There are times that I’m certain NC State is an NCAA tournament-caliber team, and then there are the lapses in between, where things go wrong to a degree that would not otherwise seem possible. State occupied both of these spaces on Saturday, but it was on the wrong side too often, and UNC took full advantage in a 96-89 win over the Pack.
So it goes. [heavy sigh]
The Wolfpack allowed UNC to pile up 28 points in the first nine minutes or so, in an extended stretch of poor defense—this would be a theme. State, to its credit, rallied back from an early 28-18 deficit with a huge run, but today there simply were not enough stops.