Clemson-N.C. State basketball thoughts

A day before Clemson took on N.C. State in Raleigh, you could tell Brad Brownell and his staff were concerned about the dynamics behind this matchup.

The Wolfpack haven't been good this year, but they'd gained some confidence with a 25-point road win at Wake Forest. It's common for teams that are having bad seasons to summon their resolve for one last push late in the year, and there was concern that'd be the case here.

And oh by the way, N.C. State has some talent. So when that team does put it together and set aside its egos and play as, you know, an actual team, it can put together stretches of good basketball. That was on display the first time these two teams met, the Wolfpack running out to a huge early lead before Clemson came back and won by 10.

It was hard to get a read on this Clemson team after last week's deflating loss to North Carolina. This bunch plays hard and has embraced Brownell's system, but it's still kind of a fragile bunch mentally. That might be why Brownell changed up his practice routine early in the week, trying to restore his team's confidence and get his players feeling good about themselves again.

-- Brownell knew his team was going to have to produce maximum effort and intensity last night, and that didn't happen.

You can point to Clemson's 17 of 20 missed shots from beyond the 3-point arc as the difference in this game, and of course that's a major factor. But the most disappointing part has to be N.C. State's success on the offensive glass.

You can play really good defense for 25 seconds, but it doesn't mean a thing if you don't close out the possession with a rebound. Too many times, the Tigers stood flat-footed under the glass, almost waiting for the ball to fall into their hands as Wolfpack players sliced in for offensive rebounds.

Giving up 15 second-chance points in the second half is just not acceptable, and it points directly to a discrepancy in effort and intensity.

N.C. State seemed like it was playing for something last night. The Wolfpack aren't in the NCAA picture, but Sidney Lowe's team looked as if it thirsted to salvage something from this wreck of a season. Maybe they were playing to atone for their awful showing earlier this season in Clemson. Whatever the motivation, N.C. State seemed the more driven team. And that has to be hard to take for Clemson, a team that actually has something to play for.

-- On Jan. 25 in Clemson, C.J. Leslie and Richard Howell combined for zero points and eight rebounds while missing nine shots from the field.

Last night, they totaled 27 points and 20 rebounds. Eleven of those rebounds came on the offensive end.

That provides some strong support to the belief that the Wolfpack were motivated by what unfolded in the first meeting between these two.

-- Devin Booker can be really frustrating to watch sometimes. He showed some improvements in his back-to-the-basket game, hitting a couple of hook shots.

But his defense (or lack thereof) and poor decision-making will have Brownell pulling his hair out when he watches this film.

Two sequences stand out:

In the first half, Booker got the ball at the top and made an inexplicable entry pass to a covered Milton Jennings. The pass was wide right. Turnover.

With less than six minutes left in the game, Jerai Grant was well positioned for a rebound. Booker crashed in and tipped the ball right to Ryan Harrow, who scored to put the Wolfpack up 56-53.

Booker finished with four points on 2-of-7 shooting, grabbing four rebounds and committing two turnovers in 27 minutes.

-- The Tigers have made improvement in free-throw shooting this season; they entered this game with a 74.1-percent clip in ACC play.

But they've had some big misses down the stretch in the past two games.

Stitt and Tanner Smith missed two in the final minute against North Carolina. And last night, the Tigers went 10 of 16 for the game and 7 of 11 in the second half.

Grant missed one with 11:23 left, failing to convert a three-point play. Stitt missed the front end of a one-and-one with 4:15 left. Stitt missed one of two with 30 seconds left.

It was only a few misses. But the misses came at crucial times.

-- Here were the pivotal moments last night, in my mind:

Clemson is up nine late in the first half, and you can sense things slipping away for N.C. State. Leslie knocks down a 3 from the top of the key over Jennings to make it a six-point game.

With 22 seconds left in the half, Smith is fouled on N.C. State's end and goes to the foul line for a one-and-one. He misses the front end, and on the other end Javier Gonzalez drives by Andre Young and hits a pull-up jumper with three seconds left to make it a two-point game at halftime. Instead of going into the locker room up six, Clemson is up just two.

Early in the second half, Clemson has the momentum and a five-point lead after Jennings dunks off a turnover. Scott Wood, who'd been stifled to that point, throws up a forced, awkward jumper against good defense from Bryan Narcisse. The ball goes in. The Tigers get off four shots on the other end but don't convert any of them. Narcisse goes high trying to grab a rebound and careens to the floor. N.C. State has a 5-on-4 transition situation as Narcisse is gathering himself, and Wood buries a 3 to knot the score at 44.

On Clemson's next two possessions, Smith rushes a missed 3 and then commits a turnover on a poor pass at the top. N.C. State goes up three on a 3-point play by Tracy Smith, and the momentum is firmly in the Wolfpack's favor.

-- Sunday's game against Miami is on the road against a team that's talented and gaining confidence. We're going to find out a lot about this Clemson team Sunday afternoon.

LW