NC State drops a tight one at Purdue, 66-61

Whew. Man. All right. That happened and we can't change the fact that it happened and DAMMIT ALL /hurls chair out window

Can't fault NC State's effort tonight, but they let a win get away from them--in the first half, it was defensive rebounding that proved costly, and in the second it was bad free throw shooting. Cat Barber had a rough night at the point, but everybody not named Kyle Washington or Trevor Lacey was nonexistent at the offensive end.

Despite the missteps, the Wolfpack almost pulled this sucker out; as frustrated as I feel right now, that fact remains. It was a one-possession game with a minute left. Lacey and Barber both missed free throws in crunch time; there were interesting officiating decisions; State had a lot of bad offensive possessions. A lot. Barber was terrible. Still almost won.

I am clutching at these things, you guys. It helps a lot right now. State out-shot Purdue but lost this game in the margins. We'll be fine--this team is going to be fine--it just sucks they couldn't make the two or three plays that would have turned the outcome in the other direction. So close.