ACC Roundup - The Pack Wakes Up

State had an unpleasant losing streak going which it broke Tuesday night against Pitt, 79-74.

Mark Gottfried, who has been notably cranky with the media lately, was happier after this one, saying that “This was a good, important game for us. It’s a process in learning how to win and what you have to do to win at this level....We were completely different than we were a couple of nights ago.”

Good news for State. Not so good for Pitt.

The Panthers have now lost four straight and it’s safe to say the rocky honeymoon - if any - that Kevin Stallings had is over.

Naturally he wasn’t very happy after the game: “When you play in spurts, then you live with results in spurts. I’m not sure we buy into what it takes to be really, really good. I’m frustrated because we should be better. It’s my job to make them better. We have some of the same breakdowns and some of the same miscues and some of the same mental mistakes we’ve made all season long.”

Fortunately for Pitt they now have a relatively healthy Michael Young. Young’s eye was injured at Louisville and the swelling has just come down in the last few days.

By the way, what’s up with State’s Abdul-Malik Abu? He’s hugely talented yet hasn’t scored in double figures since Virginia Tech on January 4th. And in the last two games he has just six rebounds.

Foul trouble is part of it - in the last four games he’s racked up 4,4,3 and 4 - but he’s a junior now and should now what he’s doing.

On the other hand, Omer Yurtseven had a solid double-double with 12 points and 16 boards.

Some interesting games on tap for Wednesday with the highlight being Notre Dame’s visit to Florida State. Both teams have well exceeded expectations and a win by FSU would keep them tied for first place. A loss would push them back to a four-way tie for third with Louisville, Virginia and Georgia Tech.

Any one who thought that, even briefly, Georgia Tech would be ahead of Duke this season please contact us. We’d like you to fill out our brackets.

A minor setback for Virginia: senior Jeff Jones has been declared academically ineligible for his final semester.

• Pitt falls to N.C. State, drops its fourth in a row, 79-74
• Wolfpack ends 3-game skid with 79-74 win over Pitt
• Henderson’s leadership lifts NC State to win over Pitt
• NC State’s Maverick Rowan happy to be back in starting lineup after big performance over Pitt
• NC State's Maverick Rowan: I feel good
• NC State's Terry Henderson: I am proud of the way we competed and the way we fought
• NC State's Omer Yurtseven: I was ready to do whatever it took
• N.C. State clamps down on defense to beat Pittsburgh
• Stephen Schramm: Believe it or not, Wolfpack leans on defense down the stretch in win against Pitt
• After rough stretch, double-double especially satisfying for Wolfpack's Yurtseven
• NCAA bid? To get one, SU will need to win on road