Clemson 60, NC State 50

by Akula Wolf on Jan 26, 2011 2:16 PM EST

Four Factors	NC State	Clemson
eFG%	44.8	46.3
Turnover Rate	20.5	17.1
Off Reb Rate	20.0	37.5
FT Rate	20.8	24.1

	Pts	Poss	OFF_EFF	DEF_EFF
Clemson	60	58.5	102.6	85.5
NCSU	50	58.5	85.5	102.6

Box Score

That was a speedy descent into flames even by this team's usual standards. Thinking back on the liveblog, I'm not sure there was one person who didn't expect we'd eventually surrender the big lead. Clemson went on a 17-1 run to close the gap late in the first half and put State away with a 16-0 run late in the second half. It's still a little amazing to me how predictable this stuff has become.

The most confounding part about the whole ordeal was Sidney Lowe's insistence on playing CJ Leslie for a significant chunk of the second half, a move so totally incomprehensible that it's still bothering me. It was plainly, painfully obvious that Leslie was hampered by illness and hurting the cause as a result. This game was so crucial for Sidney Lowe's future and yet it was like he was purposefully sabotaging his own team. Amazing.

Of course there was a wide array of issues that scuttled their chances last night, as tends to be the case; Leslie was simply the most obvious example. When Clemson began to play more physical basketball, State had no counter and everything fell apart. We went from looking like a polished basketball team to a collection of guys who just picked up the game the week prior. Stop me if you've heard that one before.

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Comments

with regard to Leslie look at Riddick & Reynolds minute by minute

detail of Leslie’s play.
last year i had issues with Lowe’s offense. still do. can’t be effectively run on the college level. i now also have issues with his substitution pattern. less subing would be better. seems to me many coaches in the past only substituted in the first half playing the starters most if not all of the second half. with all of the t.v. and team called timeouts, a starter should be able to log 35+ minutes per game.
i have often wondered how State played so well during Lowe’s first year and when Atsur was healthy. was it the fact that Lowe only had 6 players and the starters logged many minutes?
a high substitution pattern kills momentum.

by sbas2 on Jan 26, 2011 2:42 PM EST reply actions

i have often wondered how State played so well during Lowe’s first year and when Atsur was healthy. was it the fact that Lowe only had 6 players and the starters logged many minutes?

That’s a fair guess based on what we’ve seen since then. We were so thin he couldn’t tinker and accidentally screw something up.

Backing The Pack

by Akula Wolf on Jan 26, 2011 3:53 PM EST reply actions