Our Take: Wolfpack Escapes Miami with 56-55 Win

This was definitely a huge win for the Pack. They really couldn’t afford a loss down in Miami, and in the end they escaped with a very fortunate 1 point victory.

This game was classic NC State. Brilliant at times, extremely ugly stretches and a controversial ending. The only thing out of the ordinary was the fact that the chips fell in the Wolfpack’s favor. Here are a few of our notes:

Miami had no answer for TJ Warren
27 points and 7 boards. Once again, without Warren NC State isn’t even close in this game. He had a 8 straight points early in the second half and was really the only option on offense down the stretch. Whether it’s against man or zone, Warren finds ways to score. He is having an unbelievable season and should touch the ball on EVERY NC State offensive possession.

Ralston Turner knocked down six 3s
Turner did another one of his Scott Wood impressions in the first half, knocking down 3 after 3. He finished with 17 points and was 6-13 from downtown. Warren and Turner combined for 44 points. The rest of the team…12 points. Turner is really becoming a guy they can count on in the scoring column. When he gets an open look, it’s usually going down. He does take some questionable shots, but when nobody else is able to get it going, Turner really does need to hunt for his shot.

Changing of the Guard?
Tyler Lewis got the start today. Maybe it was because Barber was sick most of the week, but maybe that was an excuse for Gottfried to slide Lewis back into the starting spot. Who knows for sure. Cat Barber is going to be a superstar for State, but as we’ve pointed out numerous times, he has a lot to learn as a point guard. Lewis brought a calm to the Wolfpack offense and helped them get a lot of good shots against the zone. Barber still looks to attack off the dribble against the packed in zones when there’s nothing there, leading to turnovers and poor shots. Until he learns to run a team and really puts scoring on the back burner, I think Lewis is going to see a lot of minutes at the point.

Classic NC State!
How about that ending. The basketball god’s were doing everything in their power to take this one away from State. First the Dez Lee pass that bounced off Warren’s leg and into the backcourt where Miami had a guy just waiting to lay it in. Then, what should have been the game sealing rebound turned out to be a 1o minute ordeal where the refs were trying to figure out if Kyle Washington threw an elbow with 1.9 seconds left. He obviously didn’t and I am still unsure why it took 3 refs so long to make this call at the monitor. Luckily the call went State’s way… but it still wasn’t over. Washington missed both FTs and Miami has to heave a full court prayer, only Kyle Washington decided he wanted to jump and try to block it….slamming into Manu Lecomte as he threw it down court…no call. I don’t know how State escaped this one with the win, but they did and they should feel very lucky.

Overall, Ugly…But a W
Honestly, there isn’t too much to say about this game. It was ugly. Miami played zone, State can’t seem to figure out how to beat a zone, and neither team could get much going offensively. Miami shot 33% and State shot 37%. Outside of Warren and Ralston, nobody really was too productive. Unfortunately Dez Lee was a bit under the weather (he had the flu), as it seemed like the type of game he could dominate.  Either way, at the end of the day they walked away with the win, but if the Pack wants to make a late run, they’re going to need to get better against the zone.

Next up is at Wake on Tuesday night at 7pm