NC STATE at NORTH CAROLINA Preview

Please note that you are welcomed and encouraged to spend some time in our message forums (click here) if you’re looking for broader and deeper discussions on a variety of topics.

Time: 1:00
TV: ESPN2
Announcers: Dave O’Brien, Doris Burke

First the bad news:

NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said after Friday’s practice that he doesn’t know if freshman BeeJay Anya will be ready to play on Saturday against North Carolina.

“That will be a wait-and-see for tomorrow afternoon,” Gottfried said when asked for an update on Anya. “We just want to see how he starts to move around. The most important thing is there’s nothing serious at this point.

“I think he has a pretty good bruise inside of his knee. We”ll see if he can get loosened up and get going. If he can then hopefully he can help us.”

New Year same up tempo Holes. I’ll give Roy Boy credit, when he says uptempo he means it.

Likely Starters:
#5 Marcus Paige
#43 James Michael McAdoo
#13 J.P. Tokoto
#2 Leslie McDonald
#3 Kennedy Meeks

Bench:
#0 Nate Britt, #22 Isiah Hicks, #42 Joel James, #11 Brice Johnson, #21 Jackie Simmons, #4 Luke Davis, #14 Desmond Hubert

To save time I’m going to sum this up:
– McAdoo, Johnson, Paige, Meeks, McDonald are the real threats on this team.
– If anyone is going to shoot a 3 it’s going to be Paige, though McDonald will take some too.
– Don’t foul Paige, he’s automatic at the line, the rest suck.
– McAdoo draws 7.5 fouls per 40 minutes. That’s good for 22 in the country. Unreal.
– The people to worry about the most for ORebounding are McAdoo, Johnson, Meeks, and James.
– Johnson only plays about half the game, mainly due to foul trouble, but takes 28% of the team’s shots. CHUCKER!!!!!

Once again the Pack face a team with a better defense than their offense. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Gonna need to ride another high eFG% to a victory.

I personally believe we will see the end of the universe when the Holes go to the FT Line…over and over and over and, well you get the point.

Magic Number: 65

NC State is 14-2 when they score 65 or more points. (NCCU, WFU)
*NC is 12-3 when they score 65 or more points.(Belmont, Texas, WFU)

Things that Make you go Hmmmmm:
– NC State has an 8-0 record when shooting the same number or more free throws than its opponents.
– NC State is 7-1 when making the same or more foul shots.
– UNC is 5-0 this year when shooting 50% or better from the floor and 3-0 when shooting 50% in both halves (Louisville, Boston College, Clemson).

Series Notes:
– The teams split a pair of meetings last season with each winning at home.
– Carolina has won 14 of the last 15, 20 of the last 22 and 37 of the last 46 games against NC State.
– Carolina is 72-22 all-time against NC State in Chapel Hill, including a 22-5 mark in the Smith Center.
– Carolina has won 18 of its last 21 games against the Wolfpack in Chapel Hill, losing in 2002-03, 2001-02 and 1997-98 since the 1991-92 season.
– UNC is 20-2 against NCSU under head coach Roy Williams, winning 15 of those 20 games by double figures.
– Carolina is undefeated against NC State in Chapel Hill under Williams (10-0).

Prediction:
Look I never, EVER, want to lose to the cheating smurfs but I never give us a fighting chance in Chapel Hell. I expect the smurfs to shoot 30+ FTs, while key players for State pick up quick fouls at the beginning of the halves to ensure they sit on the bench for extended period of times, and then late in the game Carowina players will get called for nonshooting fouls and the final team totals will look even. I expect Deputy Dog to have them fired up like he always does and do some sumo squats. I expect to see a bunch of GPA raisers doing their best high kicks. Maybe even hear some privileged white girl in the stands yell out to the State players to “Go Back To The Hood!!” Just remember though, we aren’t their rivals.

KenPom Predictor likes those cheating smurfs by 10. It’ll be worse. It’ll be much, much worse.

News Stuff:

UNC vs. NC State: Two teams rising at right time

Without getting into specifics, T.J. Warren summed up the general bleakness of N.C. State’s track record at North Carolina.

Asked about N.C. State’s last win in Chapel Hill, the N.C. State sophomore forward said: “It has been awhile.”

N.C. State’s last win in Chapel Hill? 2003.

N.C. State’s last win over Roy Williams in Chapel Hill? Never.

[snip]

Pack peaking at right time

The first ACC game against UNC has always been a mile-marker for N.C. State. This trip is no different for the Wolfpack, which moved up to No. 57 in the RPI after its best win of the season (over No. 32 Florida State on Wednesday).

N.C. State’s confidence has grown with each ACC win. The FSU win evened the Pack’s ACC record at 4-4. The confidence from the past three wins has helped put a pair of earlier 30-point losses, to Virginia and Duke, in the rearview mirror.

“A little bit, but you have to definitely remember that they are there because that could easily happen any game in this league,” freshman forward Kyle Washington said.

Washington said the Pack learned from the Virginia and Duke losses.

“If we didn’t, then we’d have a problem,” Washington said.

Third-year coach Mark Gottfried has been particularly pleased with his team’s resilience and spirit. The variety of contributions, from a variety of sources, during the winning streak also has been a key.

Guard Tyler Lewis, who has 10 assists and one turnover in the past two games, has been important, especially after the Pack turned the ball over 21 times at Duke.

Guard Ralston Turner’s jumper – he has eight 3-pointers the past three games – has helped open some space for Warren and Desmond Lee.

Washington has provided a spark with his mid-range game and defense.

“It has been a group effort,” said senior forward Jordan Vandenberg, who had a key block in overtime against Georgia Tech.

To Gottfried, the most important part has been his young team has gotten better since the start of ACC play. That’s what he wanted to see and hopes to continue to see.

“We’ve got to play the way we’ve been playing,” Gottfried said.

UNC coach Roy Williams on rivalry with N.C. State: It probably means more to me than typical UNC fan

North Carolina fans might not view N.C. State as much of a basketball rival, but Roy Williams does. It’s always been that way for Williams, who briefly reflected on Friday about how and why games against N.C. State game to be more important to him.

The Tar Heels and Wolfpack resume their rivalry – as one-sided as it has been for, oh, the past 25 years or so – on Saturday at the Smith Center.

“I always have appreciated the rivalry,” Williams said. “I’ve enjoyed it. But I think it is a big rivalry. It probably means more to me than the typical North Carolina fan. It’s just because of the closeness and some buddies that were North Carolina State students when I was in school here. It was a personal thing.”

Williams has told the story often before, but it goes something like this: When he went off to school at UNC in the late 1960s, some of his friends from back home in Asheville gave him grief about it. Those friends of Williams went to N.C. State. Williams took the ribbing personally, and his disdain for the Wolfpack was born.

Containing Warren top priority for Tar Heels, Tokoto

“He has to affect what you’re doing defensively,” Williams said of Warren at a press conference Friday. “We have to be willing to help off of him. We have to understand that he does a great job of when he misses a shot going right back up to the board and getting the rebound and putting it back in.

“We’ve got to get a body on him and wall him if it’s inside and bother his shot if it’s outside, but then get a body on him and stop him from getting to the boards. He’s about as efficient of a player as there may be is in the league.”

[snip]

Although the job of defending Warren will be a team effort, Williams said the player with the responsibility of shadowing the Wolfpack star – at least, to start the game – will fall on the shoulders of 6-5 sophomore J.P. Tokoto.

“I think he’s getting better and better defensively,” Williams said of Tokoto. “He, as well as a lot of other guys on the team, has got to stop fouling as much. I think that J.P. before he quits is going to be one of the best defenders we’ve ever had.”

Tokoto is going to have his hands full Saturday.

About 1.21 Jigawatts

Class of '98, Mechanical Engineer, State fan since arriving on campus and it's been a painful ride ever since. I live by the Law of NC State Fandom, "For every Elation there is an equal and opposite Frustration."

13-14 Basketball

Home Forums NC STATE at NORTH CAROLINA Preview

Viewing 25 posts - 201 through 225 (of 253 total)
  • Author
    Posts
  • #39608
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    It would have been a lot better if we’d just hung our heads and lost by 40. Right?

    #39609
    MrPlywood
    Participant

    HOw about these for the guys, so they can see how flat those FTs are…

    http://store.apple.com/ca/product/HD748LL/A/infomotion-94fifty-bluetooth-basketball

    #39610
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    What time is kickoff????
    What?
    Tomorrow???????

    Crap.

    #39611
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    It would have been a lot better if we’d just hung our heads and lost by 40. Right?

    NC State. Where moral victories will have to do.

    #39612
    eas
    Participant

    Plywood: Thanks for the help!

    #39613
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    When CUZ was a junior at Southern Durham… “somebody” told him he would never play in the Dean Dome….<br>
    Just saying….

    You might think he’d want to prove “somebody” wrong….

    I know ALL of ya’ll join me in giving CUZ ALL the accolades and heartfelt thanks he truly deserves for leading our team with 21 hard earned points today while facing insurmountable odds against an talented opponent that if not for the Scandal would be ranked Top Ten over in the Dean Dome….

    Without his determination and effort, we would have GOTTEN blown out of the gym.

    Great Job Cuz !

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #39614
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    Wahoo, let’s hear it NC State! We only lost by 14 against our biggest rival today! Hip hip, hoOOOORAY!

    #39615
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    Get the toilet paper ready fellas! Let’s go out an TP our own house in celebration for the ONLY 14 point loss!

    #39616
    MrPlywood
    Participant

    “Thanks for the help!”

    YW, it’s a neat trick.

    #39617
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    Yeah in your face UNC!!!! We showed you! You couldn’t even beat us by more than 14 in your down year!!

    Hail to NC State! (moral) Victory!!!!!!

    #39618
    Wufpacker
    Participant

    Hey bill….

    Take ‘Cuse and give the 4 points.

    #39619
    MrPlywood
    Participant

    “NC State. Where moral victories will have to do.”

    More like where reality lives. I don’t know anyone who was expecting a win.

    #39620
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    We’ll just agree to disagree, hopefully. No moral victories … If you don’t like or believe in Gott, that’s fine. He is <strike>leap</strike> light years beyond the last two, imo.

    HWSNBN would take teams favored to win both at home and on the road against the Holes and get absolutely trounced, with his respective teams giving up halfway through the first half.

    Lowe’s teams were so unorganized and mentally unprepared that they shouldn’t have bothered showing up.

    So yeah, Gott is 1-5 against the Holes – including the wonderfully officiated ACC Tournament semifinal the other season. Have any of his teams quit though? Call it a moral victory if you want. I call it changing the culture and attitude and will hopefully lead to victories in the future.

    #39621
    BJD95
    Keymaster

    I dunno, methinks Duke is a tough team to zone…

    #39622
    TheCOWDOG
    Moderator

    We will own them here. If…we manage a couple on the road.

    Bank it Mofos

    #39623
    TheAliasTroll
    Participant

    well that sounds real sweet

    #39624
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Here’s your moral victory…

    Uncle Roy says….

    “We (State) dominated them in the second half.”

    “The only team shooting worse than us (*NC) in the first half was them.”

    and he doesn’t mention how Cuz’s outstanding performance decimated his defenses in a ‘close game’.

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #39625
    wufpup76
    Keymaster

    We will own them here. If…we manage a couple on the road.

    ^Maybe … I dunno … so many offensive rebounds.

    #39626
    MrPlywood
    Participant

    Request for next game thread, please start a new thread to eliminate scrolling through all of the preview… Thanks!

    #39627
    MP
    Participant

    Like the sound of that ^^. But seriously we gotta get tougher on the boards. I think they out rebounded us by 16.

    #39628
    packalum44
    Participant

    Could anyone imagine a Wes Moore coached team completely embarrass themselves such as Gott has done against Duke, UNC and UVA?

    A good coach doesn’t get blown out by 20+ points multiple games (this qualifies despite final score).

    Playing with house money today. Ten point dogs. Perfect game to play loose. Instead we play like our sphincters are sewn shut.

    Note we are only ten point dogs bc Gott is at the helm not bc of insurmountable talent discrepancy.

    Awful game plan and preparation. Average coaches won’t ever beat equal to higher talent without luck.

    #39633
    vtpackfan
    Participant

    Too many 6’9″ forwards recruited by State who are not really 6’9″. UNC consistently recruits big, big men, and the play under the basket was comical volleyball today.

    It’s one reason the “small” lineup we go with works ok. Warren is as big as any 4 and rebounds better.

    Hell, put TJ at the 5 and you wouldn’t see a drastic change.

    #39634
    wolfatthebeach
    Participant

    I couldn’t disagree with you more! No doubt Gott is a good coach. He took a team that was 16-16, 5-12 in the ACC to the Sweet 16 with 24 wins the very next year with pretty much the same players. Even this team has improved vastly since the beginning of the season. The holes have way more talent than we do this year. Even with Hairston gone they still have 4 MAAs. I for one am going to cut Gott some slack. IMHO he is the best coach we’ve had since V.

    #39635
    VaWolf82
    Keymaster

    IMHO he is the best coach we’ve had since V.

    That’s like calling someone a tall midget.

    #39636
    Wulfpack
    Participant

    Gott is good, but he is by no means great. We in all likelihood sit March out this year, and next year becomes very telling for his future here. Coaches that miss out two years in a row at major programs typically don’t fare very well, especially if those in your back yard are soaring by you.

    UNC was the agressor today and beat us up down low. Vandy was a no show. For us to win against good competition takes a complete team effort. As of today we have wilted against the best teams on our schedule. That must change if we are to have any shot at March.

Viewing 25 posts - 201 through 225 (of 253 total)
  • You must be logged in to reply to this topic.