A look at Virginia Tech

Stats by StatSheet.com

For some unknown reason in the cosmos, there are certain schools that State either matches up well against or seems to struggle with. Georgia Tech football seems to be a team the Pack always, always struggles with. The same with Maryland in football.

One team that State has matched up with on the hardwood in recent years is the Virginia Tech Hokies. The Pack currently holds a six-game winning streak against Virginia Tech, including three wins last year. In fact, State has only lost to the Hokies once since they joined the ACC, their first meeting as conference foes.

(Continues)

There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason why the Pack -- even in down years -- matches up well the the Hokies. In 2006-07, State laid an absolute arse whoopin' on them in the RBC Center, shooting an insane 66.7% from the floor, including 73.3% from three-point range. It was one of the most dominant performances a Wolfpack team has ever put forth in recent memory.

If the trend is to continue this year, it will take some of that harmonious, offensive-stars-aligning mojo in heavy doses. The Hokies are once again a solid program, ranked 40th in the RPI and capable of beating any team in the country as their win over #1 Wake Forest proved.

They enter the game on a two-game losing streak, however, dropping close games to Clemson at home and a road game against Boston College.

Their two big weapons are A.D. Vassallo and Malcom Delany, who account for the vast bulk of their scoring. Vassallo is a big man who can shoot well from the perimeter, so he could pose some matchup problems for the Pack. And, of course, Delany will challenge our guards offensively and defensively.

So the Hokies have a chance to snap two streaks -- a two-gamer and a six-gamer. We'll see if history continues to favor the Pack and keep them going.

View the complete entry of "A look at Virginia Tech"

ESPN Ready To Share Running + Vomiting With The Rest Of The World

ESPN planning to cover the Krispy Kreme Challenge

Gotta love the notoriety the Krispy Kreme Challenge is garnering after just a few years of existence. There's something morbidly curious about events like this -- ones that usually involve insane numbers of calories, much like the Coney Island Hot Dog Eating Competition. People just like to take part in and experience it, even if vicariously.

So ESPN is planning to send a film crew to Raleigh for this weekend's event, to be held at 9:30 on the streets of downtown Raleigh connecting the Belltower and Krispy Kreme.

(Continues)

The most intriguing thing, per the January 26 article:

"We're also toying with the thought of having one of our own reporters run the race," Harves said. He offered no hint as to who that reporter might be.

Awesome! This sounds like something right up the alley of one Scott "Message Boards" Van Pelt, who strikes me as the guy who never really graduated in spirit. He'd be all over this, for sure.

I'd love to see Chris Berman's fat ass try to make it...but he'd probably just plop down at the Krispy Kreme counter and hit on all the winded coeds that come through the door.

Mike Tirico might give it a go, but again, him hitting on winded coeds would be a problem.

Van Peezy seems like the most logical choice.

In any event, 5,038 fast, hungry sons-a-bitches will be flooding the streets of Raleigh, all in the name of a good cause. And ESPN will be there capturing every glorious moment!

(Any chance competitive running/eating replaces poker in the off-hours rotation?)

View the complete entry of "ESPN Ready To Share Running + Vomiting With The Rest Of The World"

Signing Day Wrap Up

GoPack.com press release:



I think it's a solid class. It's not a spectacular one, by any means, but one thing Tom O'Brien and recruiting coordinator Jerry Petercuskie have shown over the years is that they are very adept at finding skilled, hard-working kids that are "coachable."

Petercuskie had a fantastic quote in this piece from Tim Stevens that stuck with me this week:

"We want to coach football, not coach effort."

Exactly. Stars are great and indicative of tremendous potential, but O'Brien and company have done a fantastic job of looking past the stars and looking for work ethic.

Hard to believe that Spring Football is right around the corner.

View the complete entry of "Signing Day Wrap Up"

This week's N.C. Basketball Report from Dare Society

Just two teams remain in the top 10 in RPI with the Deacs slipping to 14th.

View the complete entry of "This week's N.C. Basketball Report from Dare Society"

State 87, Central 59

Stats by StatSheet.com

Stats by StatSheet.com

If you look at the game flow chart above, you can see that the game was statistically over at the 7:08 mark.

You wouldn't know it based on the first three minutes of the game, in which the Pack fell behind 10-2 at home against the worst team in Division 1 basketball.

You also wouldn't know it watching State turn the ball over 20 times. After three solid games of protecting the basketball, sloppy, silly basketball made a return to Raleigh. State's point guard triumvirate of Julius Mays, Javier Gonzalez and Farnold Degand combined for 10, and Ben McCauley added another four just for good measure (peer pressure is a b*tch, I guess?).

I could try breaking this game down further. I won't. The team seemed as disinterested in playing it as I am right now in analyzing it and it showed in their slow start and sloppy play. A 28-point win is nice, but when you struggle to do so against the weakest team in America, it rings hollow.

View the complete entry of "State 87, Central 59"

A look at NC Central; or, Let's just this over with

Out of 344 Division 1 teams, KenPom.com has them rated dead last.

Stats by StatSheet.com

Look...I hate being the guy to say things like "Games like this are beneath us," and "There's no good reason for us to waste our time playing a team like this," but games like this are beneath us and there's no good reason to waste our time playing a team like this.

(Continues)

I hate saying stuff like that because it sounds eerily like the sorts of things that get spewed from our blue brethren to the west. But when it comes to basketball, teams literally don't get any worse than the Central Eagles. There's not much State could gain from playing this game, other than to let Kaycee Obi-Gwacham throw down a windmill or whatnot.

I would say this would be the perfect opportunity to let Javi Gonzalez see some major minutes, but last night Coach Sidney Lowe hinted that there are things other than his health and practice habits keeping him off the court. So don't look for him to play any/much, either.

I suppose Johnny Thomas could get some major minutes for conditioning sake. Perhaps Dennis Horner can work on his interior or perimeter game some (both could use improvement). But beyond that, I really don't see how this will be an entertaining game beyond the 15:00 mark of the first half.

If you're looking for scoring from the Eagles, look for it from freshman guard Jamar Briscoe. His points-per-game average has been steadily trending upward, and he now averages 16.2 points per game to lead the Eagles.

Get in, get a win, get out with no injuries.

View the complete entry of "A look at NC Central; or, Let's just this over with"

N&O: O'Brien's system works

Nice piece from Tim Stevens in today's N&O/Charlotte Observer.

It reads like a small measure of sunshine on a dreary Wolfpack Monday following Saturday's game and--if you were like me, rooting for Adrian Wilson and Steve Keim--Arizona's come-from-ahead loss in the Super Bowl.

It sheds some light on O'Brien and recruiting coordinator Jerry Petercuskie's philosophies and methods in the world of recruiting. Here's a snippet:

(Continues)

"As long as we're meeting our needs with players that meet our criteria, we'll be pleased with the group," said Jerry Petercuskie, the Wolfpack's football recruiting coordinator.

One reason for the variance in the perceived quality of each class and its actual achievements could be that recruiting rankings do not evaluate how players fit into a specific program.

"We rate players on things like size, speed, strength and skills and project how they will develop," said Mike Farrell, who covers the Atlantic Coast Conference for Rivals.com. "What we don't do is figure in anything about the program where a player is going. That's not part of our evaluation.

"But it is a huge factor in a player's development."

When you look at the players O'Brien has developed over the years (the piece mentions both Matt Ryan and Mathias Kiwanuka) and the number of offensive linemen he and his staff have put in the NFL (tops of any college), it's tough to argue with the results.

Other fanbases can bleat on about stars and rankings, but I'll trust Major Tom's proven method over star power any day of the week (preferably Saturday).

View the complete entry of "N&O: O'Brien's system works"