CHESTNUT HILL, Mass. – Whether or not North Carolina State ultimately meets the expectation many have of them as ACC favorites is an open question as conference play commences. That remains unchanged after pulling out a 78-73 win at Boston College on Saturday, a game the Wolfpack could easily have let slip away.
“We didn’t play our best basketball, but at the same time we’re fortunate enough to get the win,” said senior Scott Wood, who hit a big three-pointer and then sealed the game with free throws.
It’s understandable why many are not sold on NC State just yet, even though they were picked to win the ACC. While the Wolfpack can be very good, like their best player they are also capable of looking just okay at times, and they will do some things that are head-scratchers. That hasn’t manifested itself in the form of a bad loss to this point, but it could be costly down the road.
“We were our own worst enemy today,” said head coach Mark Gottfried. “It’s a laundry list of things where we felt like we just hurt ourselves.”
Saturday provided several head-scratching plays, which Gottfried talked about after the game:
- Late in the first half, with the shot clock about to expire, Brown fouled BC’s Joe Rahon shooting a three-pointer.
- There was also the play late where BC’s Ryan Anderson got an offensive rebound, went up for a dunk and was inexplicably fouled, allowing BC to get back within one with 27.2 seconds left.
- Then with 18.9 seconds left, Rodney Purvis fouled out by fouling BC’s Patrick Heckmann as he put up a game-tying three-pointer.
In addition, the halfcourt offense can leave something to be desired, which shouldn’t happen with this team’s personnel. There is no shortage of scoring talent, there is a solid point guard in Brown who leads the ACC in assists, and there are inside scorers to complement Wood’s shooting. The Wolfpack have five players who average in double figures, evidence that this team has plenty of offensive talent. But for a lot of Saturday, this team needed their transition baskets in a big way because the halfcourt offense was not very good.
C.J. Leslie is this team’s best player in terms of what he’s done and what he’s capable of. He showed it last year when he became a big-game player later in the season, making plays when his team needed them. Still, he’s as capable of looking like an All-American as he is quite ordinary at times, and fortunately for them Richard Howell picks up the slack as he’s a constant warrior for this team. Howell had another double-double on Saturday with 12 points and 11 rebounds despite struggling to finish.
The good thing for this team is that they can better withstand a game where Leslie isn’t the factor he can be, especially with freshmen Rodney Purvis and T.J. Warren making an instant impact.
“We have a lot of talent on this team,” said Brown. “You never know who’s going to come out and perform. Everybody on this team is pretty talented.”
At different times on Saturday, Purvis (team-high 19 points) and Warren (11 points) had stretches of leading this team offensively. While that can be very good, it can also be concerning on a veteran team since the more experienced players should usually be the ones leading the way. Gottfried was happy considering it was the first ACC road game for both players.
In the end, NC State survived at Boston College, and while the Eagles might be a much-improved team as they acknowledged, a loss there would not have looked good. There are plenty of things to improve upon, and it’s better that this team can learn them after a close win than a close loss.
“There are a lot of lessons we can learn today with a happy face,” said Gottfried.
NC State missed in their best chances for non-conference wins, losing to Oklahoma State in the Puerto Rico Tip-Off Classic title game and at Michigan in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Wins over UMass, Connecticut and Stanford aren’t bad, and they didn’t play a cupcake non-conference schedule, but it’s not like they enter ACC play with a resume that can rival Duke’s thus far so one can understand why some who may have picked the Wolfpack in the preseason think Duke enters ACC play as the favorite.
What NC State has done thus far suggests they will be in the NCAA Tournament. Whether they will go in as ACC champions and with a high seed, as predicted before the season, remains to be seen. A lot depends on what they take from Saturday’s conference opener.
