Bearcats romp Pack 76-60

The Cincinnati Bearcats took advantage of a sluggish and sloppy NC State team today. This is one of the most disappointing losses under Coach Gottfried since his arrival in 2010. You could tell how frustrated Gottfried was from his post game court-side interview with Tony Haynes and Gary Hahn. He started his interview by apologizing to the Wolfpack faithful and wished he could give them their money back to ease the pain of such an awful performance. He was consistent in his comments on how the team lacked enthusiasm, energy, and pride. These comments are unfortunately true! Some 17,000 Wolfpack fans were in attendance despite the awkward start time only to leave disappointed. Coach Gottfried took part of the blame but I will pin this loss on the players. I find it puzzling how Coach Gottfried can display so much desire and energy on the sidelines yet our players show up lethargic as well as emotionless. College basketball is too competitive of a landscape to not show up with energy. NC State will have the same result every game if they do not play with energy…a loss, it’s that simple.

Today NC State allowed the Bearcats to force them into 13 turnovers which resulted in an early hole for the Pack. To compound the problem State was out-rebounded 31-26 by the Bearcats. Defensively the Wolfpack could not string together any stops as the Bearcats shot 53 % from the field. State found some energy as they were able to claw their way back late in the second half. Twice the Pack cut the lead to 10 but once again couldn’t get enough stops to get within single digits.

Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner both turned in their worst performances of the season. The duo combined for a total of 11 points and 5 turnovers. It was a strange outing for both players as they looked unsure for most of the night. Ralston only attempted 4 shots while Lacey went 1-8 from the field. NC State will not be successful if these two players do not play up to their ability. I will chalk up the outing by Lacey as a fluke. No one is immune to an off-night, sometimes the ball doesn’t want to go down. I believe in Trevor and know he will bounce back against Pittsburgh this coming Saturday. Also look for Gottfried to run some plays early for Ralston in an attempt to get him going. State is a completely different team when his shots are falling.

There really isn’t much to be gained from a performance like this. It is what it is…A bad loss. The season can go one of two ways from this point on. Either the team will rally together and play with heart, enthusiasm, and energy that is needed to compete and be successful, or they can continue to go through the motions and get their tails whipped. There really isn’t any middle ground. Saturday will be a great barometer for the rest of the season. I have faith the Pack will come out and play inspired basketball and will display great energy and positive attitudes in order to beat Pitt.

Tip-Off is slated for 12PM at the PNC, if you cannot make it out be sure to catch the action on Raycom/Acc Network.