By: Nolan Stout
ORLANDO, Fla. – The game was over.
NC State had it in the bag. They
were up by 14 with five minutes left.
Maybe they started thinking about a
matchup with Louisville. Maybe they let off too much.
All that would be fine if the
Wolfpack had made their free throws.
Those free throws cost NC State a
trip to the round of 32. With an 83-80 overtime loss to St. Louis, the Wolfpack
has now lost in the round of 64 twice after a trip to the Sweet 16.
This loss hurt. It hurt worse than
the last second turnover at Syracuse, worse than the buzzer beaters against
Wake Forest and UNC, worse than the overtime embarrassment against NC Central. Those
games were close throughout. This game was a complete and utter collapse.
But, should we be surprised? It
seems to be the trend in Wolfpack athletics this season that just when you
think they are going to do the impossible, something keeps them from winning
(see NC State football vs. Clemson).
Alas, free throws have been ruining
this team all season. For the year, the Wolfpack went 501-762 from the line,
62-percent. That’s over 200 points thrown away at the free throw line.
But in losses the story is even more
dismal. In the 14 games NC State lost this season they were outscored by a
combined 165 points. In those losses, they went 199-313 from the free throw
line.
Those buzzer beaters at Wake Forest
and Syracuse and against UNC should never have happened. Despite the fact the
Wolfpack lost on a turnover to Syracuse, they went 7-14 from the line. Just two
of those free throws could have changed the outcome of that game.
It gets worse. At Wake Forest, the
State went 21-31 from the free throw line and lost by one.
Then there’s the loss against UNC. The
Wolfpack foreshadowed their collapse against St. Louis. In that one point
overtime loss, State went 19-31 from the free throw line including a missed free
throw at the end of the of overtime that would have put them up by two. That
game was theirs to win and they lost it.
Against St. Louis, the Wolfpack gave
the game away. They were being fouled for nearly three minutes and went 9-20
from the line during that time. TJ Warren missed a free throw that could have
tied it in overtime and walked off the line on another free throw the Wolfpack
desperately needed.
If Warren had made his free throw to
tie the game, the outcome may have been different. St. Louis got two more
points from free throws to make it 83-80.
But a few made free throws from the
Wolfpack would have undoubtedly changed the outcome.
The
freshmen for NC State had played well all game, but St. Louis put them on the
line and dared them to come up clutch. In the end, freshmen didn’t keep State
from having a great year, free throw shooting did.
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