NC State 58, UNC-Greensboro 52: Wolfpack barely averts disaster against Spartans

If you were wondering what NC State could look like at its worst--or something very close to its worst--then here you go. A slow start for the Wolfpack dragged on and on until it was just a plain terrible game; State needed a late push just to hold off UNC-Greensboro for a narrow 58-52 victory.

That's not quite the performance I would have hoped for coming off a road win at Missouri, and more specifically, a strong second half in that contest. But NC State was ice cold on Tuesday night, leaving Cat Barber to once more carry the offense and the team to a win.

Barber finished with 27 points on 10-18 shooting and hit two of the Pack's three made three-pointers. Maverick Rowan was only 1-10 from the field, while a more gun-shy Caleb Martin finished 1-4. Barber accounted for almost half of State's made field goals.

The Wolfpack made the situation worse by making only 13-26 from the free throw line as a team. At this point, it's a surprise (and disappointment) when Barber misses a free throw, which is a huge credit to his performance so far this season. Tuesday he missed twice, including the front end of a one-and-one. Cody Martin and Malik Abu were a combined 5-14. Yuck. There was a lot of yuck in this game. Whole lotta yuck.

NC State was incredibly fortunate to be playing UNC-Greensboro tonight. You don't get away with a lot of performances like this one.