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NC State Basketball

Wolfpack Fold, #8 Irish Refuse to Lose in OT

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9 years ago

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NC State as clicking on all cylinders once again. They were up nearly 20 once again, and they folded up once again as Notre Dame stormed back from a 18 point deficit to beat the Wolfpack 81-78 in OT. 

Early on it was the Wolfpack who looked like a top 10 team in the country. They were scoring from everywhere. They were hitting jumpers, Abu was scoring every time he touched it inside. Cody Martin was locking down on defense and driving to the basket for buckets. Lacey and Turner weren’t even being utilized as scorers in the early going. Lacey racked up 5 assists pretty quickly as Cat Barber was benched to start the game. But all of that was short lived….

Soon after, Abu picked up his 2nd foul and was sent to the bench. This is when State changed. They went back to a team searching out the jumper. Ralston Turner took contested 3 after contested 3 and Trevor Lacey was forcing everything he could. The Irish did a good job of not allowing those guy to get clean looks but State kept taking them. As the tides began to change as the first half came to a close, Jerian Grant started to come alive, driving to the basket and finishing or dishing out to Connaughton or Jackson for 3. At the half, the 18 point lead had become 12 and the momentum seemed to have shifted.

The second half was much of the same. State struggled to get anything other than jumpers and the Irish closed off any 2nd chances by owning the boards. State stayed with the lead most of the 2nd half. The margin stayed thin and the Pack was even up 5 with 1:16 left to play.

After a Grant FT, instead of going inside and trying to get to the line, they took a Cody Martin jumper and missed. Jackson came down for the Irish and hit a layup. Making it a 2 point game.

This is where things got weird. With 16 seconds to play and up 2. NC State simply had to inbound the ball. ND would foul and they would have to ice it at the line. They had a group of guards in. Ralston Turner (88% from the line), Trevor Lacey (75% from the line) and Cat Barber (70% from the line.). Instead of taking their chances at the line, Martin breaks deep and Lacy throws a high arching full court pass that Martin has to go up and fight for. Of course, it goes off of him out of bounds and the Irish get the ball and a chance to tie with 16 seconds left.

And then it happens. The usual ‘State on defense final possession.’ They defend as hard as they can, they shut off all good shots. When the Irish finally do get one off its with only 6 seconds left, they miss, they tip it up, no good, they tip it again….and it falls in. We go to OT.

Overtime was much more of the same. Abu had fouled out so State was one dimensional again and after taking an early lead, the Irish came back took the lead and ended up winning by 3 when Lacey couldn’t get a buzzer beater to fall.

 

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wormncsu
wormncsu
9 years ago

I was at the game and believe me it was heartbreaking to watch. The inbound pass by Lacey still leaves me scratching my head. This team the last few games has built nice leads in the first half of games only to come out in the second half and look like a completely different team. But I think we all need to take a step back and think to before the season started. Did any of us think they would be this competitive with a roster of freshmen and sophomores. I have been a fan and keep up with this… Read more »

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NC State Baseball

NC State has Dominated UNC in Athletics in 2023-24

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1 hour ago

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April 20, 2024

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After NC State clinched a series victory over UNC last night in Baseball, I thought it would be a good time to relish in how the Wolfpack has dominated the Tar Heels Athletic Program as a whole in 2023-24.

The Wolfpack Baseball team has won the first two games in the series against the Tar Heels, clinching a series victory over UNC for the first time since 2021. It marks the first time NC State has won a series against the Tar Heels in Raleigh since 2016.

NC State defeated UNC in Volleyball 3-1, winning in Chapel Hill for the first time in 25 years. The Tar Heels had won the last 5 matches against the Wolfpack.

The Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels 39-20 in Football in Carter-Finley Stadium. It marked the 3rd consecutive win over UNC.

NC State lost both regular season games to UNC in Men’s Basketball, but when it mattered most, the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in the ACC Championship Game 84-76, winning their first title since 1987.

The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team lost to their rival in Chapel Hill, but defeated UNC 63-59 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 5 of the last 7 against UNC.

In Gymnastics, NC State defeated UNC 196.725-194.925 in Raleigh. This marked the 3rd straight victory for the Wolfpack over the Tar Heels.

NC State’s Men & Women’s Swimming & Diving teams both beat UNC. The Men won 258-93, and the Women won 196-157.

The Wolfpack Wrestling team defeated UNC 33-6 in Reynolds Coliseum. NC State has won 11 straight Duals against the Tar Heels.

The NC State Men’s Tennis team defeated UNC 4-0, winning against their rival in back-to-back years.

The Wolfpack Women’s Tennis team has defeated the Tar Heels 4-3 on two occasions thus far this season, and will face their rival again today.

The Cross Country teams didn’t have individual meets against UNC, but the Women obviously beat them, because they won the ACC Championship. The Men didn’t, finishing 8th in the Conference, with the Tar Heels finishing 1st.

The only other NC State athletic team that didn’t taste victory against UNC this year was the Women’s Soccer team, losing 0-4 in Raleigh.

Of course, each of these NC State athletic teams has much higher goals than just beating their rival, but there’s no denying how sweet it is to beat the Tar Heels.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is Currently Visiting NC State

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17 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is on a visit to NC State currently, according to a source.

Indiana State Transfer Ryan Conwell was on campus last week, but he just committed to Xavier.

From what I hear, the staff preferred James over Connell anyway. A plus with James is he has 2 years of eligibility, whereas Conwell has 1.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

Rivals ranked James as the #71 overall player in the 2021 recruiting class, and ESPN ranked him as the #7 prospect in the state of Florida.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years. This year, he averaged 12.6 points and 5 rebounds.

For a more extensive look at James’ game, click here.

Rivals ranks James as the #77 overall player in the Transfer Portal.

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NC State Basketball

Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James is a Priority for NC State

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20 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Louisville Transfer Guard Mike James (6’5″/200) is a priority for NC State, according to a source.

News broke about James entering the Transfer Portal back on March 25th, and NC State was quick to reach out. Kevin Keatts and his staff recruited the former 4-star prospect out of high school heavily, but he ultimately chose the Cardinals.

After redshirting his first year in Louisville due to torn achilles, James has been a starter for the Cardinals the past two years.

This past year, James averaged 12.6 points per game (3rd on the team) and 5 rebounds. He’s extremely physical and aggressive, taking 47% of his field goal attempts at the rim (making 46%). As a result, he draws a lot of fouls, ranking 10th in the ACC in Fouls Drawn, and 4th in Free Throw Rate. James made opponents pay this year when they put him on the line, making 81.8% from the charity stripe, which ranked 15th in the ACC.

James shot the ball better as a Redshirt Freshman, than he did this past season. His Effective Field Goal Percentage in 2022-23 was 55.8%, which ranked 19th in the ACC, and his True Shooting Percentage of 59.6% ranked 14th.

He does have the ability to knock down a three, making 34.8% for his career.

NC State already hosted Indiana State Transfer Guard Ryan Conwell last week, and while the Wolfpack coaches like both players, from what I’m hearing, James would be their preference.

NC State hasn’t had James in for a visit, but that could happen soon.

James has 2 years of eligibility remaining.

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NC State Basketball

NC State’s Casey Morsell is the 4th Player in NCAA History to Start 41 Games in a Season

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1 day ago

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April 19, 2024

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NC State Guard Casey Morsell started 41 games for the Wolfpack this season, becoming the 4th player in NCAA history to do so.

 

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A post shared by NC State Basketball (@packmensbball)

Prior to this season, the record for most games started in a single season in NC State history was 37, with three Wolfpack players doing so: Lorenzo Brown, Richard Howell, CJ Williams.

Morsell now sits atop the list, and a fellow teammate, DJ Burns ranks second, with 40 games started this season.

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