Coaches versus Cancer B10 ACC Challenge: MSU v NC St

MSU and North Carolina State faced off, as you likely know from your XM acquisition, for the Big Ten ACC challenge Wednesday night. From the tip it looked as though MSU had more energy. The game was over in the first 6 or 7 minutes.

The summary is pretty basic. NCSt did not pressure our guards on the perimeter. To be fair: 1. NCSt was a tired team that had to travel, 2. MSU is much deeper, and 3. There were few half court sets in the first half as we ran the break very, very effectively.

A few things stuck out in my mind.
- Travis Walton was pushing the ball like Lucas, head down and shifty in traffic. He said after the game he's learned from having Lucas around. It will be nice to be able to push the ball no matter who is running point.

- Suton played offense and defense. He took an 18 footer and I didn't cringe. I think that says it all.

- Neitzel hit some big shots, but we didn't need him to. That's when he is going to be dangerous, when we're up 25 points and Drew isn't the reason.

- Raymar is unstoppable if 1. he decides to be, and 2. he stays out of foul trouble.

- The freshmen continue to grow. Coming off the bench after sitting the first 10 minutes, Allen hit a couple of threes (and, of course, missed a couple, since he shoots about 1/3 of the times he touches the ball). Summers had a very, very athletic play on the baseline going up and under for the basket and a foul. Amazing control and timing. Lucas is so fast up and down the floor and quick handed. "The fastest I've ever coached" says quite a bit.

Can't take too much from the game. NCSt looked tired and flat out of the gates. I suppose this is about as good as it gets, so it's a point of comparison. Also worth noting, NCSt was dared to shoot the 3, like most teams we play, and they missed. A lot. That made a big difference. Late in the game when NCSt made a run it was on 3's and energy, but they just didn't have enough in the tank to come back from 30 down. Teams like Bradley, BYU, and others upcoming will not miss the open 3 as often. I look forward to seeing whether we stick with the pack it in the paint "go ahead and shoot the 3" defense, or if we come out to challenge.