March 15th, 2019 – ACC Quarterfinals
(3) Florida State (21-5, 11-5 ACC) vs (6) NC State (19-12, 9-7 ACC)
NC State is up to a 91 OVR rating now (90 off/91 def/92 sht/89 reb/91 coach). As we've improved to 90 OVR, our new numbers for comparison: 90 OVR (91 off/89 def/93 sht/91 reb/83 coach).
As I've mentioned before, we played two very close games with NC State. Its always hard to beat someone 3 times in a season. State also has a 1 point loss to Maryland and a 1 point loss at Virginia Tech, so they were very close to a much better record here.
The last time we played Merrit, their 7 foot PF really hurt us inside. Frye is their leading scorer with 17 ppg, Merrit 12 and Conklin 11.
The ACC Tournament is held in the Bobcats arena in Charlotte, one of its more common locations.
Scouting
PG Clayton Conklin – JR – 86 OVR – Conklin is slated as a 2
nd round pick this year, I assume that means he'll be back next year. He is the #2 scorer on the team with 11.8 ppg, also 4.8 assists. He's got solid awareness(83 o/76 D), just 1 point off from coach on the floor status. He's an outstanding defender(93 defense), good padder, and good all around scorer(87 close/81 med/78 3). Great off the dribble(88) and a good clutch shooter.
SG Nathaniel Munns – JR – 83 OVR – Natural PG. 87 defense/82 steals. Great ball handler(92). 79 close/80 med/77 3/83 off the dribble. All good but nothing spectacular. He's got good speed(91) but poor quickness (80/D) compared to most people at this level. He has one of the best hustle ratings you'll ever see(96/A+). I'm not sure what to make of Munns, a solid defensive compliment to Conklin and an average scorer I guess? 7.9 ppg.
SF Leonard Monserez – FR – 79 OVR – With A potential Monserez will be a stud, but he's not there yet. 74 defense... 87 close/79 med/64 3. 86 in traffic. He's not fast, doesn't have great awareness, and isn't a good rebounder. He's a good, but not great athlete. 6.6 ppg/4.2 rpg.
PF Geoffrey Merritt – JR – 85 OVR – 7 feet tall, natural PF – 80 orb/85 drb. 77 post off/77 post def. 86 close/87 in traffic. He's also a great athlete(A- speed/A- quickness/A- vert/A- str/B+ hustle...) His post ratings aren't that great but with a 7 footer he'll be a big threat anyway. 9.4 ppg/5.1 rpg so far this year.
C Taurance Frye – JR – 84 OVR – 6'11”, this is a team with serious size. 84 orb/75 drb. 80 post off/84 post def. A shot blocking specialist(88/A- block rating). 94 close/90 in traffic. Great awareness, like Conklin he's one point off from coach on the floor status. Frye leads the ACC in scoring at 17.9 ppg, also grabbing 5 boards a game.
Half
| Time
| FSU
| NCSU
| Notes
|
1
| 17:25
| 0
| 7
| Continuing our streak of horrible starts... I call a timeout after they score the first 7.
|
1
| 14:30
| 2
| 14
| Er yeah. We score. Pugh with a hook shot. We're 1/10.
|
1
| 13:30
| 5
| 17
| Backups are in.
|
1
| 10:00
| 12
| 24
| Watson has 7 and seems to be our only scorer. Duncan just did an awesome job fouling a 3 point shooter, allowing 3 free throws to keep it a 12 point game. But at least we're scoring.
|
1
| 8:55
| 17
| 24
| Wow, I haven't had someone get this hot in awhile. Watson has 12 now, just hitting his 2nd 3 and cutting the lead to 7. Timeout Wolfpack.
|
1
| 7:40
| 23
| 27
| Ridiculous. Watson with 2 more 3's. He still has every point for the backups now and has 18!
|
1
| 7:00
| 26
| 31
| Duncan comes out hurt, Summers is back in. Starters coming back in soon.
|
1
| 6:50
| 26
| 31
| Watson misses 2 3's in a row and I decide that's when I should bring the starters back in. I've not seen a run like that in a long time. Watson just scored 21 straight Florida State points over a 6 ½ minute period.
|
1
| 3:15
| 35
| 40
| Still a 5 point game, they had it up at 9 but we're on a 4-0 stretch.
|
1
| 0:33
| 38
| 46
| NC State scores 6 straight before a Crosswhite 3, they call at timeout to set up their final possession of the half.
|
| HALF
| 38
| 48
| They score and we miss a 3 at the buzzer. 57% shooting for NC State, 42% for us. This is a “wow we shoot too many 3's” game. They're in a 2-3 zone so no surprise. But 6-19 3 pointers? Hell the % is ok but we're just shooting too many without going inside.
They get 11 from Conklin and 8 from Munns. C Frye with 8 and a number of offensive boards.
Watson scores 21... 8-11 shooting, 4-6 from 3. Crosswhite has 8 but he's 2-9, 1-7 from 3. Gotta drive or something dude. No one else has more than 4.
|
2
| 14:10
| 49
| 61
| Ugh. We trade baskets for awhile, but finally get it under 10, in fact getting it down to 6, 55-49. They hit a 3 on their next possession, we turn it over and they get a 3 point play. 6 straight and back up 12.
|
2
| 13:40
| 51
| 61
| Backups are in.
|
2
| 11:50
| 53
| 64
| Timeout NC State to get some backups in. Watson isn't on fire this half like the last heh.
|
2
| 9:50
| 54
| 69
| Starters are back in a bit early, but we're falling too far behind and the backups are giving us nothing this time through.
|
2
| 7:25
| 60
| 74
| Still 14... I call a timeout to rest up. We have 8 team fouls this half already, they're in the bonus.
|
2
| 6:15
| 66
| 76
| Pugh with 4, Crosswhite 2 and we've got it down to 10. We've easily got the offense to do this, Crosswhite and Pugh are both scoring well, but we need some stops. Their SG, Munns, has 17 and is really hurting us lately.
|
2
| 4:00
| 70
| 80
| Scoring... but not stopping. And our last basket took a hell of a lot of work to earn. 4 minutes to go down 10.
|
2
| 3:45
| 70
| 82
| They miss a shot inside but get the board and putback. I call a timeout, mainly to rest my guys.
|
2
| 3:00
| 70
| 86
| Now we're not scoring, and they still are.
|
Heh well I did say beating a team 3 times in a season is hard. What a crappy 1
st ACC Tournament. Nowhere to go but up!
NC State 94
Florida State 76
Their SG Munns just tore us up, 23 points. The two bigs put up 14 and 12(Frye and Merritt). Two others in double figures.
Summers: 7 points
Crosswhite: 19 points
Weisse: 6 points
Pugh: 16 points/6 boards
Locklier: 4 points/16 boards
Watson: 21 points
8-31 from 3 as a team. Crosswhite 1-9. Summers 1-7. Weisse 2-7. Watson with the rest(4-8).