I would suggest that there were teachable moments on Wednesday night, but I do not know that teachable moments are so much a thing, as there are reminders that yes, the other team is also trying to win.
NC State came out gangbusters, played great the first 15 minutes of this game, and Boston College missed a bunch of shots, the Wolfpack took advantage of the Eagles’ poor inner defense. For a good portion of the first half, state led by double digits. DJ Funderburk was dominant in his first return to action.
DJ scored 17 points in the first half, got what he wanted, and States consisted at arm’s length from Boston College, who threw between the entire side and made a backbone grow and tried to fuck the whole thing.
Factors
| Four factors | NC State | VC |
|---|---|---|
| Four factors | NC State | VC |
| eFG% | 56.5 | 56.1 |
| TE% | 24.3 | 23.9 |
| OR% | 36.7 | 39.4 |
| FTR | 48.1 | 28.1 |
Pace and efficiency
| Team | Pte | Possess | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | Pte | Possess | OFF_EFF | DEF_EFF |
| VC | 76 | 70 | 108.6 | 112.9 |
| NC State | 79 | 70 | 112.9 | 108.6 |
Look, you can never make out the interruption of how it’s going to go: maybe they’re lying down, maybe they’m tired, maybe they want to go home. Or maybe they’re growing a backbone and want to try to fuck the whole thing up.
Boston College is a definite example of the latter. The Eagles did not just want to give up, and they almost stole this game on the road, and they deserve a lot of credit for it. I do not think the state came out of the half and expected a fight, and it showed. The state was happy to come out under this one.
You have to be careful with complacency.