NC State tied for first place in the ACC; Roger Ayers in first place for fouls called vs State

HUGE win for NC State down in Miami!! Link to Boxscore

I’m so excited that I can’t wait for tomorrow morning so I can see the impact to our RPI. Regardless of the direct impact to our numbers, a 15-5 (4-1) ACC team who has played a Top 30 schedule is clearly/squarely a (currently projected) NCAA Tournament team.

Of course, things change. The great news for State is that we get two opportunities this week – at Carolina on Thursday and at home against Virginia on Saturday night – to pick up important ‘good wins’ against projected NCAA Tournament teams. Both schools’ RPIs are strong enough that just playing the game will help solidify the Wolfpack’s RPI.

Some other interesting statistics worth noting here:

* NC State has won three in a row and won NINE OF OUR LAST TEN GAMES! When was the last time that kind of streak existed in the last week of January?

* Miami went 2 of 20 from the three point line. Miami’s Malcolm Grant was 0 for 9 and Durand Scott to 4 of 11, for a combined 13 points.

* State’s last two opponents on the road (Wake & Miami) have been held to a combined 4 of 40 from behind the three point line

* It’s the first 4-1 start for the Wolfpack (15-5) since the 2003-04, also the last time it won 11 league games — coach Mark Gottfried’s stated goal for this team. (Link)

* Scott Wood now owns the all-time ACC record for consecutively made free throws and his streak is still in tact at 58.

———————————————————————-

We talked about ACC referee, Roger Ayers, in this message board thread last week after State’s loss against Georgia Tech. It was ‘interesting’ to watch him on the court on Sunday.

One poster on another set of message boards shared the following —

“I counted fouls called by Ayers in today’s game.

NC State: 8
Miami: 2

Ayers called 4 of Howell’s 5 fouls, and called Leslie’s technical.”

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11-12 Basketball

64 Responses to NC State tied for first place in the ACC; Roger Ayers in first place for fouls called vs State

  1. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 3:35 PM #

    Just went on espn and saw the ACC standings. What a feeling to see us tied for first and our team name way up there under Duke(2nd) overall. Remember last year! I know there is a long way to go. I am one Pack fan that is going to enjoy everyday instead of looking for more and more. Stop and smell the coffee is what I’ll do.

  2. AppPack14 01/22/2012 at 3:43 PM #

    I’m so happy for Scott Wood. Like the rest of the Pack’s starters, his game has improved significantly under MG. He’s always been a great shooter, but this year he has been much more consistent on both ends of the floor. His newfound ability to block shots from behind has been arguably the most tangible example of how Gottfried and his staff have been able to coach the team up. It’s an added bonus that he was able to break RedDICKS’ record. He’s the most annoying personality I’ve seen in sports (other than Tyler “4-steps” Hansborough of course).

  3. blpack 01/22/2012 at 3:49 PM #

    Nice to get another road ACC win today. Great job by S Wood!

  4. lawful 01/22/2012 at 3:50 PM #

    That’s like a double bonus. Not only is a Duke player no longer the record holder, but an NC State player is.

  5. Wufpacker 01/22/2012 at 3:50 PM #

    Big win. Thought today might turn out ugly.

    Indiana managed to get back on track against Penn St. today.

  6. Prowling Woofie 01/22/2012 at 3:56 PM #

    Painter was huge filling in for Howell today.

    Ayers definitely has a stick up his butt for NC State. Hope he’s not in Chapel Hell this week…

  7. BJD95 01/22/2012 at 3:58 PM #

    I’m proud of our guys for the way they play, regardless of the final W/L record. Good way to look at it, Tuffy!

    Lo Brown played fanbtastic D today. Totally frustrated the Hurricane starting guards. He is a quiet leader that most good teams have/need.

    I will put up some thoughts later about re-thinking the ACC pecking order. So proud that we are in the discussion for a change.

  8. old13 01/22/2012 at 3:58 PM #

    If Roger Ayers is an ACC-caliber (or even pee-wee-caliber) ref, I should be playing DT in the NFL (at 5′-4″!!!)

  9. BJD95 01/22/2012 at 4:03 PM #

    There were bad calls and tight whistles each way. My read is that we are much better served when the refs “let ’em play.”

    I don’t like blaming the refs, and almost never do (the DT charge against Maryland that killed HWSNBN’s 4th season being the glaring exception). Go back to that quote that wise VAWolf likes to cite – “never ascribe to malice what can be readily attributed to incompetence.”

  10. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 4:04 PM #

    Thanks BJD95, Being from the early 70″s you have a tendency to enjoy the moment.

  11. tuckerdorm1983 01/22/2012 at 4:08 PM #

    before you start having us in the sweet sixteen or better we have played 5 acc games. All 5 were against bottom tiered teams in the ACC. Duke, UNC, FSU and UVA are yet to come. If I were a team watching the miami game I would put the ball inside to my big players and get Painter, Howell and Leslie in foul trouble. The last two players are prone to getting themselves in foul trouble without anybody’s help like mouthing off to the ref.

    As for next thurs night. Zone and more of it otherwise Henson and Zeller eat us alive. Thank god we have almost 4 days until we play them. If we play them tough and don’t get blown out, then I will start drinking the kool-aid

    Finally, there comes a point in the game where we have a lead of 10 plus points and we let up. Kinda take our breath. If the other team doesn’t catch up then we go up by 20. If they do catch up then we make it real interesting. We had them down and had almost every nail in their coffin only to let them back in by bone headed plays.

  12. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 4:11 PM #

    There were bad calls or shall I say touch fouls called on both sides. Our bigs have to play smarter themselves and they wont have to worry about the refs.

  13. stejen 01/22/2012 at 4:12 PM #

    Great win. I was especially impressed that they kept their composure when Miami made a comeback. When was the last time you saw a State team with such composure. I just hope they keep their cool when the Carolina refs try to help UNC win Thursday night. One question, is something wrong with Vanderberg? I would have thought we could have used him against those big bodies today. I definitely think Painter has earned a spot in the starting rotation.

  14. BJD95 01/22/2012 at 4:15 PM #

    Oh, and go Ravens and Niners!!

    I am also developing matchup-based theories. I think Duke sweeps Carolina, Carolina sweeps us, but we beat Duke in Cameron. Strange year!

  15. Master 01/22/2012 at 4:20 PM #

    Check out this site for ref info and stats: http://statsheet.com/mcb/referees

  16. IMFletcherWolf 01/22/2012 at 4:26 PM #

    Stejen, Vandenberg is done for the season and they will seek a medical redshirt for him.

  17. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 4:56 PM #

    Go Ravens and go Giants!

    Tuckerdorm1983- If we come out in a zone against unc we might be in trouble from the get go as their backups for Strickland shoot the ball better from the outside. They just don’t play the D Strickland gives them. We have to mix it up on D.

  18. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 4:59 PM #

    We might have beat lower tiered teams Tuckerdorm1983 but last year we couldn’t even win those and on the road, forget about it.

  19. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 5:00 PM #

    SMELL THE COFFEE!!!

    GLASS HALF FULL!!!

    All that stuff….

  20. tuckerdorm1983 01/22/2012 at 5:32 PM #

    your are right tuffy2, but some folks are sniffin glue or something else and going ahead and having us dancing and advancing. If we win the ones we are suppose to and lose the ones we are suppose to, then I have us at 10-6. 4-1 now with loses to UNC twice, Duke and likely to lose to FSU and UVA and should not lose any others. That is 6 losses. I can see us beating FSU or UVA or both because they are home and stumping our toe on a team or two that we should not lose to. So we are flirting with 10-6. If we are 4th in the ACC we go, if we are 5th or 6th then making it to Sunday is a must.

  21. graywolf 01/22/2012 at 5:37 PM #

    Does the acc post the refs prior to games and if so will Ayers be in Chapel Hill Thursday?

  22. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 5:50 PM #

    You are right Tuckerdorm1983, but I am not going to say who we will win or lose against as this year looks like just when you think you know what’s going on–SURPRISE!

  23. Rochester 01/22/2012 at 6:10 PM #

    Feels nice to celebrate some wins, even against the lower tier. For the last five years we were the lower tier, so this is a huge step in the right direction.

    If we just chalked things up to who was “supposed” to win, FSU wouldn’t have ended Duke’s 45-game home winning streak yesterday and certainly wouldn’t have crushed UNC last weekend. I hope our team hasn’t written off the UNC, Duke, Va, and FSU games already. Let’s see what happens when we play them. Just like we all knew we should have beaten GT, everyone knows UNC is supposed to beat us. Doesn’t always work out that way.

  24. Tuffy2 01/22/2012 at 6:12 PM #

    THAT IS WHY THEY PLAY THE GAME……

  25. mak4dpak 01/22/2012 at 6:36 PM #

    Tuffy2 I guess you didn’t hear the news. Strickland is done for the season, so he won’t be a problem on the bench.

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