MBB Game 02 - @ NC State - 11/17/14, 7 PM on ESPN3

[cactus]

Might have been as bad a half a I've seen since the 2nd half vs Louisville

[HofstraHockey]

I don't know, we're 2.5 minutes into this one and it's already looking uglier

[ProudofPride]

2 technical fouls in a row, 1 on Nichols and one on JAM.

[EvanJ]

The deficit is down from 19 to 9 at 55-46.

[Polito]

Yep first half was brutal but as DD said Hu can make a run and turn it around, just need shots to fall, get to the line to keep the pace manageable, and create some defensive pressure/turnovers

Want to see them keep fighting every possession - HU can win this...

[Polito]

And no Kone def doesn't help...

But really need the other guards/sf to step up and help Green - Nichols having a bad game, need a 2nd guy to get hot

[Polito]

They've contained Lacey and Barber pretty well, which to me was a huge key - that is really all they should've needed to steal a w, but they've let some third guy go off... Need to lock that down - without that third scorer they'd prob be leading

[EvanJ]

Hofstra scored more points in the second half than North Carolina State and won against the spread. North Carolina State won 76-64. Juan'ya Green led Hofstra with 19 points. Hofstra shot two-pointers horribly. Hofstra shot three-pointers better than two-pointers.

[HUSID80]

They looked pretty intimidated and nervous at the start, forced shots, etc. in the second half they regained their poise a bit and at least were competitive...this was a learning experience for this team...we have the pieces and the coaching to have a memorable season. Key will be to bounce back and be strong against Stony Brook, which IMO is a much more important game.

[doug]

The team did not give up. I think they came out very tense and a little intimidated. That resulted in a lot of turn overs early. I don't know what our free throw percentage was, but it had to have been around 50 %. We always make one and then miss one. NC state didn't shoot their free throws well either, so that was a wash. What frustrated me the most was all of the shots we missed around the basket. At one point we were able put back at least 5 shots and none went in. Green had a nice game. That is what we need from him on a very consistent basis. NC state put number 1 on Bernardi and he was unable to get many shots off. Finally, the 2-3 zone worked well against this team. On to Stony Brook.

[Polito]

Yep, won the 2nd half - actually a lot of positives - would love another shot at them - if you look at game stats most every major category was relatively even - neither team shot particularly well...

My thoughts:
Good - won 2nd half, beat the spread, played without Sr Kone, shot bad and still had a chance

Bad - shot poorly, allowed a 3rd scorer to go off (can't do that with any good team and win), Bernardi and Nichols had very off games which really hurt - and I know Tanksleys final line was decent but though he could've added more - Dion needs to shoot better, takes a lot of shots to get his pts

Credit to NCState, they played fast and aggressive - still don't think they're that good, prob mid pack ACC and still believe HU can beat them if played again - but now I'm hoping they turn out to be great, a ranked team when all said and done

Hate moral victories but have to be fair: 2nd game these guys are playing together against D1 comp and they hung tough on the road in the ACC, and had a shot even after shooting so poorly

Looking forward to the guys taking it out on SBU - still maintain HU is legit and should handle them in a big way - I'll say around 15 pt victory - not many other teams on the sched that can play HU like state did even if they shoot poorly - still see this team making major noise - ROLL PRIDE!!

[HofstraHockey]

I think if this game was played in January and not November, Hofstra would have had a much better showing. The turnovers were killer- many of them weren't when they were trying to make a play, they were just flat out losing the ball (Gustys under the hoop all alone comes to mind). The zone worked, but a few too many times I looked and someone was guarding open space while a shooter was standing by himself 10 feet to either side. But, glad to see they were able to adapt a bit a make it work.

[cactus]

This team needs to work on ball control. Even against Jacksonville there were too many lost handles and passes that the defense can get a hand on on the offensive end. Need to tighten that up. That, giving up too many offensive boards, and losing almost every 50/50 ball...this was not a well played game by Hofstra, even in the 2nd half.

[stuball888]

My keys to the game were turnovers and rebounding. We fell behind early and that was to big a mountain to climb. Hoprfully we learn from our mistakes and take it out on SBU.

[DutchDoug]

Just back from the game, I had posted something before the game from my seat but the hopeless WiFi at PNC apparently didn't behave and thus it didn't go through. Too bad cause I was going to mention that NC State is more than just a 1-2 punch, while Lacey (2 year starter and transfer from Alabama) is their best player, Turner is actually their best shooter (and a 5th year senior - a starter at LSU before transferring his junior year, just to counter the youth theory). It appears Turner's shooting was somehow lost in the scouting report? and he proved to be a true zone buster though overall the idea to go zone was successful and even Coach Gottfried admitted "If I was playing our team, I'd go zone all the time". Turner's outburst is not surprising, he's a guy that can go for 20 if he gets hot and that rang true tonight and it hurt Hofstra bad.

Hofstra seemed very nervous at the start, missed shots are going to happen but the turnovers are just killer and it's an area where NC State will really make you suffer. 13 points off 10 first half turnovers, and they ended up losing by 12 so there ya go. I was impressed with Gustys though, for a freshman in his second game he wasn't afraid to bang with ACC bodies, and liked the fearlessness and recklessness if you will, of his play. Needs to learn to finish better around the hoop, but that will come with time, I still liked the motor on him. They could of obviously used Kone. Lot of missed layups, too many really. And give State credit, they were certain to not let Bernardi get too many touches.

The run Hofstra made, I told you all, it was gonna happen. I've never seen a team get so complacent as State does when they get a big lead. The focus and intensity just disappears, the offense just becomes a giant cluster-you-know-what and nobody in the building really knows what the heck it is, except letting the opponent get back in the game. And Hofstra made a nice run, the team showed a lot of heart, they showed fight, they showed true grittiness. They were far from great tonight, pretty miserable shooting night and a horrible first half all around, yet to only lose by 12.

I listened to the Wolfpack radio broadcast on the drive home and should let you know that Wolfpack Head Coach Mark Gottfried in the post game interview was quoted as saying "This is a really good team we played, when we made our schedule we wanted to schedule teams that could win their league. This Hofstra team can certainly do that, they are incredibly well-coached, have a terrific player in Green and I really believe they'll win 20 to 22 games this year, I think they're really good". The play by play radio team later hammered home that same point and were very complimentary of Green saying he was certainly a CAA player of the year candidate and one of the best non-conference players they'd face all year. We all know the greatness of Green, but to hear it from the opposing radio team (and an ACC one at that) is very nice to hear, so thought I'd share. Comforting words after a loss.

NC State, I believe is better than how they played tonight but then again same could be said of Hofstra. With both teams playing to full capability, if they meet 10 times, dare I say Hofstra could win 4 of those 10, which ain't too shabby when it's an ACC team. We should not be discouraged by this performance at all. NC State came out and played terrific at the start and Hofstra was terrible, it could of been a lot worse. But Hofstra fought and proved we are a team to be reckoned with, and in all truthfulness, NC State by season's end could be a vastly better team and say a potential 6th place ACC finish and this won't look like such a bad loss in the end for Hofstra. Wonderful learning experience, they will definitely build off this. Onto the next one

[Flying Dutchmen]

We can say we lost because we shot poorly, but I thought most of our offensive struggles tonight were due to NC State's considerable size advantage, and shot-blocking prowess, which altered an incredible amount of shots in the paint for us tonight. We shot 30% from the field, which is obviously horrible, but 32% beyond the arc, which should be good enough to win games.

This early in the season, you have to take the bad with the good. I thought we actually did a lot right tonight. We hung with them on the boards, we played well in transition, got good looks from the perimeter, and we limited NC State's fast break points.

Our freshman frontcourt was clearly overmatched on the offensive side of the ball, just 1-9 from the field. Not a great game for Nichols either, did not get to the hoop strong enough to make an impact on the game. Bernardi was completely shut down too, we needed a big performance from him on the perimeter to keep this one close.

Not surprisingly, we moved to zone D in the middle of the first half, and it was somewhat effective against a poor shooting team like NC State. We did not play well defensively though, I thought they had way too many uncontested shots, a better shooting team would have beat us by 20+.

Another solid effort by the team though. The best quality of last year's team was the consistent effort despite the competition or the score. This trait has appeared to translate to this much deeper roster, which could lead to big things. Let's run Stony Brook out of the Mack Friday night!

[Polito]

Good points FD, agree, a lot to take away here - and great first hand insight Dd, thx

Look a loss is a loss, no excuses, but as a learning experience this game will go far - and I'd bet the farm that in previous yrs HU loses this game by 25-35, especially playing that bad in the 1st

Love the comments from coach G, and I'm really hoping they turn out to be a big team this yr making this L look even better

When you look at the key team measurables, HU and State were basically even - from boards, to fouls, to turnovers, even shooting % was equally bad for both

HU did a great job controlling 2 potential all conf players - unfortunately a 3rd rose up and that's tough to overcome, as well as poor shooting - bernardi will need to do a better job getting quality looks, but there will be times when shots don't fall, and rest of team must step up - having him, Nichols, and post guys struggle scoring hurt of course, as well as lighter games from both Robinson and Tanksley (admittedly I have high expectations for him) - kudos to States D

No Kone hurt as well just for his experience and strength - playing 2 true frosh against that kind of competition is baptism by fire! tough spot but this will do wonders for their growth - and Gustys still pulled 12 boards, I mean when has HU ever had a frosh post guy do that against an ACC team?

I'm extremely encouraged by their never give up attitude and that this is a WELL COACHED team (feels like its been awhile for that!) - now go put a beating on SBU and show everyone this is a talented growing team that will be a force to be reckoned with come March

[Polito]

Oh, and I LOVE the fact that most of HUs struggles in the 1st were likely due to nerves - understandable for a new teams 2nd game, on the road, big atmosphere, ACC, talented competiton with size and depth, etc.

Cool thing is that's something they'll grow out of and move past, it's something thats completely fixable with experience, and will not be an issue come later in the season

The fact that one of the teams biggest challenges in that game is something that can be corrected and overcome is HUGE - nothing to do with talent, coaching, play calling, etc - just pure experience, which was a known variable from day 1

That is very encouraging to me - I feel these guys will be ready next time.

[Cards]

Watched the game on ESPN3. Losing an away game to an ACC team this early in the season is not a knock against us (although the first 10 minutes was tough to watch). It's clear to me this will be a very good season for us. Given our schedule (and barring injuries) I still contend we should win around 20 games.

[HofstraHockey]

What's Kone's status? I must have missed that.