The N.C. State Wolfpack trailed the entire game, until with 0.6 seconds remaining, DJ Bruns completed an up and under move to give them a 54-52 road win over Notre Dame Wednesday night. Longtime fans will recognize that score, as that’s the same one State prevailed with over the Houston Cougars in the 1983 NCAA Championship game.
It was a 9:00 p.m. start and whenever your team is in the late window, you run the likely risk that the early game will go over. And, indeed, that’s what happened here. By the time coverage switched over to this game, the Pack trailed, 12-4. Notre Dame extended to a 12-point lead, as State had an atrocious night shooting the ball.
The announcers kept talking about how good the Irish defense was. And it’s not fair to say that they had nothing to do with State’s offensive woes. But the Pack was getting decent looks for much of the night, without seeing the ball go thru the hoop very often.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame shot 50% from the floor in the first half, including 6-13 from behind the arc. Compare that to State’s 35% from the floor and 18% from 3-point territory. The Pack was lucky to be down by just eight at intermission.
And somehow the shooting was even worse in the second half. State shot 23% from the floor and 17% from deep. But the Pack had two things going their way in that they pounded the offensive glass and they hit their free throws. After shooting 50% from the line in the first half, State converted 11-12 free throws after halftime. And most of those free throws came from their big men. Mo Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks went a combined 6-6 in the second half from the line.
Speaking of Diarra, he barely played in the first half. But coach Kevin Keatts finally went to him deep in the second half. He only played 12 minutes overall but he had six rebounds, a block and a +9 for the night. Since we missed the beginning of the game, we don’t know if Diarra is still suffering from any of his leg injuries. But he looked healthy when he did play. Anyone who’s watched State play this season can see that the team is better when he’s on the floor.
State improved its record to 10-3 overall, 2-0 in the conference. Both of the conference wins are road games, which is a very nice thing to have, even if neither were over ACC heavyweights. State will finally get to play at home but the competition will be noticeably harder. The Pack hosts Virginia Saturday afternoon and their next tilt will be a home battle against the Evil Empire, No. 8 North Carolina.