Can UNC be this lucky twice? Well they’re going to make us find out

The more that I stare at the box score from the first game between State and UNC, the funnier it gets. And by funnier I mean if I am not laughing at it, then I’m throwing my computer out the goddamned window.

You want to know how aberrant and/or unlikely that game was for UNC? Let me count the ways:

— UNC’s unwatchable excuse for an offense has scored 1.1 points per possession or more in nine games. The Tar Heels shot at least 50% (eFG) in all but one. Guess which one! They shot 40.4% against State, their fourth-worst shooting performance of the season.

— But how did they crack 1.1 PPP while shooting like that? I mean, you know why. They got escorted to the free throw line 39 times. And they made 36 of those shots! That’s ridiculous across the board, this universe is stupid, and I’m lodging a complaint with its supervisor.

— Carolina’s 39 free throw attempts stands as a season-high, as does its absolutely insane free throw shooting percentage. The Heels made nine more free throws in that game than they have in any other this season.

— They didn’t just set season-bests on the free throw line, they also posted their best turnover rate of the season. Only turned the ball over seven times—not quite 10% of their possessions.

— Remember that banked-in three?

So after looking over that, do you feel better? Because I do. State has had a lot of bad luck in that building—of the non-ref-aided variety, I mean—but what happened there this season was really a standard-setting occurrence. Setting aside the fact that Terquavion Smith got taken out of that game on a stretcher.

And Armando Bacot had the gall after that performance and those circumstances still to put on those dumbass sunglasses. Truly amazing.

Anyway. I’d imagine UNC will shoot the ball better this time around, but also if they get 39 free throws again, I’m moving to Greenland and taking up glacier-watching. Don’t figure the latter is terribly likely. NC State’s going to shoot it better this game, too—and without the free throws, it’s difficult to conclude that UNC was better in any sense that last time out. Don’t figure they will be this time, either.