NC State 72 Penn State 55

For the first time since the 1998-99 season, the NC State men’s basketball team payed a regular-season games outside the continental United States. It worked out well as the Wolfpack beat the Big Ten’s Penn State Nitany Lions by 17 points in a game that was only close for the first 8 minutes.

The Las Vegas line had NC State as a 12 point favorite right before tip. With that said, the Wolfpack bested expectations for the second consecutive game and is now 2-0 against the spread this season. The Pack is now 15-4 all-time vs Penn State.

The Wolfpack will play either UMass or Providence on Friday at 5pm EST. I am hoping for UMASS because it is time that NC State starts evening-up the series after Les Robinson (0-1) and Herb Sendek (0-2) combined for an embarrassing 0-3 record against the Minutemen. There is NO WAY that the NC State program should be winless against a UMass program.

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BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — Richard Howell got in early foul trouble in the first half of N.C. State’s first game of the Puerto Rico Tip-Off on Thursday.

That spelled trouble for the Wolfpack last season. But it’s a new season for N.C. State and freshman T.J. Warren picked up the slack and led the sixth-ranked Wolfpack to a 72-55 win over Penn State.

Warren scored 22 points, on 9-of-12 shooting, to give N.C. State lift when its veteran were either struggling or in foul trouble.

Howell picked up two fouls in the first 3 minutes of the game. Lorenzo Brown scored two points in the first half and Scott Wood didn’t score until 8 and half minutes in the second half.

But with Warren burying 3s (three) and Rodney Purvis chipping in 12 points, N.C. State advanced in the winners’ bracket. The Pack will play either Providence or Massachusetts today at 5 p.m.

Junior forward C.J. Leslie picked up the scoring load to start the second half with two quick baskets and an assist. Leslie finished with 14 points.

N.C. State led by nine at the half, 35-26, but stretched its advantage out to as many as 24 in the second half.

Wood scored eight points, in a 10-point flurry, to give the Pack its biggest lead of the game, 60-36 at 9:58 in the second half.

The following is from real-time discussion on the blog

I am FIRED UP!!! It is so much fun to be so excited about basketball again.

NC State is 143-49 in 83 in-season tournament appearances through the years.

Dan Dakich is doing color for ESPN from Puerto Rico. I always remember that he did our DEBACLE at Wisconsin a couple of years ago. He pulled no punches on Sidney Lowe and our program that night. Nor should’ve he.

You can follow some of our real-time comments on our Twitter feed – @Statefansnation

Some general first half comments:

* Looks like Mark Gottfried has already started to find some substitution patterns that are working well for the Pack. Also keeping our guys out of foul trouble.

* CJ Leslie hasn’t played as smart as I would like to see. Maybe he started finding some rhythm in the last part of the first half. But, we need to limit the ‘bad possessions’.

* Richard Howell didn’t look emotionally or physically engaged/committed early on. And, he didn’t get off the bench after his first sub around the 17 minute mark.

* Thomas de Thaey came into the game prior to 12 minute mark. I liked it. He played good defense. He did shoot an airball from the three-point line; but, the stroke looked good and I’ve got no problem with him taking more of them based on how good

* Rodney Purvis and TJ Warren providing us real offense. Almost ‘fee points’ based on their ability to score. Huge for us. The two had 24 of our first 33 points.

* If Purvis can shoot from the three-point line with this kind of efficiency throughout the season the Wolfpack is going to VERY, VERY good.

* I’d like to see just a tad better free throw shooting from the Pack. It feels like we are a 65%-70% FT shooting team. We will almost impossible to beat if we can be a 75%+ shooting team.

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12-13 Basketball

24 Responses to NC State 72 Penn State 55

  1. ADVENTUROO 11/15/2012 at 4:50 PM #

    Has Warren really got 7 point…..almost half of our total? Man is playing like he wants to stat. Little ugly to begin with, but starting to smooth out.

    Obviously crowd will not be the sixth man.

    Purvis trying to maintain start…..what is DeThey (sp) doing in there?

  2. Rick 11/15/2012 at 4:57 PM #

    Buckets

  3. packalum44 11/15/2012 at 5:11 PM #

    Rodney and TJ look like they did in their high school clips. Didn’t take them long to settle into the college game.

    Rodney is not known as a shooter, but reminds me of Jay Williams where he has the chance to be very streaky. He’s so athletic, he can pull up off the dribble, adjust his body midair and stroke it.

    He probably feels more comforatble shooting off the dribble. We need that.

  4. MISTA WOLF 11/15/2012 at 5:21 PM #

    One announcer is a real douche bag. Sounds like he is auditioning for a lead role on College Gameday.

  5. packalum44 11/15/2012 at 5:23 PM #

    We’re playing poorly. Defensive effort is there. But offensively we’ve had too many turnovers and aren’t passing the ball well.

    Also, one of those games where the ball just won’t go in during dogfights around the basket.

    Expect Gott to light a fire under their ass at halftime. I’m dissapointed. Still up by 9. Should be 12-15 point lead.

  6. StateFans 11/15/2012 at 5:39 PM #

    RICHARD HOWELL SIGHTING!!! Love it. Strength. And hit the free throw. I love the conversion

  7. StateFans 11/15/2012 at 5:54 PM #

    TJ Warren nails a gorgeous three and State leads by 18! Lorenzo Brown not having his best game. Nor is Scott Wood.

  8. StateFans 11/15/2012 at 5:56 PM #

    Dakich just made a comment about State needing to play tighter to be elite. I 100% agree. Especially more defensive intensity.

    What he is missing is that LoBrown and Scott Wood are having real bad games and is impacting his view. I don’t worry about them playing this poorly in most games.

  9. coach13 11/15/2012 at 6:17 PM #

    Have given up too many offensive rebounds, look out of sinc too often on offense, bad shots and passes

  10. gotohe11carolina 11/15/2012 at 6:19 PM #

    gotta agree about sloppy play. too many scouts in the stands. also if lo gets d’d up 30 ft out we’ve gotta get a better shot than a 24ft jack up 3. I’d love to see some better penetration on that. damn happy to be winning though! go state

  11. coach13 11/15/2012 at 6:21 PM #

    Penn St not in same class as Pack and our players knowing ot not helping probably. I want to see this team wide open every possesion every game regardless. We should beat teams loke Penn St by 30.

  12. gotohe11carolina 11/15/2012 at 6:29 PM #

    I love that we get into the bonus so much sooner now. now let’s knock down those fts

    I love winning… it’s like…..better than losing. ebby calvin laloosh

  13. StateFans 11/15/2012 at 6:41 PM #

    I agree about the fouling and getting to the line. FT shooting percentage is going to be a real barometer for Ws & Ls for us

  14. packer74 11/15/2012 at 9:07 PM #

    Sloppy. Some bright spots. Decent defense. Nice to see our talent level has vastly improved. Providence/UMASS winner will require much better passing, shot selection & decision making by the Pack. Let’s see where they are going into the semester break. We have some tough games coming up with UCONN and Michigan on the schedule

  15. saigonwolf 11/15/2012 at 9:51 PM #

    We obviously out-talented PSU, because we surely didn’t out-play them. Play of our veterans was very sloppy (as announcers said, loose). Play of Warren and Purvis was outstanding for only their 2nd college game. That was the difference, and will continue to be the difference this year vs. last year. Warren has already made me forget Pringles, and I won’t be surprised if he’s starting in place of Wood before too long. Where’s that ability to create his own shot that he supposedly worked on in the off-season?? Still looks like same ole Wood to me. Hopefully, we’ll see a total team effort in our next game, because with the talent we now have, we can be scary-good if everyone brings it.

  16. STLPack01 11/16/2012 at 12:02 AM #

    This is the kind of game we would have lost a few years ago. Tough physical team that just wants it more than we do. But this year it is different. We have the talent and the coaching to win these trap games.

    I watched the UMass Providence game. UMass nearly lost to a depleted PC team. Umass is long (but skinny) and quick. They want to run. Almost the opposite of Penn State. I predict we win by 30.

    Mark it down.

  17. graywolf 11/16/2012 at 6:42 AM #

    Out rebounded. Sloppy play. Bad day for Brown (1 for10) and Wood. Foul trouble for Howell. Yet, we still won fairly easily.
    We would not have won this game if Sendek or Lowe were still on the sidelines.

  18. coach13 11/16/2012 at 6:44 AM #

    Bottom line I just didn’t feel like we “turned it on”, particularly older guys. That bothers me. They need to play like they are on fire every minute every game. You can’t just wait for the Michigans and UNCs, you might find you forgot how to turn it on, plus, as mentioned, you might get a bad surprise sleeping through lesser competition. I want to see the walk ons get their minute of PT.

  19. Sweet jumper 11/16/2012 at 6:47 AM #

    Great effort and attitude by the team. Sloppy at times, especially Brown and Woo and Lewis, but Purvis and Warren and Leslie really carried us. Leslie showed great energy. If he can hit that jump hook and hit the 15 foot jumper to compliment his post game, he will be unstoppable. Howell was solid after getting over the typical early foul trouble. Sid and HWSNBN teams would have probably found a way to lose that game. I think this year is going to be a treat for a long-suffering, loyal fan base.

  20. Wolfpack93 11/16/2012 at 6:56 AM #

    I am inclined to agree with STLPack01. As I watched the UMass/Providence game, I was actually hoping Providence would win to see how we play against the zone. Seeing as how UMass plays the same style we do, I think our talent gives us the edge.

    What a relief to see that we finally have an option when Howell (bless his heart) lands in early foul trouble. If he could overcome that problem consistently I would be even more confident of a better finish than last season!

  21. Texpack 11/16/2012 at 7:45 AM #

    TJ Warren looks to be the real deal. I don’t think his heart rate ever changes. Gott needs to force this team to work on the half court game. After Calvin asserted himself on the offensive end in the second half, we looked a bit better. Tyler Lewis is really struggling. Look for good teams to press us a lot if Lo doesn’t clean things up and Lewis doesn’t figure out the difference between HS and college defenders.

    With Purvis, Warren, and Wood all shooting 3’s we are terrifying to other teams in transition.

  22. Deacon Blues 11/16/2012 at 8:50 AM #

    SF – It should read that we are 16-3 vs PSU

    http://entertainment.wagerweb.com/sports/college-basketball/thursday-college-basketball-odds-no-6-nc-state-vs-penn-state-47508.html

    “NC State has a winning record versus five of the other seven teams in the Tip-Off field: Akron 3-0, UNC Asheville 17-0, Tennessee 5-3, Providence 4-1 and Penn State 15-3. The Pack is 0-3 all-time against Massachusetts and 0-1 in its only meeting with Oklahoma State.”

  23. ryebread 11/16/2012 at 9:19 AM #

    graywolf: My thoughts exactly. That was a game we’d have lost (or just squeezed by in) for most of the past 20 years.

    We sure didn’t look like the #6 ranked team for a large portion of the game, but then I’d look up and we were up 20. It’s what good teams are supposed to do, even on off nights.

    The key to the season is Brown. He’s got to play better than last night for us to achieve our goals. I know that he can, but we’re not going to be able to survive a night like last night against anyone good.

    I actually like Wood’s role on this team and thought he played a pretty decent all around game last night. I like the fact that he doesn’t have to hit 5 three pointers for us to win.

    Of the freshman, Warren has really impressed me. He plays like a junior. Purvis is doing well in spurts and definitely has a ton of talent. Lewis has the most to work on and is a serviceable back up (at least as good as Johnson).

    I’d like to see us play a little better the next two games. We’re going to need to be extremely sharp against UCONN and Michigan as they’ve both looked impressive in the early going.

  24. PackerInRussia 11/16/2012 at 9:29 AM #

    “This is the kind of game we would have lost a few years ago. Tough physical team that just wants it more than we do. But this year it is different. We have the talent and the coaching to win these trap games.”

    Agree. That’s the advantage to having a highly-talented team vs. just a well-coached team with decent talent. Sometimes you won’t have a great game, but superior talent can still come out ahead in those games.

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