Against UNO on Sunday afternoon, Tracy Smith played like a man with a handful of Skips and Wild Cards, dropping 20 on the Privateers to help push State to a 69-52 win over New Orleans.
Some notes on the game:
Some notes on the game:
- State did well playing defense without fouling. The Pack only committed nine fouls for the entire game, limiting UNO to just four free throw attempts (they made three). Conversely, State went to the line 25 times and hit 19 of them. That 16 differential in made FTs was nearly the margin of the game itself.
- State blocked an amazing 14 shots. Dennis Horner had four, Tracy Smith had three and Jordan Vandenberg added another three in limited minutes. State's 14 blocks doubled their block total for the season to that point (14 over four games).
- The Pack's guards protected the ball well. State finished with only 13 turnovers, and four of those came from the usually-sure-handed Tracy Smith. Javy Gonzalez finished with but two against eight assists--fantastic numbers.
- The Pack has a quick turnaround to get ready for the Princeton-style offense of Northwestern as part of the ACC-Big 10 Challenge tomorrow night. A convincing win in that game would go a long way to serving notice that this "new look" N.C. State team is a threat and not a team to take lightly.
I'm eager to see how well the Pack does against better competition. Between Northeastern and Marquette, we'll get a good guage as to this team's potential. I'd be happy with a split, but if this team plays hard and gives great effort, i won't be too disappointed if we don't win either. I have guarded optimism.
ReplyDeleteI like the intensity on defense ... they just have to keep that the entire game and not lose focus. If we can continue to get consistent outside shooting to keep constant double and triple teams off Tracy, and Javi continues at his current level of play, they should reach 17-18 wins. The lack of high-end talent and surplus of youth limits the upside, but I like 'em.
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