Survived. Advancing… NC State 74 – Xavier 59

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T.J. Warren may start slow, but over the course of forty minutes, no one has been able to stop him completely.  Not Pitt, not Syracuse, not Duke, and in Dayton, not Xavier. Last night in the NCAA First Four, Warren missed his first two shots as the Wolfpack opened up its tournament against Xavier in a First Four game, and even worse, he picked up two quick fouls and tweaked his ankle in a defensive effort against the Muskateers.  NC State fans must have had a sinking feeling at that point, with their star player on the bench and in foul trouble before the game really seemed to get underway.

Fortunately, basketball is a team game, and his teammates picked him up with solid defense, rebounding and scoring to keep themselves not only in the game but also building a slight lead.  To be sure, Xavier was helping out, missing shots they normally would have made and generally being outhustled by the clearly hungrier Wolfpack.  At the same time it should be said that State dug down, did what it needed to do and prospered.  To say that Xavier simply gave the Wolfpack their lead and ultimately the game would be dead wrong.  State took control from them, and for the most part, State kept control until the end.

The game ball probably should go to Sophomore point guard Tyler Lewis.  With reserve Cat Barber on the bench for most of the game with flu-like symptoms, complete with nausea and a fever, Lewis took control of the Wolfpack offense, and had perhaps his most effective outing in the 2013-14 season.  Lewis had 8 assists, some of them of the spectacular variety, and he also made some shots that kept Xavier at bay.  He only scored seven points, but those points came at important times and they kept the Musketeers honest by not allowing them to slack off of him and onto other players — like TJ Warren or Raulston Turner.

For his part, Raulston Turner also had a good game — 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists in 33 minutes, but the most telling part of the shooting guard’s game last night in Dayton was the quality of his shots.  He played well under control and made the most of things for the most part when he found himself open and finished 3-7 from three point land and 6-11 overall.

Then came the TJ Warren show.  He continued his torrid steak, netting 25 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists.  In his last 5 games, that’s an average of 30.2 ppg, 7.7 rebounds, with 13 assists and 13 steals overall.  Given that pace, it was fitting that it was a record-setting night for the sophomore, as he surpassed Wolfpack legend David Thompson and now holds the all-time record for single-season points. Thompson set the record 39 years ago in 1975.  Like Thompson, it’s fair to say that Warren has become a Wolfpack legend in his own right, and one who deserves his place among the greats who have ever donned the uniform of one of college basketball’s storied programs.

For the Wolfpack, the celebration of their underdog victory in Dayton had to be short, as they had to quickly get to the airport to catch a plane and prepare for their game on Thursday.  They next play #5 seed Saint Louis in Orlando and will once again be the underdogs and the lower seed.  Somehow, with T.J. Warren and a full cast of characters by his side, it doesn’t feel that way, but at this time of the year more than any other, it’s one game at a time, and the motto is simple: Survive. Advance.  That’s what State did tonight, and that’s just what they plan to do on Thursday.

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Home Forums Survived. Advancing… NC State 74 – Xavier 59

Viewing 25 posts - 1 through 25 (of 32 total)
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  • #48039
    Alpha Wolf
    Keymaster

    T.J. Warren may start slow, but over the course of forty minutes, no one has been able to stop him completely.  Last night in Dayton, Warren missed hi[See the full post at: Survived. Advancing… NC State 75 – Xavier 59]

    #48042
    MrPlywood
    Participant
    #48043
    wufpup76
    Keymaster
    #48044
    graywolf
    Participant

    Give Tyler Lewis credit too……he was part of this winning formula.

    #48045
    YogiNC
    Participant

    Tyler was a monster. isn’t it funny how just two months ago the discussion was about him leaving the program. I guess he got his head on straight and dug in because he has been playing REALLY good ball lately. The feed to Vandy was unreal and TIMELY. In lots of ways he reminds me of Towe, but much better in lots of ways because he is an unreal passer.

    Smarter than the average bear

    #48046
    choppack1
    Participant

    Yogi – there is a chance that his head was on straight in the first place. Today was his best overall game since his freshman year….he doesn’t do well with a revolving door. He evidently has to “feel” the game.

    Some players are like that. They have to be in a rhythm to be truly effective.

    #48048
    charger17
    Participant

    Can’t believe I’m saying this, but for the first time all season I felt like we had other go to players on the team. I remember watching in the 2nd half when warren was taking a breather, we had 5 guys on the floor who all wanted to score: cat, turner, Washington, lee and Anya. Our offense was active and aggressive without warren. I remember thinking, so this is the beginning of what next year will look like. Last night, it actually looked pretty decent.

    Gott said in the post game how much this team has grown up and I think we saw some of that last night.

    #48049
    JohnGalt78
    Participant

    Ok everybody….same EXACT clothing (assuming you were clothed) for Thursday. No washing, no ironing, regardless of the stench. This works, I swear. Survive, advance, stink worse, survive, advance……

    #48050
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Good morning Jiggs… and the rest of you guys….

    It’s a nice day, isn’t it?

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #48054
    FergusWolf
    Participant

    That was a very good performance by the team last night. When TJ went out with fouls/ankle early in the game made me appreciate the Maryland game, as that showed the team they could play without buckets on the court.

    WBS, as others have remarked, deserved the game ball last night. The X was all over him the entire game and he only had 1 TO.

    However, he looked EXHAUSTED at the end of the game. I hope that Cat is feeling better on Thursday, because we are going to need Tyler to get some rest for when we play Louisville on Saturday.

    #48057
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Good morning Jiggs… and the rest of you guys….

    It’s a nice day, isn’t it?

    It’s always a nice day after a Pack win.

    The Pack did a great job last night, just a complete game all around. The Pack’s offense was better then their yearly average and better than Xavier’s defensive averages, while the Pack’s defense was better than their yearly averages and holding Xavier well below their average offensive efficiency. I was actually shocked to see how poorly the Pack were at offensive rebounding last night but even though they only grabbed 6 OR they had 12 second chance points. Pretty dang good fellas.

    Numerous Pack players contributed in so many ways and it all added up to the 15 point victory. I hope the Pack remembers what a complete game on both ends of the floor looks like now and how defensive rebounding and steals helps create easy baskets. YMCA (Stainbrook) didn’t disappoint me last night in my prognostication that he is Xavier’s MVP. The Pack defense did a great job harrassing Christon and Martin and holding them far below their normal efficiency.

    #48058
    FergusWolf
    Participant

    I also noted that we played with generally more comfortably than Xavier did. I’m guessing it’s because we have played so many games against really tough opponents that they seems average by comparison.

    Another benefit of a tough OOC schedule an a tough conference.

    #48059
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Great find by Austin Johnson:

    State has now moved to 17-1 (L is at Cuse) when it gives up less than 1.05 points per possession defensively. 5-12 when it gives up more.

    Again, it’s not that the Pack needs a shutdown defense but an average one would mean the difference between last team in and Top 25 team.

    #48060
    Rick
    Keymaster

    Great game and oh so fun to watch.
    WBS was unreal. I am not worried about him being tired Thursday. He is in great shape and he is young.

    I hope Buckets ankle is not sore. Sometimes when you cool off it stiffens up.

    #48062
    bill.onthebeach
    Participant

    Jiggs…

    When you have some time… let’s play with that spreadsheet of yours… I’m curious….

    Let make this new metric….
    (Points scored + Rebounds + Assists + Blocks + Steals ) Minus Turnovers = ProductionPoints

    Then look back at what you did yesterday to find guys who scored in double figures in last ten games and change that to guys who had double digit “ProductionPoints” in the last eleven games… sorted H-L same as yesterday…

    #NCSU-North Carolina's #1 FOOTBALL school!
    #48063
    ILPackfan
    Participant

    Lot of contributions last night. That’s what they’re going to need to keep doing if the kids want to keep winning this week. I hope Barber is over his flu by tomorrow.

    #48064
    tractor57
    Participant

    Except for Xavier fans the game was a good one to watch and for State fans is was excellent of course.

    I was impressed by the team as much as any one individual. True to “survive and advance”. Hopefully the Hipster Cat will be in better shape for the next game. With no back to back games fatigue is less of an issue as compared to the ACCT.

    #48065
    packof81
    Participant

    It was an impressive performance. I was trilled to see the Tyler to Vandy scores. This team is definitely my trendy upset pick.

    #48066
    Texpack
    Participant

    Ok everybody….same EXACT clothing (assuming you were clothed) for Thursday. No washing, no ironing, regardless of the stench. This works, I swear. Survive, advance, stink worse, survive, advance……

    I fished the shirt and gym shorts out of the hamper Sunday evening after we got the bid. That’s why we won last night.

    #48068
    patientwuf
    Participant

    Good stuff Jiggs.

    Impressive TEAM effort by the pack last night. I’m more impressed with our toughness and how we finished the game. We completely broke Xavier’s will in the 2nd half. That’s what good TEAMS do-LOVE IT!!!

    Justifying our NCAA bid feels very awesome. My apologies to Xavier for being undervalued by committee having to play its way in.

    Xavier was completely out matched, causing me to rethink my Big East picks in the tournament.

    Ok everybody….same EXACT clothing (assuming you were clothed) for Thursday. No washing, no ironing, regardless of the stench. This works, I swear. Survive, advance, stink worse, survive, advance……

    GOTT it.

    #48069
    tractor57
    Participant

    Wearing the same clothes – check but I AM NOT going through the colon cleanse again <g>.

    #48070
    1.21 Jigawatts
    Keymaster

    Jiggs…

    When you have some time… let’s play with that spreadsheet of yours… I’m curious….

    Let make this new metric….
    (Points scored + Rebounds + Assists + Blocks + Steals ) Minus Turnovers = ProductionPoints

    Then look back at what you did yesterday to find guys who scored in double figures in last ten games and change that to guys who had double digit “ProductionPoints” in the last eleven games… sorted H-L same as yesterday…

    I don’t have that kind of time. Between job, family, next game previews, and everything else I have going on there’s just not enough time. What I can tell you is most of what you’re asking for is Offensive Efficiency and that can be found in several locations.

    #48073
    godfreyk
    Participant

    Who is “Raulston” Turner?

    #48074
    44rules
    Participant

    So BSW < WSW when it comes to 3-point shooting – by far. But recently, and especially last night, he was able to do something that would have made WSW an all-conference scorer: take a dribble or two and hit that pull-up jump shot – something that Buckets does quite well. Very nice.

    Communism is not love. Communism is a hammer which we use to crush the enemy. Mao Zedong

    #48078
    Whiteshoes67
    Participant

    ^I agree, this makes Turner potentially more valuable. From 3, Turner is deadly when his feet are set, shoulders square, and he’s open. Wood had better range but lacked the ability to get his own shot or use a fake and step inside the line. When he drifted coming off screens, he wasn’t nearly as good either. Turner’s problem is still shot selection. Even last night, he took some ill advised shots. You can always get a shot from 3 with somebody in your face, why do it wit 20-25 seconds on the shot clock?

    And Jigs, when you have time to crunch some more numbers, I’d be interested in knowing what our offensive FG%, turnovers, PPG are against top-50 competition. OUr offensive efficiency has skyrocketed late in the year.

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