UNC 82, NCSU 69

Box Score

I'm just now able to bring myself to write something, and I'm going to keep this short.

Nothing pours salt into a wound like missed opportunities. Missed layups. Moronic turnovers. Missed one-and-ones. Et cetera.

In a close game, those things are crushing; they do even more damage when they're compounded by bad luck. On the most important possession of the game, with the score tied at 69 and less than 3:00 left, State played good defense before a scramble for the ball eventually led to an easy bucket for the Heels. And of course there was Carolina's epic performance at the free throw line: 26-28 (92.9%; UNC's average coming in was 65.7%).

Our defensive effort was totally lame, and I think that was the most disappointing (and frustrating) aspect of our performance. The Heels had plenty of open looks, many of which were layups.

Worth noting is another good defensive rebounding effort by the Pack. It probably would have been even better had Cedric Simmons been allowed to play more than 21 minutes.

We were a better team in every respect when Ced was on the court, so it should hardly be surprising that he was saddled with foul trouble. His fourth foul--administered nice and early in the second half--was utter BS. I'm not bitter.