That’s Mark Gottfried talking about his team’s lack of energy in their loss to Louisville on Sunday. Now, it’s one thing to lose because you missed shots, or lose because you turned the ball over too much, but it’s simply never acceptable to lose because you ‘didn’t have zip’ or were ‘lifeless.’ Call it whatever you want but ‘lack of zip’ and lifelessness are symptoms of either a tired team, a team paralyzed with fear, or a team that just doesn’t care. No matter which one you choose, there really is no viable excuse to point to.
NC State was coming off a road win over #17 Duke and it wasn’t like they had a quick turnaround with this Louisville game.