Wolfpack fall short against Wake

NC State fell short last night against a hungry and angry Wake Forest team, 85-78. NC State was down by as much as 15 points in the first half, when they decided they wanted to show up and play, halftime score was 43-35 Wake Forest.

What’s going right?

• Point guard play is shaping up, Javi and Degand combined for 20 points but had 5 turnovers combined.
• Surprising NC State only committed 8 turnovers all game, which is well below our average.
• Tracy Smith gets mentioned again, amazing play against Wake with 18 points and 4 rebounds.
• Horner played great against Wake with 10 points and 6 rebounds in 22 minutes.

What’s going wrong?

• Costner and McCauley have been quite, for about 3 straight games now. They need to step up there play in the final 3 games and in the ACC tournament.
• Second chances points killed us again, Wake had 18 second chance points, we have got to get defensive rebounds.

What’s Next?
Overall I am really happy with NC State’s playing as of late and excited for an NIT or possible NCAA tournament birth. Nearly coming out of Wake Forest with a win is a huge feat of its own this year, now we just need to take care of Maryland and BC at home. Miami doesn’t have too big of a fan base so that away game shouldn’t be too big of a threat. Looks like the starting lineup will remain Costner, McCauley, Smith, Fells and Javi for the Maryland game on Sunday night in the RBC Center. NC State will be looking for there 6th win in ACC play against a rising Maryland team who just shut down UNC last week. The Wolfpack will need to be able to hold Vasquez, who leads there team in points per game,rebounds,assists, free throw percentage and steals. Not going to be easy, but another game to test Lowe’s ability to control the play maker.

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Wolfpack barely hold on to beat Virginia

NC State barely held on yesterday in beating the Virginia Cavaliers in the RBC Center, 72-67. Once again this season the Wolfpack let a 17 point second half lead slip away to only 1 point with 10 seconds left in the game. Lucky then the ball was put into the hands of Courtney Fells who hit 4 straight free throws to secure a victory. That wasn’t the first time Virginia came back on the Wolfpack either, in the first half Virginia was down 18 at one point and managed to bring it to 3 points at half time. One more interesting fact about the game, Brandon Costner didn’t score a single basket in 22 minutes he played and may actually have been injured.

What is going wrong?

• Turnovers, the problem still has not gone away, the Wolfpack committed 10 just in the first half.
• How is it that the Wolfpack cannot finish out a game. It is scary to see the Wolfpack consistently give up 18,19,20 point leads every half of every day. Really? I think this may go back to coaching and possibly defensive problems.
• Free throw shooting, no reason we should be under 70% from the line. Tracy Smith went 50%, Horner missed two in a row down the stretch for the second time this season and Williams went 0-1 from the line.

What is going right?

• CJ Williams is scoring big points for us putting up 16 total points and four 3-pointers. A good sign for the future of Wolfpack basketball.
• Tracy Smith is playing great and game-by-game becoming more and more efficient from the field.
• Although the Wolfpack shot 45% from the 3-point line, they still hit 8.

What’s next?
The NC State Wolfpack will take on the Demon Deacons of Wake Forest on Thursday night at 8pm in Winston Salem. Lets hope that Duke gives them a run for there money again and wears them out before Thursday. The Wolfpack upset the then No. 7 Deacons about two weeks ago in a stunning 82-76 performance. Hopefully the Wolfpack will be able to control Jeff Teague again, the Deacons leading scorer and play maker.

NC State UNC breakdown

NC State falls to UNC 89-80 on Wednesday night in Chapel Hill at the Dean Dome. This marks an outstanding 17-1 record for Roy Williams against the Wolfpack. The Wolfpack and Javi came out swinging in the first half, playing solid defense and hitting key shots on offense.  The Wolfpack were down 39-36 at half time.  Then came the second half, a classic UNC moment and a blow out to say the least, shooting at about 65% and having 1 turnover UNC plowed through the Wolfpack scoring 50 points. NC State battled back about midway through the second half and cut the lead down to 6, but UNC just kept coming at the Wolfpack and extended its lead to 19. The Wolfpack were able to battle back with a few 3 pointers and bring it to 9 before the game ended.  NC State dropped to 4-7 in the ACC.

Random NC State-UNC Game Stats
Free Throw % - NCSU(42%), UNC(87%)
3-pointer % - NCSU(55%), UNC(33%)
Points of turnovers - NCSU(9), UNC(28)
Second Chance Points - NCSU(4), UNC(16)

Whats going wrong?

• The Officials at the UNC game, Jamie Luckie, Ed Corbett, Mike Eades. I hope to never see them again, horrible job.
• Ferg and T-bone(Johnny Thomas) haven’t seen a minute in the past few ACC games, I think this should see a bit of rotation from the help they have given earlier this season.
• Trouble stopping the play makers, once again knowing that Hansborough and Lawson were going to run the show, they still did and scored 44 on us combined. Lowe has to be able to control the play makers.
• Make free throws, no reason we should be under 70% from the line. Shooting 40% from the line is completely unacceptable and goes directly back to coaching and practice.

Whats going right?

• Javi is stepping up huge for us, posing such a threat as to stop the full court press. His scoring is becoming more confident but still needs to watch his turnovers, had 5 against UNC.
• Tracy Smith is playing great, using his size and agility he went 7-12 from the floor and had 6 rebounds.
• Scoring, in the past 4 ACC games the Wolfpack have put up 80+ points, this is largely due to the recent heavy contributions from Smith, Javi, Williams, and Fells.

Whats next?
NC State will take on Virginia, in what I am calling a MUST WIN game. The game will take place in the RBC Center on Saturday at 1 pm.  Virigina has just come off of two key wins against Clemson and VA Tech.  They are sitting just below NC State in the ACC Standings at 3-8.

Wolfpack take down Yellow Jackets again

The NC State Wolfpack defeated the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets by 21 in a 86-65 victory in Atlanta on Saturday afternoon. The win marks the first time this season the Wolfpack have had a ACC winning streak, which is now at 2 games. Six NC State players had double digit points, Tracy Smith finished as the player of the game with 18 points and 10 rebounds.

What’s going right?

• Free throw shooting, finally the Wolfpack were able to put up good numbers in the GA Tech game and shot 80% from the line.
• It’s raining 3-pointers, the Wolfpack shot 53% from behind the arc, Costner hit 2-3, Fells hit 2-4, and Williams hit 3-5 in the GA Tech game.
• Great big play from Tracy Smith, game after game Tracy is showing us amazing post moves and great power.
• Rebounding numbers have been good, with a 34-26 margin in the GA Tech game, it seems Sid’s bigger line up for NC State is working out.

What’s going wrong?

• Point guard position, we talk about this every week, lets face it Javi did a great job on Saturday and Degand struggled with 5 turnovers. It seems that Javi can control the press just a little better than Degand right now, Javi’s up court passing really seems to be helping us. Lets just hope that Javi’s emotions, won’t get the best of him in the Carolina game on Wednesday night.
• McCauley going merely scoreless in the GA Tech game, not to big of a concern, but we need to make sure it doesn’t happen again against bigger opponents.
• Turnovers, really we have to talk about this again. Quit turning the ball over, the GA Tech game was the 3rd of the past 4 games the Wolfpack has gone 20+.

What’s next?

The NC State Wolfpack will take on the UNC Tarheels in the Dean Smith Center. The Wolfpack have lost the past four meetings with UNC in the Smith Center by an average of 22 points, flat out embarrassing. The Wolfpack will have to stop Tyler Hansborough inside the paint with key double teams from its big men. Javi with a bit of help from Fells will need to control Ty Lawson. As for scoring, the Wolfpack will need to put up big numbers, double digits from both McCauley and Costner, Fells/Williams/Horner will need to be hitting 3’s.  The upset is scheduled for prime time Wednesday night at 7:45pm in the Smith Center, this game for sure will be on TV.

2009 ACC Tournament Tickets

The 56th annual ACC Men’s basketball tournament is coming up and tickets are available.  The tournament will be held at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta, GA on March 12-15.  This is the first time I have ever seen a university release tickets to the public for the ACC tournament.  The Virginia Tech Athletics Department has release tickets to the ACC tournament for the general public.

Go to www.hokietickets.com to buy the tickets.  This will be the only chance left this season for NC State to make the NCAA tournament, so pick up some tickets and get out the Georgia Dome.

The tickets released by VA Tech are in the upper deck and are $363 a piece, remember this is for the one seat to all the tournament games.  Tickets are still avaliable.

NC State 2009 Baseball Schedule Released

NC State 2009 baseball schedule has been released.  Season tickets are right around $130, which for 33 home games has to be one of the best deals in live sports for the Triangle.  Single game tickets can also be purchased by going to gopack.com and clicking on Tickets.  The season will start off on February 20th with a home tournament called the Summit Hospitality Invitational.  The NC State baseball team was ranked top 10 in the total package category by Danny McMurtry of Recruiting Closer this year.  Check out the NC State 2009 baseball schdule below.

2009 NC State Baseball Schedule

Date	Opponent	Location	Time (EST)
Fri, Feb 20	Xavier vs. Santa Clara	at Raleigh, N.C.	11 a.m.
Fri, Feb 20	Rhode Island	Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Sat, Feb 21	Santa Clara vs. Rhode Island	Raleigh, N.C.	11 a.m.
Sat, Feb 21	Xavier	Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Sun, Feb 22	Santa Clara	Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Sun, Feb 22	Rhode Island vs. Xavier	at Raleigh, N.C.	11 a.m.
Tue, Feb 24	High Point	at Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Wed, Feb 25	Elon	at Elon, N.C.	4 p.m.
Fri, Feb 27	Hofstra	at Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Sat, Feb 28	Hofstra	at Raleigh, N.C.	2 p.m.
Sun, Mar 01	Hofstra	at Raleigh, N.C.	1 p.m.
Mon, Mar 02	NC A&T	at Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Wed, Mar 04	Villanova	at Miami Shores, Fla.	2 p.m.
Fri, Mar 06	Miami	at Coral Gables, Fla.	7 p.m.
Sat, Mar 07	Miami	at Coral Gables, fla.	7 p.m.
Sun, Mar 08	Miami	at Coral Gables, fla.	1 p.m.
Tue, Mar 10	George Mason	Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Fri, Mar 13	Maryland	Raleigh, N.C.	3 p.m.
Sat, Mar 14	Maryland	Raleigh, N.C.	2 p.m.
Sun, Mar 15	Maryland	Raleigh, N.C.	1 p.m.
Tue, Mar 17	NC Central	at Durham, N.C.	6 p.m.
Wed, Mar 18	Elon	Raleigh, N.C.	6 p.m.
Fri, Mar 20	Wake Forest	at Winston Salem, N.C.	6 p.m.
Sat, Mar 21	Wake Forest	at Winston Salem, N.C.	6 p.m.
Sun, Mar 22	Wake Forest	at Winston Salem, N.C.	1 p.m.
Tue, Mar 24	UNC Greensboro	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Wed, Mar 25	Liberty	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Fri, Mar 27	Virginia Tech	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sat, Mar 28	Virginia Tech	Raleigh, N.C.	2:00 p.m.
Sun, Mar 29	Virginia Tech	Raleigh, N.C.	1:30 p.m.
Wed, Apr 01	East Carolina	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Fri, Apr 03	Boston College	at Chestnut Hill, Mass.	2:30 p.m.
Sat, Apr 04	Boston College	at Chestnut Hill, Mass.	1:30 p.m.
Sun, Apr 05	Boston College	at Chestnut Hill, Mass.	1 p.m.
Tue, Apr 07	UNC Wilmington	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m
Fri, Apr 10	Duke	at Durham, N.C.	7 p.m.
Sat, Apr 11	Duke	at Durham, N.C.	2 p.m.
Sun, Apr 12	Duke	at Durham, N.C.	1 p.m.
Tue, Apr 14	Wofford	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Wed, Apr 15	East Carolina	at Greenville, N.C.	6 p.m.
Fri, Apr 17	Florida State	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sat, Apr 18	Florida State	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sun, Apr 19	Florida State	Raleigh, N.C.	1 p.m.
Tue, Apr 21	UNC Greensboro	at Greensboro, N.C.	6 p.m.
Fri, Apr 24	Virginia	at Charlottesville, Va.	7 p.m.
Sat, Apr 25	Virginia	at Charlottesville, Va.	1 p.m.
Sun, Apr 26	Virginia	at Charlottesville, Va.	1 p.m.
Fri, May 01	Campbell	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sat, May 02	Campbell	at Buies Creek, N.C.	4 p.m.
Sun, May 03	NC Central	Raleigh, N.C.	2 p.m.
Wed, May 06	UNC Wilmington	at Wilmington, N.C.	7 p.m.
Fri, May 08	North Carolina	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sat, May 09	North Carolina	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sun, May 10	North Carolina	Raleigh, N.C.	2 p.m.
Tue, May 12	Appalachian State	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Thu, May 14	Clemson	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Fri, May 15	Clemson	Raleigh, N.C.	6:30 p.m.
Sat, May 16	Clemson	Raleigh, N.C.	1 p.m.
Wed, May 20 -Sun, May 24	ACC Tournament	at Durham, N.C.	TBA

NC State 2009 Football Schedule Released

The NC State 2009 football schedule was released by the ACC today.   For the first time in history the Wolfpack will be playing 8, count them 8, home games.  On top of that the first four football games of the season will be at NC State.  With the 2009 football schedule the Wolfpack will not leave the state of North Carolina until October 17th, when the take on Boston College.  NC State will host UNC in the final game of the season, making the rivalry even more intense.  Tickets are currently on sale for the season, check out gopack.com for further details.  Get ready for Russell Wilson, Nate Irving and my boy Willie Young to rip through ACC competition in 2009.

NC State 2009 Football Schedule

Date	Opponent	Time
Sept. 3	South Carolina	TBA
Sept. 12	Murray State	6 pm
Sept. 19	Gardner Webb	6 pm
Sept. 26	Pittsburgh	TBA
Oct. 3	@ Wake Forest	TBA
Oct. 10	Duke	TBA
Oct. 17	@ Boston College	TBA
Oct. 24	OPEN
Oct. 31	@ Florida State	TBA
Nov. 7	Maryland	TBA
Nov. 14	Clemson	TBA
Nov. 21	@ Virginia Tech	TBA
Nov. 28	North Carolina	TBA

Wolfpack take down Wake Forest

The NC State Wolfpack beat No 7 Wake Forest tonight in the RBC center 82-76.  The Wolfpack merely gave up a 20 point lead and somehow pulled out a victory.  The Wolfpack were up by about 20 with 10 minutes in the game, a familiar feeling, just about the time the Deacons began to charge back.  With a little over a minute left on the clock and state only up by 2, McCauley gets fouled and hits one of his shots.  Wake comes back down the court and answers with nothing, Javi grabs a rebound and gets fouled.  He hits both of his, followed by another Wake missed 3-pointer and then a foul with one more free throw by Costner.  Fans rushed the court and the place went wild.  But of course the world could not see the game, unless you were in the RBC Center or payed to watch it on ACC pay-per-view, its really nice to see NC State pull out an upset and stick it to Wake.

What went right?
Free throw shooting, state shot great from the line.
Great play by Costner and McCauley, both had huge games.
Finally stopped the big man, I have been talking about it all season and finally the Wolfpack answer and stop Teague who finished with 11 points.

What went wrong?
Seriously, it happened again, we gave up a 20 point lead with 10 minutes left in the game.
The ACC, for not making this game televised and making fans pay to watch it. Thanks Mitches for playing the game.

Whats next?
850 the buzz, better stick to its word and cover the NC State upset over the result of the UNC-Duke game on Thursday AM. NC State will go to Georgia to take on GA Tech on Saturday at 1:30pm.

Wolfpack lose 18 point lead, VA Tech wins

The NC State Wolfpack gave up a 18 point lead in the final 10 minutes of the game on Sunday against VA Tech.  The loss puts the Wolfpack at 2-6 in ACC play.  The Wolfpack scored only ONE FG in the final nine minutes, letting the Hokies get back into the game and sending it to OT.  Dennis Horner missed two clutch free throws down the stretch, which may have given NC State the win.

Whats going wrong?

• Point guard position in shambles once again.  With Degand hurt(PE class injury), it looks like Javi needs to step up again.  Keep in mind he gave up 5 turnovers in the second half of the VA Tech game
• Turnovers, still killing us, NC State commited 22 against VA Tech.
• Keeping a lead, many people want to blame this on coaching, whatever it is, Sid better call a timeout next time we are up 18 and talk to the boys. 

Whats going right?

• Ben McCauley and Brandon Costner are both playing well, with 38 combined points and 20 rebounds against VA Tech.
• Tracy Smith has been playing some what consistant, with 13 points against VA Tech.
• Fells has been hot and didn’t play his best against VA Tech but still put up 17 points.

Whats next?
NC State will take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons on Wednesday at 7pm in the RBC Center. Wake is currently #6 in the country and has one of the best players in ACC in Jeff Teague. NC State has failed in all previous attempts this season to control the opponents PLAY MAKER, as I call it, hopeful they will be able to control Teague while the world watches the Duke-UNC game. Tickets are currently on sale on gopack.com, check out our ticket section for more details.

NC State Wake Forest Tickets For Sale

The ticket can be purchased by going to gopack.com and clicking on Tickets or by calling the NC State Ticket Office at (919) 865-1510.

Wednesday’s game against the Demon Deacon’s tips off at 7 p.m. and will not be nationally televised.  The game will be avaliable through ACC Select, check out the ACC website for more details.

 

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