State holding close as predicted. It is 19-19 with 11:05 to play in the first.
The Tar Heels are hosting the Wolfpack tonight at the Museum, and I think it will be better than predicted to be.
State is on a 2-game winning streak, and is playing their best ball of the season. They have scored 82, and 86 points in their 2 wins.
The team playing great transition offense, and saturday at GT, they played some of the best halfcourt defense I have seen in a while, holding Gani Lawal to 7 points and 4 rebounds.
Carolina is on a tear since losing to WF.
I think the game will be close for 30 minutes, and then Carolina will pull away.
But I do think this is one to watch
State holding close as predicted. It is 19-19 with 11:05 to play in the first.
Tyler Zeller has just been inserted into the lineup.
Guess that answers all questions.
And Mac ran right around him for a layup. If Ol' Roy thinks Zellar, coming off an injury, is going to be able to at all contain Mac, Costner, or Smith, he's just plain stupid.
BTW, Hans has airballed an 18 footer, bricked another 18 footer, and airballed a turnaround jumper. Can we officially put to rest the notion that this gimp has any game at all outside putbacks, that wierd shot-put thing, and free-throws?
For those who don't have Raycom, Carolina leads State by two, 28 to 26, with six minutes left in the first.
And another Beaker turnaround off the front of the rim. If this kid wins player of the year again, it's a travesty.
Gonzalez 3 for 3 from 3 point land. If he can hit from outside consistently, NCSU is a different team.
39 to 36 UNC at the half. State put on a nice run to end the half and keep its confidence up.
I knew this was gonna be a close game through 20 minutes.
Javi Gonzalez has 16 points and is playing great.
State needs to avoid any huge runs by carolina.
If fells gets goin, state has a chance
GO WOLFPACK!!
I was talking about TH's perimeter D, not team D. He was in McCauley's(I think) grill quite a bit and moved his feet pretty good.
UNC did have 12 steals, and thats a good D stat. Give State credit, they hit some tough contested shots. But once again UNC got lazy in spurts. They frustrate me to no end. There were stretches when they looked good defensively and then would get up 14, then get lazy on defense like they know they are going to just score when they want to anyways.
That's going to bite them in the behind.
I was thinking the same thing, Wheat. Lots of Duke fans and observers are buzzing openly about the possibility that this Duke team may be sliding into the same late-season slump that led to such unsatisfying results at the end of the last few years. But it appears to me that this Carolina team may also be starting to exhibit a familiar flaw that has shown up in the latter part of recent seasons--a tendency to relax and play on cruise control early in games and in stretches after they build a lead, with an almost smirking confidence that they can turn on the A game when and if it's needed. I'm sure that may be a little unsettling to their most perceptive fans.
Good to run across you again there, Stray.
They drive me nuts sometimes
Note: Was trying to edit for clarity back there and double posted. Must be time to call it a night.
The difference is that Hansblahblah has to rely on the refs and that's subjective. There's nothing subjective about JJ's shooting ability, it's just there. Hansputz is far better than average even without all the help he gets from the refs. That's actually what makes the help he gets so frustrating! He's really good. When you add in assistance from the refs, he's an All American. Sad but true 9F. When did this become a UNC board anyway?
I think this sort of confidence was evident very early on in the first half when State was up... I think... 16-9. I think. In any case, UNC got a hoop, a TO on the next posession which turned into a Green dunk, and then a run out off of a miss that Lawson dropped back to Ellington for a three. As El Sid called timeout, Raycom showed Ellington mugging for the camera all the way back down court. So if UNC had ocntinued at that pace, they'd have been up 20 at half. Instead, they shut it down and were up 3. They're like a sports car where the driver revs the engine every once in a while.
WWJDD?
I think it's a bit of hyperbole to suggest they can score at will like that and that the opposition has nothing to say about the matter.
It's one thing to contend that UNC gets lazy when they are up, but to suggest that they could just continue to dominate if only they wanted to is absurd.
Good game last night...State played well, but Carolina is just better. State, despite the loss, is playing their best ball so far this year and is a scary team heading into the home stretch.
Jason Evans, Come On Down! You're the next contestant on "It's 1998 Again".