Wake Bakes Pack, 85-78

08-09 Basketball General82
NCSU (15-11) 35 43 78
#13 WF (22-5) 43 42 85

Quick Stats:

NC State Wake Forest
Field Goals 31-65 (47.7%) 32-61 (52.5%)
Free Throws 8-11 (72.7%) 18-22 (81.8%)
3-pointers 8-23 (34.8%) 3-13 (23.1%)
Personal Fouls 19 10
Turnovers 8 12

Box Score

Barring a miracle, say hello to the NIT — if State plays well in its final three ACC games and in the ACC Tournament. That much was settled tonight as Wake Forest put a fork in the outside chances of an NCAA At-Large bid for a game NC State team that fell short in Winston-Salem.

Your post-game comments here.

08-09 Basketball General

82 Responses to Wake Bakes Pack, 85-78

  1. wpackman33 02/26/2009 at 9:59 PM #

    I know when you look at the final score it doesn’t look to bad considering this is the #13 team in the nation and it is at their place. But we could’ve easily won this game. It was so frustrating for me, watching this game. If we would have done a few little things like BOX OUT and play tough D the whole game. We would have won this game, no problem.
    I think those few turnovers by Javi right before the half didn’t help out any. If Costner would have made that stupid dunk and we would have at least scored on 1 of 2 of those last possessions, we would’ve had some mometum and would have been a lot closer.
    Oh well, We have to suck it up and get ready for a very good Maryland team on sunday night. I have a feeling that this is going to be a very tough game and we really need this win.

  2. Wulfpack 02/26/2009 at 9:59 PM #

    Perimeter defense and rebounding were the culprits from what I saw. Hello NIT. Miami did us no favors by beating UVA tonight.

  3. MrPlywood 02/26/2009 at 10:01 PM #

    Admittedly I only saw the game with about 15 minutes to go, but I really liked the way the inside game was working. SO frustrating to see the couple of ill-advised shots – Fells and Degand’s come to mind – that helped WF pull away. Especially with Fells. It as if he’s not even paying attention what has been working. *sigh*

    I do like the way Javi has been driving. That really opens up the D.

  4. EverettBeez 02/26/2009 at 10:01 PM #

    Since I was last on the other thread, I’ll put it here:
    Gracious, gracious. Considering how good I think really Wake is, and how simply horrible we looked a month or so ago, I am pretty pleased with what I saw. Admittedly it was just the last half of the second half, but we actually looked like we knew what we were doing for awhile. There was some real wildness there at the end. But I saw some good D, particularly down low. the biggest difference I saw was the movement on offense. Too often I watch our guys stand around on offense waiting for the PG to make it happen. That goes back years, but I saw it last year plenty too. There was a lot of movement. We split with Wake for the year, I can take that, no problem.

    and Alpha, thanks for the http://www.justin.tv link. That’s a keeper, I’d of never found on my own. All my searches end up requiring a credit card, my net nanny id, and a long explanation to my wife at a later date.

  5. BJD95 02/26/2009 at 10:01 PM #

    Well, we didn’t get our asses kicked. That’s something.

    And Wake is not making a deep run in either the ACC or NCAA tourney. They are the dumbest non-Georgia Tech team in the league. Talented, yes. But dumb as a sack of hammers.

  6. Alpha Wolf 02/26/2009 at 10:02 PM #

    Plywood, Fells has cost us more games than he has won us, so I am not surprised.

    I am not saying that out of anger, just simple resignation that this talented young man can never seem to fully grasp basketball.

  7. BAC79 02/26/2009 at 10:03 PM #

    Lack of rebounding, blocking out, and they scored too many points in the paint = defeat.

    We can’t aford a two or three game losing streak and lose what momentum we’ve gained in the last several weeks.

    NIT here we come, we hope.

  8. BJD95 02/26/2009 at 10:04 PM #

    Miami did do us a favor. If they make the NCAAT, it doesn’t create a glut of ACC teams looking for NIT bids (I do think the NIT considers bids per conference – only logical reason Wake got passed over last year).

    FWIW, Maryland has been dogshit on the road all year. They beat GT by 1 in Atlanta, but otherwise put up a goose egg on the road in ACC play.

  9. Sweet jumper 02/26/2009 at 10:05 PM #

    That was a winable game. Only 8 turnovers! That should have assured a victory. Several key lapses were the difference. We need to defend the three better and box out better on the defensive end. Offensive rebounds killed us in the last 3 minutes.

  10. chuckybrown 02/26/2009 at 10:06 PM #

    Fells is incredibly frustrating, he could easily be an all-conference player, but the lapses are just hard to watch. There are times when he is awesome, but then…….

  11. Alpha Wolf 02/26/2009 at 10:06 PM #

    I think that once again our backcourt cost us. For example, the two turnovers near the half by Gonzalez. Perimeter defense lapses, etc.

  12. BSIE80 02/26/2009 at 10:07 PM #

    The score was better than i expected.
    We did good against a talented team in their building. We could have beat them. Johnson just a difficult guy to cover and he killed us.
    NIT is ok at this point.

    Individual play:
    Javi is still up/down (mostly down this game)
    Degand must only play decent against WF. He really helped us keep this close, since we were lacking offense from others.
    Tracy- good solid game. Sid had to pull him and get a quicker lineup in the last part of the game to try to make stops.
    Costner- just can’t contribute on offense consistently any more. He needs to give up the dunk (just lay it in), and post up more and not rely strickly on the outside shot.
    Fells just doesn’t want to drive the ball at all- pisses me off. Totally relies on the outside jump shot.
    Horner hit some good shots.
    CJ took some good shots but just could not hit them.

    WF did a good job most of the game contesting our 3 pt shots.

    Overall, we played our B game and kept it close.

  13. statered 02/26/2009 at 10:10 PM #

    Tracy played no defense at all in the first half. Our d overall was lacking but a lot of that is due to the fact that they are just a whole lot more athletic than we are.

  14. turfpack 02/26/2009 at 10:10 PM #

    BJD95 -My thoughts exactly.
    I think a rematch in the ACCT would give us the edge….if the big three show up.

  15. sholtzma 02/26/2009 at 10:10 PM #

    This year we are a patchwork team with different kinds of players recruited to play in different kinds of systems. We aren’t quick, and we aren’t particularly athletic. We don’t have the consistent confidence and attitude of winners yet. We still lose our heads at times, either because of pressure or because of lack of focus. We don’t always know how to play together. That’s the bad news. Yet, this team today cut down on its turnovers, improved its rebounding, and kept it close on the road to a top 15 team that it had beaten once already this year.

    The good news is that Sid clearly knows how to coach and is getting a lot out of this motley combination of players. You will have to go very far back in time to find a State team that shows that it is as capable of the offensive efficiency that this team shows. Perhaps as far back as Corch, Monroe and company. The other good news is that Sid is bringing in players who have a much higher level of athletic ability, basketball IQ, and confidence. I really look forward to seeing CJ Williams next year, and Johnny Thomas too if he can overcome injury. Tracy Smith is developing into exactly what Sid said he could be when recruiting Tracy. Gonzales has a ceiling but has shown he can develop into a serviceable pg. Add Lorenzo Brown and Richard Howell to this group next year (+ others to be named), and Ryan Harrow and CJ Leslie (+ others) the year after that, and we should be well enough stocked with talent, athleticism, bball IQ, confidence, and teamplay. Next year we should be better than this; the year after that we should be quite good indeed.

    That’s all I asked: improvement this year and the promise of substantial improvement in the next year or two. I’m satisfied with the progressive reconstruction of the bball program. I expect that by the end of next year’s football schedule I will be satisfied with the progressive reconstruction of the football program. We made some big strides this year but have a long way to go.

  16. choppack1 02/26/2009 at 10:11 PM #

    Wulfpack – I’d actually say that Miami did us a huge favor. I’d rather finish 10th than 9th in the ACC – better for a run at the title.

    As for tonight’s game – weird game. Our players at time look like the entire team but Javi and Degand had the flu. We hung around and made it interesting – basically, we said, anyone but Teague will have to beat us – and Ish Smith, McFarland and Johnson stepped up. Ish Smith’s contested 3 was the dagger.

    We had a good game plan – and played well offensively, this time around the problem was defensively. Right now, we just have no margin for error – the difference in a loss in this game could have been Javi’s 2 TO’s right before the end of the half or Degand’s 2 missed foul shots. Defensively, in the second half, we gave a couple of key ORs to the Deacs.

    I don’t think our at-large bid hopes are dead, but it will take a run to the ACC championship to make me feel good about things. (This, as much as anything, is due to some things that have played out in the last few weeks- the falling apart of Davidson, Providence’s win over Pitt, UMd’s win over UNC, VaTech’s win over Clempson, and to make matters potentially worse, Marquette lost their best player against UConn the other night.)

    Still, I’d consider 7-9 or 8-8 a pretty decent season, especially if we can a game or two in the ACC. I feel like we’re very close to being a good team, like I said, we just don’t quite have the talent to make mistakes yet.

  17. Alpha Wolf 02/26/2009 at 10:11 PM #

    ^ Smith really does need to pick up his D. If he can do that, he might be NBA-caliber talent.

  18. saspack 02/26/2009 at 10:12 PM #

    Forget about NCAAT this year. NIT is the ceiling for this team. I feel good about next year though.

  19. BSIE80 02/26/2009 at 10:17 PM #

    Would be nice to see Fergs get some minutes- just to see if he can hit a 3 or something…

  20. choppack1 02/26/2009 at 10:17 PM #

    “CJ took some good shots but just could not hit them.

    Actually, I thought his shot selection tonight was awful. He was taking the shots he had made during his recent run – I think he was rushing a bit. Wake’s D has adjusted – and others will too. I don’t think he’ll be allowed just to camp out at that line and stroke at as much anymore.

    Scholtzma – I agree. sid’s done a solid job this year – especially in the 2nd half of the season (which has been awful his first 2 years.)

  21. BJD95 02/26/2009 at 10:18 PM #

    You know what’s funny – Tracy Smith (who is a center AND a horrid defender) got switched onto Teague at least 3 times tonight, and kept him in check each time. What does that say about Jeff Teague and his motor/basketball IQ?

    The 10 seed would be good in that it means we couldn’t lose to Carolina a third time unless it’s in the finals. Also means I can go to work on 3/12.

  22. Alpha Wolf 02/26/2009 at 10:19 PM #

    Whatever magic we have at home we really lack on the road. I call that magic poise. At key points, we just didn’t have it, and as a result we could never quite get into the heads of the Deacs and knock them out of their comfort zone.

  23. Alpha Wolf 02/26/2009 at 10:21 PM #

    Would be nice to see Fergs get some minutes- just to see if he can hit a 3 or something…

    I personally think that Fergs just doesn;’t have what it takes.

  24. Rochester 02/26/2009 at 10:21 PM #

    Degand was the better point guard today, especially in the second half. As long as one of them steps up each game we could be okay.

    As for next year, Tracy needs to play some defense. Our front line looks like Smith, Horner and Howell (and another late recruit, please). If they can play with any consistency that might be better than what we’ve had this year.

    Disappointing loss if only because we had our opportunities to win tonight. But it was nice to see when we got down 15 in the first half that we didn’t roll over and die, because we looked like crap when they went on their 20-2 run. (It was 22-19 us, then suddenly 39-24 them.)

  25. wufpup76 02/26/2009 at 10:21 PM #

    Ish Smith.

    20% shooting Ish ******* Smith.

    Two huge 3’s as the shot clock is winding down when he’s hit about three 3-pointers all season? Check.

    I can take Johnson going off, though we should have done better on him. I can even take McFarland doing ok. But no shooting Ish Smith? The guy absolutely killed us. Teague didn’t really do much of anything.

    Johnson killed us in Raleigh. We lost to Ish Smith and Chas(e) McFarland.

    Good job handling the ball tonight though. Rebounding obviously cost us, and we weren’t exactly on the balls of our feet on defense. Throw in a 7 minute stretch where we are about 1-15 and it’s something that we not only made a game of it but cut it to 2 and really had a chance.

    We really could’ve beaten this team again … Frustrating.

    Oh well. Hope we can finish strong.

    Go Pack

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