NC State 90 Wake Forest 69

10-11 Basketball88

Lots of great conversation from today’s game in this blog entry and also on our message boards.  NC State NEVER TRAILED and led a Big Four rival by 29 points with two minutes to go in the game when the Pack was up 90-61.  That is just fantastic.

Tracy Smith scored 23 points to help North Carolina State beat Wake Forest 90-69 on Saturday in the Atlantic Coast Conference opener for both teams.

Freshman C.J. Leslie added 19 points as the Wolfpack (11-4, 1-0) won an ACC opener for the first time under fifth-year coach Sidney Lowe. N.C. State scored the game’s first six points and led the entire day, dominating in the paint and on the boards to win its sixth straight against the Demon Deacons (7-9, 0-1) in Raleigh.

N.C. State led by just four early in the second half, but ran off nine straight points to push the margin back up to double figures. The lead only grew from there, reaching as many as 29 points late in an impressive second-half performance for a team waiting for its breakout year in the league.

You can click here for ESPN’s comprehensive GameCenter. 

The following stat lines tell the story of the individual players that elevated statistically, but every Wolfpacker made key contributions in their own roles & responsibilities on the floor: Tracy Smith – 23 points, 11 rebounds; CJ Williams – 16 points, 7 rebounds; CJ Leslie – 19 points, 6 rebounds.

 

Sidney & Wake Forest

One of my favorite things about Sidney Lowe has been his ability to consistently beat Wake Forest.  I know that sounds somewhat lame – especially to any Wolfpackers over the age of 40 – but it needs to be said after Les Robinson went 2-10 against Dave Odom  and Herb Sendek went 9-15 against the Demon Deacons.

Sidney Lowe has never lost to Wake Forest in the RBC Center and is now 6-3 overall vs the Deacs.  (The Wolfpack’s last loss to Wake Forest in the RBC Center came in 2005.)

NC State has now won 11 of the last 18 games against Wake, including the last six games played in Raleigh. NC State is 8-4 all-time against Wake Forest at the RBC Center.

Opening Nuggets

NC State is now 32-26 all-time in ACC openers, including a mark of 18-8 when opening conference play at home. This was the first time that NC State opened the conference season at home under Sidney Lowe, and it was Coach Lowe’s first opening game win while at NC State.

 

N&O

The N&O has some observations from Saturday available by clicking here and their photo gallery is available by clicking here.

One thing Tracy Smith could work on while he was rehabbing his left knee was his jump shot. Smith showed more range with his face-up game and more confidence in his jump shot against Wake.

He hit a catch-and-shoot baseline jumper from about 12 feet at 6:57 in the second half that was previously not part of his offensive arsenal.

"When I couldn’t practice, I worked on my shot," said Smith, who missed 10 games with a knee injury.

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10-11 Basketball

88 Responses to NC State 90 Wake Forest 69

  1. Phang 01/09/2011 at 10:09 PM #

    @Wolfy – Sid is the TOB of bball – except Sid’s getting higher rated payers.

    Your comments about playing time while Tracy was out also reminds me of ’83. The reason we had to win the ACC tournament to make it to the NCAAs was because Whit broke his foot. We struggled while he was out, but that gave the rest of the guys time to work together. When Whit returned, we were a much better team.

    They could still stink up the place this year. But so far I’m seeing what looks like we’re on our way to returning to our program from back in the day.

    The ’83 team had 4 players who played in the NBA players and at least one more who played at some professional level.

    How many of today’s team would you think are NBA calibre?

  2. mak4dpak 01/09/2011 at 10:19 PM #

    Nice win, but it was WF, and they have struggled this year, and lost to teams they normally beat. The verdict is still out, and we will learn more in our next two games on the road against BC, and VT. Still not sure Sid can get the job done at State, as the head coach. If it doesn’t happen this year, he is gone.

  3. Wolfy__79 01/09/2011 at 10:22 PM #

    now its tracy..

    future locks to me are include howell, wood, lorenzo, leslie…

    future highly probable include harrow, cj williams

    javi will have an oppurtunity at his country’s national team i think

    future tbd’s uchebo for sure

    vandenburg will return to aussie aussie and play pro

    painter will develop nicely and will get his oppurtunity! basically all that play currently will reach the pros.

  4. Wolfy__79 01/09/2011 at 10:23 PM #

    i guess we don’t need to remind ourselves that NC STATE is the toughest gig in the ACC!

  5. Wolfy__79 01/09/2011 at 10:25 PM #

    i would venture to say the 2012 pg white kid will make it as well, he’s slick!

  6. Wolfy__79 01/09/2011 at 10:29 PM #

    i hear all this talk about ACC rpi being down right now and just finished watching #3 kansas escape a michigan team with the weave and heave, ay. and #1 duke is getting pushed around at home by md. i just think maybe we’re jumping the gun a bit with it being the ACC alone, i see it across most major conferences, minus the big east?

  7. runwiththepack 01/09/2011 at 11:03 PM #

    Wolfy_79, you speak for me. I’m not for treating our ’83 hero like any ole body that traipses into wolfpack country. He deserves at least a little more chance to succeed, if for no other reason that he had no NCAA head coaching experience before returning to raleigh.
    Add to that the fact that he has brought in as many blue-chippers in three years than his predecessor did in TEN YEARS, then you have another reason to give him more time. He CAN recruit, THANK GOD.
    I’m not settling for mediocrity, I’m just saying that you have to give the man more time than just one year of freshmen blue-chip players, even if they are blue-chip. Those blue-chippers needed Tracy Smith on the floor with them through that 0-4 run against non-conference powers. Whose fault was it that Tracy couldn’t be there? No one’s fault, right?
    But the fact is that he wasn’t there, and it really hurt, esp. with the Syracuse G-town games, which NCSU would have won if Smith had been out there. Then we would have been aaaaaaall happy, wouldn’t we? This team won’t gel until they play with our senior all-ACC player out there, which they haven’t really had a chance to do yet against good teams.
    I do not look forward at all to hiring another head coach, either. It is more likely to be another Sendek type than a Patino. After almost a quarter of a CENTURY of wandering in the basketball wilderness, don’t bet on drawing a big name coach. I’d say we would have to be just plain lucky at this point to get a big name coach.
    I don’t like to bet on luck.
    It is disconcerting to read comments here from those who seem to want Lowe to fail. Weird – and foolish. He’s only had 1/4 season with an ACC-caliber roster when considering that Smith’s leadership was absent during the tougher 1/4 stretch.
    Please reserve judgment. NCSU did what they should have done vs WF and we can be thankful for that at this moment.

  8. hball57 01/09/2011 at 11:36 PM #

    And let me skip ahead to Florida State. Last year FSU was touted as this great defensive team, and they couldn’t guard Scott Wood. Now we have a lot more offensive weapons against a team that can’t score. And if they still can’t find Scott Wood, what will happen this year?

  9. Wolfy__79 01/10/2011 at 12:08 AM #

    fsu for whatever reason demands a helter skelter game and in most cases they get it. i think wood and lorenzo are really going to benefit from tracy’s return.. establishing a true inside out game. if cjw continues to add from the bench, we have a very versatile offense. if nothing else, that will position us firmly in the top half of the league. but i expect to really remain in the top 4.. with a little more work.

  10. wdwolfpack 01/10/2011 at 2:13 AM #

    Did anyone else have a flashback when Woods made the behind the back pass to Williams to the UNC game ’83 where Lowe passed the ball backwards between his legs to Bailey and he dunked it with authority.

  11. wolfpacksoldier 01/10/2011 at 3:01 AM #

    DucoPack stole my comment! The football season and basketball seasons have odd similarities. Both TOB and Sid started the season out with their tails on the burners. Both sports are seemingly weak throughout the conference this year. Both our teams have young, promising, yet unproven talent. TOB turned out to save his rear and has everyone in wolfpack nation eager for 2011 and beyond. Sid started out, eh, not so great. I, for one, was calling for his head after the Wisconsin game. That was just a pathetic effort. With T.Smith back, things are beginning to seem more positive. After our first 4 games in football, I could see the makings of a division championship contender. It almost got that far. With the way things are panning out in basketball this year, I dont see anyone but Duke winning the regular season crown. But we all know how State seems to wake up in a tournament atmosphere. I could see us winning the tourney and guaranteeing ourselves a spot in March. If this team continues to gel and improve on both ends of the floor, its possible. Sid needs to drill in the minds of the players, especially the young 3 that every game we play is do or die. I believe when the regular season closes out, we will be a satisfied bunch. Just my $.02.
    Oh, I almost forgot one thing. With such similarities going on between football and basketball in the ACC, will UNC basketball follow in the footsteps of its gridiron gang and be thrust into the spotlight for illegal behavior? OR…. maybe our other local rival will be found to have had an illegal recruiting edge (maybe Dawkins or Collins fattening pockets of youngsters)? now im just rambling….
    GO PACK!

  12. Phang 01/10/2011 at 7:35 AM #

    @Wolfpacksoldier – I’m glad you’re giving them more benefit of the doubt, though I know how frustrating it is to see them go through a four game stretch like they did.

    @runwiththepack – I said when Sid was hired that here was our chance to build on tradition – the Wolfpack Way if you will. The jury is still out, but if we can’t get it done with Sid, we may never return to prominence (at least not in my lifetime).

    Just one comment on how Sid needs to make the youngsters behave. I expect Sid is telling them what they need to hear, but how many of you have teenage kids or remember how hard headed you were when you were 18? I’m confident it’ll get done, but its kind of like herding cats.

    Everyone needs to relax, grab a beer (or other beverage of your choice) and chill. I think this is going to be an exciting season. If they suck up the joint, there will still be plenty of time to jump on the “fire Sid” bandwagon. Come March, Sid will be the hero or the goat.

  13. GoldenChain 01/10/2011 at 10:39 AM #

    I am cautiously opimistic after this game. First time in decades I can remember us owning the offensive glass. Good chemistry, decisions, etc. Hope its not a ‘flash in the pan’ (ie Duke last year, unx Sid’s 1st year). …and hey, I think Wake will make a lot of teams look like Final 4 material this season.
    However, it feels GREAT to absolutely beat the crap outta an ACC team, first time for that in 20 years or so too.

    @ Phang: “but if we can’t get it done with Sid, we may never return to prominence (at least not in my lifetime)”; I’ve heard this statement on the forum as well and truly don’t understand it. We’ve had a string of sorry chancellors(/trustees) thus sorry ADs for 2 decades which has lead to less than even average athletic results. However we do have a decent school and good facilities and there is no reason for me to believe that we cannot return to prominence if Sid doen’t work out (although I hope he does). We have a new dynamic with new trustees, chancellor, & AD. Heck, we’re in a whole lot better shape than when the “silver Fox” stepped on campus and we know what he did.

  14. PoppaJohn 01/10/2011 at 10:45 AM #

    wdwolfpack – I thought the exact same thing about that pass (and i’ll bet Sid did too)

    I love this post, it is so US! There are those that love and those that hate. Nice to see the love winning for a few days. (may not last through this road trip)

    I was surprised to see there are a few ‘senior wolfpackers’ on the site – I’m right there with them. I was as student at State during the (choir singing in the background) David Thompson years. I was on campus (no longer as a student – I was slow, but not that slow) for the big bonfires after the ’83 NCAA run. Definately more fun than ’74 – that team was supposed to win.

    But the post that hit closest to home was someone saying that every year for the last four years at some point in the season he’d hopped on Sid’s bandwagon and started to think, “hey, maybe this will work out!” That’s me too.

    The only excuse Sid has now is youth. He has good (and improving) point guard play, he has outside shooting, he has depth, and he has some really talented bigs.

    I don’t think he gets any more rope. This needs to be an exceptional year, the best in a very long time, or I think we have to accept that Sid’s not the guy we want him to be.

  15. Rick 01/10/2011 at 10:53 AM #

    “So what would the eventual ACC Champion have done?”

    I would expect the eventual ACC champion not to lose to every good team it has played.

  16. Phang 01/10/2011 at 10:59 AM #

    @GoldenChain – you got me, that is a bit of hyperbole, the key being “in my lifetime” 🙂

    What I’m trying to say is that Sid understands how a successful program works. He was recruited by Norm and coached by V and was a part of the Dematha program.

    IMHO, if we lose Sid, we lose the recruiting pipeline he is developing, and we are then up for a crap shoot with whoever replaces him. For me, another sendek or even a calipari would be horrible for the program.

    Right now I see the chess pieces moving into place. If Sid can’t win with what he’s building, he’s got to go, but I see a program on the rise.

    Now, different fans are going to have a different yardstick for success. Some fans will not be happy unless we have another NC in two years. I think that’s a bit optimistic, even for someone like calipari. I’d like an ACC Championship in the next two years, or at least be in the title game. I’d like to see some sweet 16 appearances or (dare I dream?) final four.

    With the pieces moving into place, I think we have as good a shot with Sid as we do with anyone we could replace him with. My opinion might change at the end of this season, but that’s three months away.

  17. Rick 01/10/2011 at 10:59 AM #

    “I don’t know why you would have thought the past four teams would be decent when they only had one true ACC caliber player, and he wasn’t a point guard. ”

    Only one? Really
    He has had 3 McDs AA.
    One Parade AA
    Multiple top 75 players.
    Just because he has not been successful with those players does not mean they were not talented.

    Also, if he has had only one “acc caliber player” in the past four years then I guess at b est he has 4 this year. The one you mention (which I assume is TS) and the three incoming freshmen.
    With only, at best, four ACC caliber players how can we expect to do well this year? And Lowe is staring the very PG who you say is not ACC caliber. If he is so bad why is the very coach you are supporting still playing him?

    And don’t forget who is bring in all this talent that you seem to think is so awful.

  18. Phang 01/10/2011 at 11:23 AM #

    Rick, you’re missing the context. Choppack said that our victor over wake is exactly the kind of victory an NIT team would have.

    Quoting: “I enjoyed yesterday’s win. But it was exactly what a team that will qualify for the NIT will do.”

    So my question is this. If a convincing win over a weak opponent is what an NIT caliber team will do, what would the eventual champion do against that team? Will Duke (the pre-season favorite) beat them by 60? How many should we have beat them by if we’re to be seen as a NCAA caliber team?

  19. bradleyb123 01/10/2011 at 11:41 AM #

    I would expect the eventual ACC champion not to lose to every good team it has played.

    People need to be more forgiving of that because of Tracy Smith being out for those games. I remember another team that lost ONE player, and lost so many games that they would not have made the NCAA tournament without winning the ACC tournament, and that was the 1983 Wolfpack. Without Whittenberg, State lost a lot of games. Now I’m not saying this team is going to win a championship. I’m saying when you lose a key player, and we can all agree that Tracy Smith was maybe the player we could least afford to lose, you’re going to lose some games. And we played Syracuse to a close game even without him.

    I’m not happy with losses, and I’m not claiming moral victories. But since Tracy missed those games, there has to be some discounting done for those losses. Even so-called experts are saying the NCAA selection committee will consider Tracy’s absence if we’re on the bubble. Maybe actual fans should do the same?

  20. Wolfy__79 01/10/2011 at 1:13 PM #

    i came in late from work and caught the second half of the wisconsin beat down. i was embarrassed, and deflated. in addition to the result of L and L equalling both loss and lopsided was popping some of our younger stars’ bubbles! it was ugly, but i’ve seen improved play since. its an ugly loss just looking at numbers, the intangibles are a little more promissing. i don’t know if i’d be any different if i was in my 40’s or older.. early 30’s and i’m disappointed but very optimistic as well. after about 3 years i was done with herb smoketek.. we basically missed the window pre hole roy to step on unx’s throats. what we have is a young coach in Sidney, one that we can push in any direction we want.. including out the doh! the positive and negative sides of criticism will develop a good coach to how we want him to be.. but i’m and optimist in this scenario yet i see and can relate with the opposite.. but can those of you who constantly degrade Sidtastic see the good in any of his efforts? Thoughts?

  21. Texpack 01/10/2011 at 2:28 PM #

    The committee won’t care about the OOC games we lost without Tracy Smith unless we win 9+ conference games, AND we beat some Top 50 teams along the way. I agree that we probably would have won 1-2 of the OOC games had he been healthy for them, but that won’t count for jack come March. This team has to play well almost every time out between now and the end of the year because it can’t afford any losses to any dud teams and it also can’t afford to miss any opportunities to notch a win against a good opponent.

    Let’s put the comparisons between this years team and the ’83 team into perspective. In ’83 you had a senior laden team that had been to the NCAA’s two out of the previous three years with only a 48 team field. That team beat the #2 team in the country and went 8-6 in the conference and Whit only played in one conference victory iirc. This team hasn’t proven squat yet. I think they have more potential than any of Sidney’s previous teams, but they still have to produce some results. They have to play some close games against quality opponents before you can evaluate how much poise they have and how well they can score and defend at crunch time.

    I also think that the horrific nature of the Wisconsin loss has a lot of State fans thinking that no team capable of playing that poorly, with or without Tracy Smith, can really be worth a crap in the long run. Sidney Lowe is 51 years old. He is in his fifth year as the Head Coach of a major college program, it’s really hard for me to characterize him as young. Unproven perhaps, but not young.

    I was at State from ’79-’84 and I had more fun watching Sidney Lowe run the point than you can imagine. I have yet to see him coach at anywhere near the level where he played on a consistent basis. Maybe this will be the year, but I’m firmly in the “prove it to me THIS SEASON with wins” camp.

  22. Wolfy__79 01/10/2011 at 3:21 PM #

    he’s both young in tenure as a college coach and young being 51 with many years in his coaching life if he can survive a hungry PACK fanbase!

  23. Conrad 01/10/2011 at 3:35 PM #

    You guys here has to be the worst group of purpose to be Wolf pack fans that i have seen in my 35 yrs of being a fan. Plus you guys see things that is unreal every since Lowe came back home to coach here. He inherited a group of players that was well below ACC standard. But most of you thought that Costner and Mc Cauley were super stars and NBA players. Well we all now that was not true at all. And yes, he has had a few bumps along the road due to those players. And it should have been expected since he had no college coaching experience at all. But he has manage to assemble a group of talented players at 1 time every since the days of Valvano. Again they are still a very young team to be without T. Smith skills because Painter nor Howell hasnt develope enough yet. And Smith has always been the most important piece to this team success along with Harrow and Brown, Woods, CJ Leslie etc. So the WF win was just the beginning of what to come as long as T. Smith can stay healthy. But without him this team will seriously struggle to get 10 conference wins.

  24. Conrad 01/10/2011 at 3:45 PM #

    Wofpup76, That is actly what T. Smith present can do for Lowe style offense whereas Painter nor Howell just dont have his skill set yet.

  25. Conrad 01/10/2011 at 3:59 PM #

    tuckerdorm1983, BC cant be that good since they have lost to Harvard and Yale. So the really test will come against a struggling to find offense FL St team and the same Duke team that a lesser skill pack team beat by 13 pts. So the keys for this team is a healthy T. Smith because they dont have anyone who can replace his skills and present on the court.

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