Just watched the game on replay. Zona has a very talented team. They probably win that game 7 out of 10 times, but didn’t today. There’s no way that freshman center is 18, just no way. He can really play.
I had thought we’d play them close but lose and that some garbage free throws by Zona at the end would make it a ten point game and seem
bigger than it was. I knew we were quite a bit better than most of our fans thought, but with Abu being out (and likely rusty), it was a very tall task to expect the upset. I was hoping though, and told Paki not to spoil it for me given he was watching live.
Great team and program win tonight. NC State looked like one of those veteran teams that makes deep tournament runs by playing at a high level and very poised. Every single player with a NC State jersey contributed to that win, regardless of whether they got in the game.
I know it is early. I know we’re going to take some lumps. I know with our style we’re going to get in foul trouble some games, or due to lack of shooting we’ll struggle against pack it in / stall ball teams, but I love the style of play and am cautiously optimistic about our early returns.
