NC State closes season with loss to UAB

09-10 Basketball Basketball Recruiting70

An unfortunate end to what had become an exciting little run for the basketball team.

NC State never really came to play against UAB Saturday, falling behind by 20 early and never getting close for the rest of the game. In his final game with the Wolfpack senior Dennis Horner scored 23 and pulled down eight boards. Fellow senior  Farnold Degand scored just two points.

Here’s a couple of recaps.

ESPN: Millsap goes for 27 points, 15 rebounds in Blazers’ victory

Elijah Millsap had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and UAB never trailed for the second consecutive NIT game in beating North Carolina State 72-52 on Saturday.

UAB (25-8), which tied the school record for wins in a season, will host North Carolina on Tuesday in the tournament quarterfinals.

The Blazers made eight of their first 11 shots while jumping out to a 19-5 lead. They extended their advantage to 26-7, as the Wolfpack committed nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

UAB led 37-17 at halftime. It was the fewest first-half points scored by NC State (20-16) this season.

WRAL: Millsap leads UAB over NC State 72-52 in NIT

Elijah Millsap had 27 points and 15 rebounds, and UAB never trailed for the second consecutive NIT game in beating North Carolina State 72-52 on Saturday.

UAB (25-8), which tied the school record for wins in a season, will host North Carolina on Tuesday in the tournament quarterfinals.

The Blazers made eight of their first 11 shots while jumping out to a 19-5 lead. They extended their advantage to 26-7, as the Wolfpack committed nine turnovers in the first 12 minutes.

UAB led 37-17 at halftime. It was the fewest first-half points scored by NC State (20-16) this season.

Against Coastal Carolina in the opening round, the Blazers went up 8-0 and led the whole way.

Millsap scored 16 points in the first 11 minutes of the second half, helping UAB build a 60-33 cushion.

Despite losing handily to the Blazers Saturday, NC State did finish the season on a bit of an upswing which could give the team a bit of momentum heading into the off-season and 2010-2011. Poster NCStatePride got the conversation going after the game about the season-ending run. With incoming freshman Lorenzo Brown and Ryan Harrow adding back court depth and the potential addition of CJ Leslie to the front court, next season does have a chance to be much better. Whether or not it will be better is yet to be seen, but the potential — much of which has been on display during the last two weeks — is certainly there.

And despite the loss today, Wolfpack basketball is not yet over. The Wolfpack Women take the court Sunday evening at 9:30 p.m. against UCLA. The game will be on ESPN2 or ESPNU, depending on the market.

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09-10 Basketball Basketball Recruiting

70 Responses to NC State closes season with loss to UAB

  1. whope90 03/20/2010 at 9:50 PM #

    While it was good that the team won 20 games this year and made the NIT, today, there was a total flatness for this team. While UAB is a good team and perhaps should have been in the NCAA field, I really felt that state did not want to have to face UNC on the road in Chapel Hill again and a opportunity to play at Carhmichael. It did not help things to have such horrible officiating. Lack of foul calls and turnovers allowed was insane.
    Over the back, dribbling ball above your head on a fast break and knocking down a player whom set a screen and etc, El Sid should have gotten his tech early on.
    I wonder if the players watched the UNC/MISS game and had a letdown knowing they would have to go to UNC again!!! But we will never know now!!
    But i fault the NIT bracket set up because teams from conferences should only have to meet when they make the final four or play for the championship.

    But the future looks so bright!! Ryan Harrow and LBrown coming in and hopefully CJ Leslie and the only loss is Dennis Horner and F degand.
    I have to give Degand credit, i did not think he was going to be a good player but he was and Horner over achieved.
    But 2010-2011 need to end next year in the NCAA’s and not nit. After all, we are not Clemson!!!

  2. wolfdog1 03/20/2010 at 9:58 PM #

    Wow 17 points the 1st half for a division 1A team isn’t that remarkable.
    But we are going to get a point guard and we are going to do this, and we are going to do that, recruit this man etc. How dumb and how much of this crappppt can one group of human beings with a thinking head on their shoulder put up with this kind of coaching. Sad, very sad and pathetic for NC State Athletics and the University. ASk yourself this how many teams in the NCAA finals scored 17 points the 1st half. Oh I forgot we just didn’t play well. Really Coach maybe you din’t coach well or I should say maybe you aren’t QUALIFIED to coach well.

  3. Wolfy__79 03/20/2010 at 10:10 PM #

    yes sir whope90. farnold has been ok, not what we want but ok. horner, imo, could have been tougher inside earlier on in his college career but he wasn’t really asked to do so.

    the officiating was a little tough for us today. from the fouls that you highlighted, i saw the exact same ones. we definetly weren’t the aggressor, but these no calls were disheartening. i credit UAB for keeping us in a funk all game. they are a solid team.

    if harrow is the point gaurd he appears to be, the rest of the team will improve around him. that’s what good players bring to the table. it is so evident when you think of javi, mays, degand and see how they can only make themselves better. that’s their ceiling. harrow’s should be much higher. with lorenzo in the same mix, these two additions should open things up down low for tracy, howell, painter. add a cj leslie and we have a much tougher frontcourt on d & offense.

    i don’t think we’ll have to stomach this anymore, even with a freshman point guard. javi still turns the ball over like crazy, so what could harrow possibly do that wouldn’t be an improvement over his backup? nothing comes to mind. yeap, we should be pretty good starting now. we finished 11th this year, i can see us finishing 4-6th range without any problem!

  4. blpack 03/20/2010 at 10:15 PM #

    Tough end to an uneven season. Better things are anticipated ahead. Good luck to our departing seniors. The new guys next year will have to carry a good chunk of the load. No excuses, NCAA Tournament.

  5. Prowling Woofie 03/20/2010 at 11:43 PM #

    Thanks, Dennis, for bringing your game with you – only wish some of your teammates had made the trip with you ! Dennis has 23, and nobody else even comes close to sniffing double figures…

    Really puzzling fold job, guys.

    Maybe they were scared of playing UNC again ?

  6. WestCoast 03/20/2010 at 11:59 PM #

    As Javi goes, State goes. First possesion, turnover. Harrow is going to give Javi a run for his money for that starting role next year, and we all know Javi needs that pressure. He wasn’t good at all today.

  7. theghost 03/21/2010 at 12:32 AM #

    I keep hearing that Horner has been stepping up his game because he figured out a few weeks ago that his college career was done when the season ended. Question – why didn’t anyone tell Degand that? Or Mays, for that matter.

  8. travelwolf 03/21/2010 at 1:20 AM #

    That was clearly the worst game of the season that we played – no idea why! One problem our team has is that no one except Wood (often even Wood) can shoot from the perimeter. So, teams like UAB pack the defense in tight and we can’t open it up. Had we hit a few shots from the outside early, the game may have been different – or at least interesting.

    I’m glad to hear positive comments. This team is the best as far as discipline and teamwork that Lowe’s put together, and hopefully next year’s improves on that. IMHO the jury is still out on Lowe, but he’s looking better this year.

    Congratulations go out to all the players – they’ve obviously worked hard off-season to improve and it’s paid off – especially on the defensive end. We have the least talented team in the ACC – so with the influx of talent we’ll play much better.

  9. rtpack24 03/21/2010 at 2:57 AM #

    Sad way to end the season. UAB looked like they knew our offense better than we did. Game was not out of reach early until we made wholesale subs. I am hoping for the best but when you look at the whole body of work after four years it is hard to think we are going to be really good next year.

  10. NJpack 03/21/2010 at 6:13 AM #

    Getting 20 wins from this team is “progres” over last season, even if the bar was set extremely low. Moving Degand to SG this season is still a baffling move to me; as the announcers said when Degand air-balled a wide open 3 pointer, “that says it all.” If I was coach I would have kept Degand at PG and moved Mays over to SG.

    Did anyone else notice that in the latter part of the 2nd half we finally used the line up several of us were looking for: Wood at SG, and Horner, Howell, and Smith down low. Unfortunately we had Mays at PG and hence why we didn’t make up any ground.

    The announcers referred to the top assistant at UAB as the “defensive coordinator.” That position is exactly what we need. And Mike Davis didn’t spend the whole game whistling and shouting like Sid. Know why? Because he had his team prepared, and he was letting them execute the game plan.

  11. Broccoman 03/21/2010 at 6:42 AM #

    I wouldn’t mind Mike Davis coaching here. Yeah he failed at Indiana, but he’s doing good at UAB, and he wasn’t ready then.

  12. 61Packer 03/21/2010 at 8:47 AM #

    Had we ended the season with the loss to GT in the ACCT, we would’ve had something to build on (ACCT performance) for next season. But no, Lowe and the coaches (and many of you on here) wanted to continue and showcase this squad in a losers’ tournament. Both of those NIT games were about as ugly as it gets. This is what NC State basketball has become- a team that plays great or lousy at home, and a team that plays lousy or even worse than that on the road. The commentators on ESPNU are quite familiar with us, and their comments are unflattering. This is the impression the nation has got of this program now. It hurts.

    It’s apparent to me that nothing has changed. We still have an undisciplined group of players who are led by a staff that has no clue as to who should be on the court or how to use them. Team ballhandling and basic fundamantals such as screening and blocking out are nonexistent. Shot selection is almost as atrocious as the shooting is, and the defense, which appeared late this season for the first time in four years, mysteriously vanished in Tampa and Birmingham.

    The talent that Kentucky has is simply amazing, but few teams will amass that many great players at once. But many other schools have also done well, like Northern Iowa and St. Mary’s, because they’ve got good coaches. What a concept!

  13. wolfonthehill 03/21/2010 at 9:05 AM #

    61 – you’ve lost a bit of perspective if you’re implying that Lose & staff should’ve declined an NIT bid. Our first NIT game was damn-near identical to all three ACC tourney games… we then admittedly laid a giant egg yesterday… it just lookedl ike the team was mentally done.

    And if you think that unflattering comments toward the Pack are anything new, what have you been watching for the past 20 years?

    I’m far from a Lowe defender… I’m giving him one year to see what he can do with a stout backcourt. If it looks anything like this year, and if we’re again in the NIT next year, he should be unemployed.

  14. Rochester 03/21/2010 at 9:06 AM #

    NJPack, good observations. I was thinking the same thing about the defensive coordinator. We really need to shuffle our assistant coaching deck next year. Let’s trade Towe to UAB for their guy.

    It was a disappointing end to the year, not just to lose, but to really be humiliated. I’ll do my best to forget this one and think about the last few weeks where the team looked pretty solid. Now we just have to hope our guards actually make it to school next fall and we’ll see where things go from there.

  15. bradleyb123 03/21/2010 at 9:12 AM #

    Now that the season is over, we can move on to frying bigger fish.

    Like Lee Fowler.

  16. mk4dpak 03/21/2010 at 9:35 AM #

    So I must agree with pakfannfay, even though Lowe has played on a championship team, and been an assistant on a championship team, that doesn’t guarantee a winner, as a head coach. He may have a winning record overall, but in the ACC, he has not been successful in 4 years, and I am just not sure year 5 will change anything. The UAB game was a disaster. As for pushing fries, knowing pakfannfay, I don’t think you will find him doing that, as he is a licensed medical professional. He just has set the bar higher than alot of you guys. And I am afraid until we do that, we will continue being saying WTNY. Look what UNCC did to their coach, with all his success. But hopefully the women will continue their success, so we will still have a basketball team to cheer for.

  17. BJD95 03/21/2010 at 11:13 AM #

    Don’t fall into the trap of overanalyzing the NIT. Good and bad performances have no predictive value for the next year. Kids are used to playing tourney games with high stakes involved. It’s also odd to go to campus sites after conference tourney play ends. The whole thing has an exhibition feel.

    Last year, Penn State won the NIT. They returned several starters (including their star guard) and sucked out loud in 2009-10.

  18. mk4dpak 03/21/2010 at 11:30 AM #

    Okay, BJD95, let’s hope your opitimism is right. But I am still not sold on Sid. If we have another year like this one, it will be torture. Amato was one of our own, and helped to get us outstanding football facilities, but he was fired. Coaches must be accountable for their job performances. It has been too long since we have had a men’s bb team to be proud of. I wanna compete with the UNCs,and Dukes of the world, and I am crazy enough to think it is possible, but we must raise the bar.

  19. BJD95 03/21/2010 at 11:42 AM #

    Uh, I’m no optimist at all. If I were running things, I would have fired Lowe already. It’s just that NIT performance plays no role in my evaluation.

    I have reluctantly accepted the fact that we won’t have a competent AD (even on an interim basis) to work the Final Four and have back-channel talks with Rick Barnes, who will never be more tempted to move (after the most frustrating season of his coaching career). So, Lowe will get his 5th year before he is fired by said competent athletic director – no sense in me wasting much energy arguing my points right now. Plus, I’m trying not to engage in the Lowe debate and enjoy the NCAAT instead. Better for my blood pressure, ya know.

    I am very proud to have been one of the very first people on the “Amato is a clown” train. I think I will be similarly remembered as “ahead of the curve” re Lowe as well, but time will tell.

  20. Sweet jumper 03/21/2010 at 12:06 PM #

    Please see my comments under
    “The Silver Lining to UAB Game/Postseason Thoughts” in the Forums.

  21. PoppaJohn 03/21/2010 at 12:09 PM #

    Well done Pack, you were predicted to be terrible- and you were part of the year – but ended up giving us some fun at the end of the season. Thank you. (although yesterday’s game was so horrible I turned it off after 10 minutes!)

    I still believe that college is a guard’s game and we should finally have some next year. I can’t wait to see the result. I just hope RH & LB can bring it on the court their freshmen year.

    Coach Lowe is improving, hope to see more next year. He’s not a coaching superstar yet, but (despite many posts to the contrary) I am skeptical that we can attract that guy. I think we have to develop it. I absolutely agree with the earlier poster that he needs to hire a defensive coach – similar to the Larry Hunter hire – and I have advocated that for more than a year.

    Dennis and Farnold, best of luck. I think this is the first year in a while that our departing seniors won’t leave a significant void. There were some bright spots lately, but had we seen these ‘bright spots’ throughout their careers we’d have been a different team.

    Next year is our future. All Sid’s players. Potentially strong guard play most games. (allowing for freshman inconsistency) Players recruited to play his game. Enough depth to play uptempo. No excuses, put up or shut up.

  22. mk4dpak 03/21/2010 at 1:42 PM #

    If we were lookin for a coach, I wouldn’t mind the UNCC coach, just to name a few. Definitely like that fact that Butler continues to be successful, and obivously have a great coach, for which I am sure we could lure away, with a new AD, of course.

  23. choppack1 03/21/2010 at 1:46 PM #

    If you wonder why some of us aren’t exactly sold on Lowe yet, this game is the perfect example of why. Who knows what factors into a blow-out like this, but it’s pretty worrisome when the 45th best team in America walks the dog on you like UAB did last night.

    And I’d feel about the possibility if I didn’t see how the team reacted to a similar drubbing at UMd.

    While I’m excited to bring Harrow in, I was reminded of how much he’ll struggle out there on D given his size. As for Brown, it worries the hell out of me that given an extra 9 months – he still hasn’t cleared the necessary hurdles to qualify yet.

  24. Wolfy__79 03/21/2010 at 4:07 PM #

    i agree with bjd95 concerning anything NIT. and also if i were running the show, i would have already returned sid to the nba. but he is 100% right in saying lowe has his 5th year to prove it or lose it. so why bother with a pointless back and forth argument?

    I wanna compete with the UNCs,and Dukes of the world, and I am crazy enough to think it is possible, but we must raise the bar.””

    i want to kick their asses, the hell with competing.

  25. Sweet jumper 03/21/2010 at 4:11 PM #

    If the Shadow Pack wins the NCAAT and Calamari finally gets his ring, will he have to give it back and will Kentucky be the first team to vacate a NCAA championship? Just wondering.

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