WolfPack BasketBall Diaries No. 8

FSU

How about a 17-0 run to end the first half?  I was very excited on Saturday.  Sharapova already won the Australian Open the day before, which I was happy with.  After looking at the numbers between the two ball clubs, I felt good about a W.  At one point in the game, NC State had twice the amount of turnovers than FSU.  Despite the number of turnoverss, the Noles could only muster two points.  I felt good.  It was Hickson’s free throws to lift us to a final score of 69-66, not those of Grant.  Grant was sleepy at first, but he came alive in round 2.  NC State’s first conference road victory was a team effort. Aside from Hickson’s double-double and Grant’s second half, Courtney Fells’ banked in 3-pointer tied the score at 66.  Javi Gonzalez played 24 minutes with only one turnover against Douglas, the ACC’s steals leader.  Hey, was that Ferguson I saw early in the game?

The Pack looked like a totally different team from the ones that took on UNC and Clemson on Saturday.  Lowe recognized such a difference.

“We walked in at halftime and the first thing I said to the coaching staff is it was fun to watch our energy, our effort and our communication out there on the floor. The defense was solid. Even in the second half our defense wasn’t that bad. We got some fouls, but we were still aggressive with it. I thought out guys did a great job on the defensive end.”

The second half featured seven ties and six lead changes.  It was a roller-coaster to watch, espcially if you’re hungover.  Douglas picked up the slack for his team.  Douglas, who led FSU with 17 points, was still upset at his teams’ L.  Douglas had put the Seminoles ahead 62-59 with a 3-point basket with less than three minutes to go.  However, his later attempts at those same shots yielded nothing.

“We beat ourselves,” Douglas said. “I’m sorry – they didn’t beat us.”

So Douglas, are you saying that Cleveland State, South Florida, Butler, Providence, Clemson, Duke and Wake Forest didn’t beat you?  Or maybe its more like you beat yourself and we just watched along with your teammates.  Its nice and martyr-like to put the blame on yourself.  However, nothing gets me more annoyed than when a single player says something AFTER they lose a game (this also goes for NC State too, fellas), indicating their opponent was not worth the fight.  Where’s the sportsmanship?  I guess we will see on February 27th at the RBC Center.

NC State is (13-6, 2-3)

Duke

So, Maryland, the team that bumped UNC off the top of the AP and ACC polls, couldn’t pull it out against these guys.  In the beginning, Maryland came out with the fury of the Fistpounder.  Alas, in the end, the Devils of Cameron came out on top.  Well, I can’t be too upset, as that Maryland’s loss moves NC State up a bit in ACC rankings.  On the way to work monday, I saw two vehicles with Duke stickers on them.  The first sticker was on a dirty van that had broken down on the side of I-40, heading towards Durham.  The second sticker was on the back of a Forerunner, swerving lanes, confused and ultimately not doing themselves any good.  These two stickered omens boded well in my imagination.  Thursday, I thought, would show that Duke will break down, confuse themselves and so on.  Well, no matter what my imagination projected, I still had to wait until thursday to know of the games outcome.  Then, a third and final omen arrived in the defeat of the Duke Women’s B-Ball team.  Hmm.

I discussed the game with a fellow I work with who is a Duke fan.  He said that Duke doesn’t have any big dudes that they can put inside.  He said that if State neutralized Duke’s perimeter offense and offensively kept it together, then we might pull the upset of the ACC.  I liked the idea of that, because Duke is #1 in the ACC right now.  I have to admit it...State has a knack for “upsetting” people.  The only stat going for us (I think) is that Duke allows .1 pts less per game than we do.  Hmm...nothing like a challenge, right boys?  Looks like it might be a battle of defense.  The last time these two got together was in the opening round of last years ACC Tournament.  Duke was taken down by underdog NC State with a final score of 85-80. Many faces have changed for both teams this year, and that should play a huge impact.

The following quote represent the steam-of-conscious play by play.

The game starts with Marques Johnson at the point.  Duke pressure leads to a
timeout and Gonzalez comes into the game.  A charge against Nolan Smith
brings us to a Duke timeout.  Man, I wish these TV commentators would
shut the hell up.  Whoa, Fells, that looks like a Simmons dunk.  7-12....come
on, Pack!  Costner with that 3!  Remember, he was a beast in the tournament
game against Duke last year.  Horner needs to slow down.  2 fouls.  Grant
what are you doing, man the Pack looks clumsy...a 3!  Wow, that was nuts.
Grant, you gotta make those free throws.  Another 3 and the lead, 19-18.
Oh, not another foul on Fells.  Ah, nice pick up, guys.  Now coach K is having
a hissyfit and calls the time out and now you boys got a 6 point lead.  You’re
controlling the pace of this game, so Duke’s gonna try use some mind tricks
on you.  Just channel Rick Ross’ “Hustlin” and you’ll be all right.  Nice three
Grant, but now you gotta pace yourselves.  Now Simon Harris is gonna see
what he can do.  Oh, not 2 fouls on J.J.!  Okay, now Duke is making free
throws.  You guys keep it together.  Uh oh...now it looks like a fight is about
to bust out.  Come on, guys, their stupid mind tricks are working on you.
Cool your tempers.  You got free throws coming up, Costner.  Let’s make
them.  Yeah… let’s foul these dudes and give them the fear.  Sweet...now 8
team fouls for Duke.  I know we got 10 or 11, but so what?  Billy Packer is
calling this game?  Ah, way to foul when we shoot that 3!  Man, Raycom
needs to fix this audio feed.  Yeah, its our turn now.  Foul number 3 on
Scheyer....Yes!  And another on Nolan Smith.  I want the lead and more
points than Maryland had at the first half of their fight with the dookies.  Less
than a minute to go.  Looks like we won’t get there, but we got the lead
nonetheless.  We’re chipping away at these dooks.  Well, good hustle for the
ball.  I don’t mind the foul on Johnson.  He’s sensitive for a former Volunteer.
Toughen up!  Finally, Marques!  Get that lay-up, Stay up.  2nd half....not off to
the hottest start, but I’ll take it.  Gotta neutralize those 3’s, guys.  You can
always answer back.  Nice try Fells.  Come one guys, now we’re calling time
outs?  Let’s not let these douche-chills get the better of us.  Gotta get around
those screens.  Don’t let Paulus get those easy 3’s.  What the fuck was with
that fucking kick!?!?!?!  Oh shit.  Cool it down.  You can’t leave 7 unanswered.
Now it’s 9:21 to and we’re down, 58-70.  I still feel good about it, although a tad
nervous.  The minutes are ticking.  We got to get back in this game.  You’re not
down by 13, they just think they got a cushion.  This is not a pillow fight, boys.
Make those free throws.  Gotta stop them from making those 3 pointers!!!  Hey
at least we just fouled a player, although he’s not that much of an impact.  Now
the clock keeps ticking, their lead gets bigger...I’m starting to get angry.  They’ve
already scored more points in this half than we did in the last.  Miss those free
throws, Paulus.  Now let’s rain some sweet three’s....or get fouled.  Just make
those free throws.  Make some fucking threes!  Step up!!!  Okay.  Almost two
minutes to go.  Fells, you’ve been quiet the whole game.  The light at the end of
tunnel gets dimmer.  A twenty point lead with less than 90 seconds......its over.
Oh, there’s Ferguson.  Woopdeedoo.  92-72. Ah mi Dios, permitió que nosotros
tener nuestra venganza!

“I can’t believe the game got out of hand like this,” said Grant, who did his part with a career-high 26 points for the Wolfpack. “I thought it was going to go down to the wire and be a one- or two-point game, if anything.” I feel the same way, Gavin.  You did the best you could.  Hey, to have the lead in Cameron at halftime is still something to be proud of.  There are still 11 games to go, the first of which starts on Sunday, against Wake Forest at Noon.  I’ll be watching from 309.

NC State is (13-7, 2-4).

photo by sara d. davis/AP