State downs Canes in resounding fashion

01/31/2016StateFans15-16 Basketball15

It was a great win and a really fun day at PNC Arena. State played loose but with really good focus from the start and hit key free throws over the last three minutes that served to extend the lead and give state a resounding 85-69 margin of victory. Heck, the Pack got three or four offensive rebounds on the FIRST possession of the entire game – serving to set the tone for the effort that was to come over the next 40 minutes.

It comes as no surprise that Cat Barber led they way with ANOTHER 30 point game on 10-18 shooting from the field and 10-10 from the foul line (where he has hit 35 in a row!)

Other than Barber, Abdul-Malik Abu delivered a performance consistent with what we expected to see this season – scoring 19 points and grabbed 7 rebounds.

Link to N&O article.

the roots of the gritty win were set in practice on Thursday and Friday. N.C. State (12-10, 2-7 ACC) coach Mark Gottfried blasted his team after a lackadaisical effort in a 90-83 loss to Georgia Tech on Wednesday.

The practices were intense and were completed in plain white T-shirts, instead of the usual practice gear.

“(The practices) were crazy,” junior forward Lennard Freeman said. “That’s all I can say.”

The new spartan practice gear will remain in effect, Gottfried said Saturday, until the “privilege” of playing basketball for N.C. State is fully appreciated.

“Coach G was trying to send a message because people weren’t playing hard,” Freeman said. “He thought we were taking things for granted.”

Gottfried got the response that he was seeking with his pointed comments after the Georgia Tech loss but he was not in a mood to celebrate on Saturday.

“You have to learn how to do it every single night,” Gottfried said. “It can’t be one of those things where we do it every now and then. This league is too good. Hopefully we’ve learned a lesson that will carry on.”