Greivis and Company Squash Pack's Post Season Dream; 71-60

Gary Williams has been running the "Flex" offense ever since he came to Maryland. It was created in the 1970's and is used by many different teams. It's a simplistic motion offense that begins when a player at the elbow, opposite the ball handler, down screens. The player on the block, being screened for, must read the defense and decide if he should curl of the screen towards the basket, or if he should fade (if the defender goes underneath the screen). If you have a smart player on the block who can score, that player can greatly benefit from this offense, as he'll receive an open shot almost every time, given he makes the right read. Greivis Vasquez was built for this offense. He is a heady player with a scorer's mentality. No matter who State put on Vasquez he was able to get open and score, thanks to his ability to read and react to screens being set for him. Fells eyes were being sizzled all night long, and it wasn't entirely his fault, Vasquez is just that good. He's the same guy that drizzled a clean 35 on the Tar Heels just a week ago.

Now don't get us wrong, this was certainly a winnable game. Had all of the players shown up for the Wolfpack they very well may have won. Again the underclassmen were forced to shoulder the load as Brandon Costner and Courtney Fells just did not seem to be all there. Tracy Smith and Javi Gonzalez were tough to stop and Ben Mccauley was solid as ever, but three players is not enough to win in the ACC, especially this late in the season.

This loss is very disappointing. A win last night would have put the Pack two wins away from 8-8 in the ACC. However, this loss puts NC State in a position where their only chance of making the NCAA's is winning the ACC tournament. The sad fact is that this was a must win game, and some of the State players did not play as if their season depended on it. There are still games left to be played, and there is still a small shot for the Pack, but the Seniors and Juniors are going to have to step it up if there's going to be any miracle runs.