NC State pummeled once again by UNC in 84-74 loss

While any sort of optimism in the lead up to this game would take a particularly generous reading of the matchup, I don’t think it was nuts to think it could at least be competitive. Alas.

UNC raced out to a 20-3 lead in the first six minutes—State’s lone basket during that time a Terquavion Smith triple—which is to say that the game was competitive for all of about two minutes. It was senior day and the 1974 team was in the house, but there was no positive mojo to be had for this NC State group, because that’s the kind of year it’s been.

NC State did manage to cut UNC’s lead back to single digits briefly later in the first half, but the Heels quickly put together another run to take a 17-point advantage into the break. An 11-0 UNC run in the second half after the Pack had cut it back to 11 put this one to bed for good.

Armando Bacot did a thorough job embarrassing State by himself, finishing with a bunch of points, whole heap of rebounds, and five dunks. Pretty pathetic to go and let anybody dunk the ball five times in your house, but so it goes. NC State wasn’t much interested in making UNC work for anything today.

I wish that were surprising. State’s scoring binge in garbage time late made the game look a lot closer than it ever was. Shit game, just another for the pile, but I don’t feel angry right now—don’t feel any way in particular. I’m well past the point where outcomes like this would bother me.