Saturday, January 12, 2008

Liveblog! NC State @ UNC -- First Half

[12:00PM] Let the hurtin' begin.

[12:02PM] Fells is playing, so that's good news. Honestly didn't think there was any way he'd be able to go considering the way he limped off the court on Wednesday.

[12:04PM] Marcus Ginyard tries to take the ball to the rim...for some reason. He turns it over, Fells scores the game's first bucket at the other end. Ellington answers quickly.

There's JJ. One touch, one basket, one foul on Hansbrough.

[12:06PM] Hansbrough, backing in on Hickson, "who is not known for his defense." Because you would totally know, Mike Patrick. Carolina's actually playing man-to-man right now, which is lunacy on their part.

[12:08PM] Costner drives, beats his man, misses layup, complains about no foul call...not that there was a foul.

[12:10PM] Definitely not shooting the lights out to start this thing. After Gavin misses a three, the Heels come down and get like 12 shots at the basket. They had at least three offensive boards on that possession. Ben, Dennis, Marques check in. And QT!

[12:12PM] Quentin Thomas, makin' things happen as usual, this time with a nice dish to Ellington. McCauley gets his second basket at the other end to re-tie the game. 9-9, 14:26 to go.

[12:16PM] Gavin fouled Hansbrough so hard he lost a contact. Let the Psycho-T free throw parade begin. Carolina shows a press after the FTs, but we break it easily. McCauley forces a shot in the lane, gets blocked.

[12:18PM] I'd criticize, but I didn't realize the shot clock was running low, either. Carolina still in the man-to-man. The Heels score off a tip in, it's 15-9. Not shooting well, not rebounding, and there's a Wolfpack turnover.

[12:19PM] Good lord, that was comical. Box out, guys, for the love of god.

[12:21PM] After a McCauley offensive rebound, Hickson gets several chances in close but can't convert. When was the last time we scored?

[12:23PM] Mike Patrick doesn't like our socks. JJ hits a jumper.

[12:27PM] Wonderful possession. Javi dribbles for 15 seconds, passes to Hickson, ball goes off a Tar Heel's shoe out of bounds. Gavin then takes the ball in the post and attempts to score against Green and Hansbrough...it ends poorly.

Carolina is starting to get some opportunities to run off of our missed shots as our laziness sets in. Lowe calls a timeout, and he's clearly not happy with Javi at the moment.

[12:29PM] JJ needs to chill out a bit. I know it must feel amazing not to be surrounded by three guys while he's posting up, but that's no excuse for forcing it.

[12:32PM] Carolina has us on complete lock down. We look like NC Central. I thought we might look decent if the Heels decided to play man-to-man, which they have, but we can't even manage a decent look at the basket.

[12:35PM] 27-11. "State's not even guarding underneath" -- Elmore.

[12:39PM] Haven't hit a shot in about seven minutes. Heels get another layup. I'm really enjoying this.

[12:41PM] I don't know what it is we're doing offensively...it could only be described as vaguely organized. We've quit trying to run the offense, so from here, who knows how bad it's gonna get.

[12:44PM] We're 1-21 after starting 4-8. Gavin misses a wide open layup, then a three. And, oh snap, QT has scored. It's officially an embarrassment.

[12:45PM] This is the most pathetic and inept performance by an NC State basketball team that I've ever seen.

[12:47PM] Settlin' for jumpers, not getting back on D. Can we just go home now?

And there's Courtney with a basket! Wooo!!!!!!!!1111111111 Sarcastic cheers for the Tar Heel crowd.

[12:50PM] This is Austin logging in live from the Dean Dome where my mood can best be described as borderline suicidal. Carolina has even done the Pack the courtesy of playing zone, but State has pretty much rolled over. I agree, worst NC State performance ever.

[12:53PM] Thanks for checking in...I'm sorry you have to witness this in person. Ugh. -- Steven