered to us in Raleigh, I can tell you the Terps aren’t going to be intimidated in the least by coming to the RBC Center…and we all saw what BC can do last night against Duke.

    This team relaxes even one iota, and it’s going 0-6 down the stretch…

  22. redfred2 02/16/2009 at 4:59 PM #

    “(I’m through with basketball. I’ll only be chiming in on football from now on)”

    That’s strange, this is a BB thread I believe, isn’t it?

    I just call ’em like I see ’em Noah, and if you’ll check back up the thread there, you’ll see that I’m not the only one calling BS on your comment.

  23. wolfpackbball 02/16/2009 at 5:44 PM #

    Noah,
    Do you want to be right about Lowe sucking so bad, that when he/NCSU do well, you’d rather not see it happen for the sake of your argument? Wow.
    Football season’s a long way off, I guess we’ll just have to suffer through your absence until then. Sad days at SFN for a while I guess.

  24. redfred2 02/16/2009 at 6:25 PM #

    Noah, let’s just agree that we are polar opposites.

    I promise try to ignore your comments regarding BB and Sidney Lowe in the future, if you can overlook when I try to be realistic, and also forgive me as well, for typing posts about NCSU BB that contain what is mainly a positive viewpoint for the most part.

    I do apologize to you Sir, and everyone else on here, for letting it get out of hand and too personal.

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