Halfway through the second half Wednesday night, Virginia Tech rebounded a Dennis Smith Jr. miss. As the Virginia Tech player attempted to dribble up court, N.C. State wing Maverick Rowan stole the basketball from behind. He then rose for a layup before changing his mind mid-air and threw a behind-the-back pass to Smith for the dunk.
That was the effort N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried and his players said was missing against Miami a week before, and the effort the Wolfpack (12-3, 1-1 ACC) needs to win against rival North Carolina (13-3, 1-1 ACC) at the Dean Smith Center on Saturday.