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NC State Basketball

Words from the Sideline

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Communication is important no matter the profession; however, in athletics it is even more critical. In order for a team to win, they must execute the plays from the sideline and the given game plan. Throughout the game coaches communicate relentlessly to their players in hopes of giving them an edge in the contest. This past weekend I was able to focus on some of the verbal exchanges between coaches and players.

Mark Gottfried:

Throughout the game Coach Gottfried can be seen standing carefully watching the game for any area of weakness that the opponent presents offensively or defensively. He has a great relationship with Cat Barber, frequently during free throws or as Cat comes out of the game Gottfried can be heard giving Cat reminders. For example versus Queens, Gottfried frequently gave Cat encouragement to use his strengths. He told Cat to use his elite quickness to get into the paint, and cut hard off the high post. I could tell that Cat responds well to Gottfried who is very positive in his approach with his young point guard. The second half Cat really settled down and looked much more comfortable.

Another phrase that I heard throughout the game from Coach Gottfried was to not be casual in their approach. He really let Ralston know that he was not pleased with the way he was too casual with ripping the ball through on offense, which resulted in a weak turnover. Ralston responded well to Gottfried’s criticism and played much tougher the rest of the night.

One last thing that caught my ear was just how emphatic Coach Gottfried was about defense. First off I think he has a bad rap as not being a defensive minded coach. I was a part of his practices for two years; he definitely spends a considerable amount of time on defense. However I think for a team to be great defensively there has to be a desire. I am not sure in past years that desire burned throughout the whole 40 minutes. Yet as I watched Gottfried pleading with his guys to get up and pressure they were more than willing to oblige. You could see it in their eyes that they wanted to embarrass who ever they were defending!

Coach Lutz:

He is one of my favorite coaches to listen to during games. He has an incredible amount of knowledge and experience. He is great at creating the matchups defensively for our team. Periodically he makes adjustments on the fly to find the correct players to stop the opposing players strengths. He spends a great deal of time studying habits and plays of the opposing team. Even in the exhibition versus Queens, I could tell that he knew the opposing personnel, which resulted in putting our players in good positions defensively. 

Coach Early:

 Orlando Early is an excellent motivator. He’s responsible for the power forwards and centers on the team. He is their positions coach and works with them exclusively throughout the season. Coach O can constantly be heard shouting, “make them score over you not around you!” This is a simple phrase yet one of great importance. If you are making opposing players score over the top, this mean you are not getting beat to the rim. Bad things happen when guys get beat, this causes other guys to scramble into help defense, which means someone is open. If our post players can keep their man from going around them things stay airtight in the interior! Especially with BeeJay, its pretty difficult to score over the top of him, many players have been an unwilling guest to his block parties!

Coach Moxley:

 Just as Coach O is the positions coach for the forwards and centers, Coach Moxley works exclusively with the guards. Toughness is a staple with Coach Moxley as is effort and pride. Few coaches can match Rob Moxley in toughness and energy. He is constantly pushing the guards to be aggressive offensively. Throughout the season Rob puts the players through intense drills that push the players to their limits. His whole thing is to make sure he is matching the stresses that players will encounter in an ACC game. Confidence is a must with him; he makes the players feel confident in their abilities and is one of the first to give players a pat on the back, quickly followed by a get back on defense.

There will be countless lessons and opportunities for improvement this season, and I am confident that our battle-tested staff will maximize the talent and abilities within this team. The season officially kicks off tomorrow, November 14th at 7PM in the PNC. Game can be seen on ESPN 3 and the WatchESPN App.

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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NC State Basketball

A Historical Breakdown of the Series Between NC State & Marquette

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#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 on Friday night, which will mark the 6th time the two teams have played one another.

The first time the Wolfpack and the Golden Eagles played one another was also in the NCAA Tournament, and it just so happened to be the 1974 Championship game, with NC State winning the game 76-64, giving the Pack their first National Championship.

Wolfpack led the way with 21 points, and Tommy Burleson had a double-double of 14 points and 11 boards, with 7 blocks, which is tied for the 8th most in school history in a single game.

NC State also had 12 steals in the game, which is the most by a Pack team in an NCAA Tournament game.

The next time the two teams would meet was on January 21st, in Reynolds Coliseum. The Wolfpack won 89-76, and it was a night for the history books for Point Guard Chris Corchiani. In that game, set ACC career records for assists with 861 and steals with 276.

The following year, the Golden Eagles picked up their first win against the Wolfpack, winning 66-42 in Milwaukee.

It would be over 15 years before NC State and Marquette would play one another again, and this time it would once again be a home-and-home series in back-to-back years.

On December 22nd, 2008, the Wolfpack lost a close one at home, falling 65-68. Wolfpack Forward Brandon Costner hit all five 3-Point attempts in that game, which still stands as the best 3-Point Percentage in a single game in school history.

The following year, on December 5th, 2009, the Wolfpack would claim the lead in the series again, defeating the Golden Eagles 77-73 on the road. NC State big man Tracy Smith had a double-double of 19 points and 11 rebounds. Point Guard Javier Gonzalez had 15 points and 7 assists, and Wing Scott Wood knocked down 4 of his 6 three-point attempts.

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