Wake Forest Men's Basketball

Cat Barber’s career-high game leads to N.C. State win over Wake Forest, 99-88

NC State guard Cat Barber (12) hits a shot over Wake Forest center Doral Moore (4) Saturday, February 13, 2016 in Raleigh, N.C. Barber scored a career-high 38 points in NC State's 99-88 win over Wake Forest. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)
N.C. State’s Cat Barber smiles after scoring a career-high 38 points in the win over Wake Forest on Saturday, February 13, 2016 in Raleigh, N.C. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)

Saturday at PNC Arena was a battle of attrition between two North Carolina teams, but one team had to win. That team was N.C. State, who came away with a nail-biting 99-88 victory, moving to 13-12 and dropping Wake Forest to 10-15.

Two weeks after its last home game against Miami, the Wolfpack now has two straight wins at PNC Arena after starting 0-4. Cat Barber led all players with a career-high 38 points – his seventh 30-point performance of the season.

Devin Thomas led Wake Forest with 15 points and 21 rebounds. The last player with 20-plus rebounds against the Pack was Tim Duncan in 1996. Codi Miller-McIntyre tallied 24 points, but it wasn’t enough in the 12th conference loss of the season for Wake.

 

Balance on the Boards

Wake Forest's Codi Miller-McIntyre (0) goes up for a basket while defended by NC State's BeeJay Anya (21) and Shaun Kirk (22) on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)
Wake Forest’s Codi Miller-McIntyre (0) goes up for a basket while defended by NC State’s BeeJay Anya (21) and Shaun Kirk (22) on Saturday, February 13, 2016 at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)

Devin Thomas did everything possible for Wake Forest in the paint, coming away with 21 rebounds throughout the game. The help, however, wasn’t there. In fact, his 10 boards in the first half were twice as many as the rest of the team – which finished with 15 through the first 20 minutes.

Even with Thomas’ 21 rebounds, Wake still finished tied with State on the boards at 38. The Deacs also came up short in second-chance points (16-15) with a 13-11 offensive rebound deficit. The deficit was even worse off turnovers, with State converting 17 points compared to six for Wake.

It was a valiant effort throughout the game for Thomas, but his help was limited. Similar to Barber’s effort offensively for N.C. State, Wake couldn’t seem to find any answers otherwise.

 

State’s Slow Starts

N.C. State has been notorious for slow starts this season offensively, but it was never more apparent than Saturday’s game. Wake Forest got out to an 18-8 lead at the 14:28 mark before Mark Gottfried called a timeout to calm down his team. State responded with a 9-2 run and headed into the half at 44-42.

The second half started in similar fashion, with Wake storming back to take an early lead. The Wolfpack started stagnant offensively. Luckily for State, Barber was there to save the day again, scoring 15 of the team’s first 17 points through the first six minutes of the second half.

Wake was unable to take full advantage, but other ACC teams will down the stretch. Suffice to say, this State team is still a work in progress. That’s not where any team wants to be with March rapidly approaching.

Ultimately, the Pack got going in each half to nearly pass the 100-point threshold. Barber’s nearly 40-point night was a huge reason for that total. Had State started hot in either half, who knows what might have happened?

 

Turning a Corner

NC State guard Cat Barber (12) hits a shot over Wake Forest center Doral Moore (4) Saturday, February 13, 2016 in Raleigh, N.C. Barber scored a career-high 38 points in NC State's 99-88 win over Wake Forest. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)
NC State guard Cat Barber (12) hits a shot over Wake Forest center Doral Moore (4) Saturday, February 13, 2016 in Raleigh, N.C. Barber scored a career-high 38 points in NC State’s 99-88 win over Wake Forest. (Christine T. Nguyen / The North State Journal)

Despite those slow starts, N.C. State’s offense looked much improved in other departments. Much of that is thanks to Caleb Martin, who came off the bench for 18 points on 6-of-9 shooting in 35 minutes.

Mark Gottfried clearly showed he has more confidence in Martin, who was removed from the starting lineup earlier this season. Maverick Rowan also chipped in with 20 points of his own. Rowan and Martin combined for 7-of-16 from three-point range to match Barber’s scoring total.

Having both on their game is something rarely seen for State this year in conference play. With Abdul-Malik Abu also tallying 11 points, the Pack might finally have all the offensive pieces it needs to compete during tournament time.

 

What’s Next?

For the Wolfpack, a road contest against Virginia lies ahead. The Cavaliers are looking to secure the top seed in the ACC down the stretch, looking up only at North Carolina. State has pulled off some shocking wins this season over Pittsburgh and Miami, but Virginia’s defense is a completely different animal.

Wake Forest travels to Pittsburgh before a winnable home game against Boston College. In desperate need of a win, this Wake team just might find it against the Eagles. With Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Duke to close out the season, the loss in Raleigh is as deflating as any for Wake.

Deacons topple Wolfpack at home: 4 takeaways from Wake Forest’s 77-74 win over NC State

Two downtrodden ACC teams matched up on Sunday night at Joel Coliseum, with Wake Forest coming away with a much-needed 77-74 victory. The Deacons notched their first conference win while the Wolfpack were sent back to Raleigh at 0-3 for the first time since the 2006-07 season.

Danny Manning’s squad was paced by Devin Thomas, who finished with 20 points, 11 rebounds, three rebounds and three assists. Bryant Crawford, Konstantinos Mitoglou and Codi Miller-McIntyre all contributed double-digit points in the win.

Cat Barber once again led the Pack with a game-high 26 points and seven assists, but his effort was nullified by a lack of production around him. Maverick Rowan reached 13 points on 3-of-11 shooting from behind the arc. Abdul-Malik Abu had 11 points, but offered nothing on the boards with two rebounds.

Here’s three more takeaways from NC State’s loss:

 

Desperation, anyone?

From the opening tip in this game, it was clear that neither team felt it needed this win. Here’s the thing — both teams did need this one. Coming in at 0-2 apiece, the Pack and Deacs desperately needed to finally pencil a W next to an ACC opponent on the schedule.

Wake finally found that desperation mode in the second half. Then NC State did, but couldn’t sustain its energy.

After being up 27-25 at the half, Wake went on a 13-0 run to start the second. The promise the Deacs showed in non-conference play to start the season finally showed up. State responded with a run of its own, but Wake answered to take another double-digit lead with five minutes left.

In order for either team to climb back into the discussion as a middle-tier ACC program, it will need to play with some desperation moving forward. Otherwise, neither have a chance to enter February with a shot at an NCAA Tournament appearance.

 

Foul trouble boiling over

Abdul-Malik Abu is a significant contributor for NC State, but foul trouble limited him on Sunday night. Image courtesy of @PackPride.
Abdul-Malik Abu is a significant contributor for NC State, but foul trouble limited him on Sunday night. Image courtesy of @PackPride.

Whichever way you cut it for NC State, the Pack is struggling in the foul department. Coming off a game where the Pack missed 11 free-throw shots against Louisville, State couldn’t stay out of its own way with both Abdul-Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya got into early foul trouble with Anya eventually fouling out.

On the other side, Wake is finding strength in getting to the free-throw line with 19 points from the charity stripe on Sunday night. While they missed nine shots from the line, the Deacs limited State to just 10 attempts at freebies — a huge swing in what was ultimately a three-point margin.

If NC State is going to eventually turn things around, it needs to be more prominent offensively in the paint and smarter on the other end. Wake may have found a secret to limiting the Pack’s offensive role players while powering its way to finally getting in the win column in conference play.

 

Keeping it close

In eight games decided by six points or less, Wake Forest is 8-0. The Deacons have done so against opposition like Indiana, UCLA and LSU, so it’s not just over weaker teams. But with lopsided losses to Louisville and Duke, Manning’s squad is still far from competing for anything substantial in the ACC.

However, in a year where several of the Deacs leading scorers are freshmen and sophomores, respectability is massive. After years of substandard results, this resume is already impressive.

On the NC State side, the close losses are racking up. The Pack’s three losses to start ACC play are by a combined 13 points. Luckily, State now plays a Florida State program that’s also 0-3 in the conference on Wednesday at home.

Another loss to a previously winless ACC team on Wednesday? That could very well lead to an 0-5 mark with a trip to Chapel Hill on the docket on Saturday. Oh, and the Tar Heels have a full week of rest before taking on the Pack.

 

What’s Next?

NC State’s aforementioned date with FSU could lead to its first win while the UNC matchup doesn’t look promising. With both teams heading in opposite directions, the Heels will be ready to feast on this State squad.

For Wake, there are two winnable games coming up against Virginia Tech on the road and Syracuse at home. The Hokies were brought back to earth by Duke in a 82-58 loss and even Jim Boeheim can’t save this Cuse team from an 0-4 start to the ACC slate.

After a disappointing start, Wake has a chance to go on a run before another gauntlet stretch against UNC, Miami and Virginia. Getting to .500 in January would be huge for Wake — it would be a dream come true for State at this point.