"Sometimes a loss is good as it makes the players start listening to you again."....once again not something to be taken literally as the players always listened to Al and Buzz but you often learn more in the long run from mistakes and the acute pain associated with them. A tough loss will get the players to understand/respect more why coaches harp so much on the little things.
I'm glad I recorded this game and didn't watch it live as I'd be more pissed than I already am. HOWEVER, I much rather blow a crucial game in November than one in March....we all know how badly the blown March games sting (see Stanford, Villanova, Missouri to a degree). The upside of this game it will be in the back of the player's minds for the rest of the season and hopefully this pain and the lessons learned from it will pay dividends in March.
Jimmy Butler is said to be the team's hardest worker and you know he'll spend extra time on his free throws to not let this happen again.
Let's learn and move on....we need a big home crowd for NC State to get us back on our winning ways.