Live Game Updates

Wolfpack vs. Eagles Live Blog

During tonight's game against Boston College, I'm going to be trying out a live blogging feature I discovered over on Section Six. 

Hopefully it works out okay, we shall see. 

The more I think about the game today against Boston College, the more I'm confused about how it will go. 

Just looking at the situation objectively, I feel like State has a good chance to beat the Eagles. But for some reason I have a bad feeling about the game. The main thing is the rebounding advantage the Eagles held over the Pack in Chestnut Hill in January. The 46-25 margin that day did come against a much different State lineup, as Sidney had not yet started Tracy Smith on a consistent basis, but I still have a bad feeling about tonight. I can't really pinpoint one particular thing, but I'm for sure not feeling good. 

Hopefully the Pack, in its entirety, will show up this evening and play to its full potential. That would be nice to see. 

Check back tonight for the live blog. Leave me some posts and or comments and let me know what y'all think. 

Coast Guard calls off search for Smith, other men

The U.S. Coast Guard officially called off the search for former N.C. State football player Corey Smith, Oakland Raiders linebacker Marquis Cooper and William Bleakly, a former football player at South Florida. 

Nick Schuyler, also a South Florida alumnus, was found Monday clinging to a boat which had capsized sometime between Saturday and Sunday off the Gulf Coast of Florida. 

According to the Associated Press, Coast Guard officials said the search would officially be suspended Tuesday at sundown. 

Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Tank Johnson is organizing a group of experienced boaters and aviators who are planning to begin a search of their own at 6 a.m. Wednesday morning. 

Any persons interested in joining the effort should e-mail nflsearchandrescue@gmail.com. 

NCAA chances are slim for Pack

Ok, so I've been thinking since Sunday night and the Maryland game. I've been thinking about N.C. State's season and how it stacks up with the rest of the ACC. 

In my last post, I made reference to State still having a chance at making the big dance if they win out and make a run in the tournament. After looking at the schedule and what the Wolfpack has done, I must retract that assertion. 

State has one very solid win the entire year, against Wake Forest in Raleigh. Every other win has come against a team State should probably beat. The Miami victory in Raleigh is a good win, but it's not great. But aside from those two victories, what has State done to make it self deserving of an NCAA birth. Not much from what I can tell, unless I'm looking at a different schedule. 

Now the Pack has played good teams close, repetedly. Close losses to Davidson, Marquette and Florida prove that State can play. Unfortunately, the NCAA selection committee needs a little more than a bunch of close losses to give a team an at large birth. 

At this point, at least in my opinion, State has to win the ACC tournament to get in. It's that simple. Now if they had beaten Maryland, won out and finished 8-8, maybe they have an argument. But not after Sunday's loss. I just don't see it. 

There are too many teams ahead of the Pack at this point to make a strong argument for N.C. State. Every single club ahead of State in the standings has a better resume, period. It's going to take some serious work in Atlanta for the Wolfpack to change that. I can't wait to see if the Pack can do it. 

Restrained optimism, that's the feeling I have for the final two games and the tournament. There is no doubt this team can play with the big boys, but will it?

Pack drops second straight in ACC

I wasn't all that surprised by N.C. State losing Sunday night, to be completely honest. 

I was, however, surprised at how they lost. Giving up 33 points to Greivis Vasquez and not seeming to care enough to put forth the effort needed to win the game. Come on guys, it's MARCH!

Now Maryland is not a bad team, but with the way State has played of late, I thought the Pack had a great opportunity to win the game. On top of that, State still had an opportunity to make a little noise in conference and potentially sneak into the tournament with some help from other teams. 

Now that prospect seems all but gone. State will likely need to win out and then win three games in the tournament to even have a chance at dancing. 

Who knows, it will probably happen. 

On another note, Sunday's 11 point loss probably should have only been an eight point defeat. Vasquez decided it would be cute to jack up an unnecessary three as time expired to pad his stats. Vasquez is a great player, but not the most gracious player. Listen to what Javi Gonzalez thought of Greivis' last second antics.

Moving forward, the Pack have got to play well Wednesday when Boston College comes to town. The scary part about the Eagles is that they too have a do-it-all player in Tyrese Rice who I think State may have no answer for. We shall see, should be interesting at the very least.