NC State Wolfpack

If you've listened to our NC State radio broadcasts this year, you've probably heard me talk adnausiam about how important it is for visiting teams in ACC arenas to play with poise and composure. Let me add something else: Decision-making.

The subject has come up many times because, as we all know, the Wolfpack has struggled to win games on the road over the last few years. At times-and the players will admit this-they have not done a good job of keeping their poise on the road. The games at Tulane and North Carolina this season come to mind.

In both of those games, the Pack lost fairly comfortable leads right before halftime primarily because, as a team, it lost its composure.

The games at Duke and Maryland proved that NC State is getting better in that area. The Wolfpack looked like a very confident and composed basketball team when it pushed the powerful Blue Devils to the limit before losing in overtime on January 19th.

On Sunday at Maryland, the Wolfpack held together pretty well for about 37 and a half minutes. After building a 17-point lead in the first half, NC State saw the frenzied Terps pull within four. But that's when the Pack showed some toughness. Before you knew it, State had pushed its lead back out to twelve at halftime.

That same process was repeated on a few other occasions in the second half.

But then, coach Herb Sendek's team was hit with a bomb from which it would never recover. A charging call and ensuing technical on Damon Thornton totally changed the outcome of the game with two and a half minutes remaining.

Thornton's decision on a three on one break to challenge Lonnie Baxter at the basket instead of making the simple bounce pass to one of his teammates for a layup set off a wild chain of events.

A charge was called, Thornton reacted, was hit with a technical foul, left the game with five fouls, and gave Maryland possession of the ball with two free throws. The Terps got four points on the possession, cut the lead to one and went on to win by five.

Damon Thornton has become one of the most spectacular players in the ACC this season. He is now an IMPACT player, and that's exactly why his exile to the bench did so much damage.

At that moment, the poise and composure, which had served the Wolfpack so well throughout the game, totally disappeared.

What you just witnessed was the evolution of a basketball program. NC State is on the verge of having one of the best teams in the ACC, but just like in life, there are still some growing pains to go through.

Thornton and the rest of his teammates learned a lot on Sunday. The next time they're thrown in a similar situation, they'll likely respond in a more positive manner.

So here I go again: Winning on the road in the ACC takes poise, composure-and-solid decision making when the game is on the line.