CHAPEL HILL, NC -- North Carolina took another step in distancing itself from the ugly loss at Florida State almost two weeks ago while N. C. State reverted back to its former self in a 74-55 UNC victory Thursday night at the Dean Smith Center.
UNC was sensational in building a 31-point lead that had a little bit of everything in it. Carolina defended like mad, was impressive in stretches offensively, and was a focused, intense group.
The Wolfpack, however, struggled out of the gate and only cut into the huge margin late after the game was basically over. It was a good lesson for Mark Gottfried’s team, though, one it will definitely learn from.
Here are both teams' grades from this contest:
NC State offense: The Wolfpack converted 36.8 percent of its field goal attempts, and before Lorenzo Brown’s 70 foot buzzer beater at the half, had gone 16 possessions with just two field goals, as UNC built a large lead. State had just five assists to go with nine turnovers in the first half, and didn’t do much better before the game was pretty much over. Full stats don’t tell the entire story, as the Pack racked up some numbers over the final seven minutes of the game. Grade: F.
UNC offense: Carolina was hot early and then closed the first half strong. But it also shot 50 percent in the second half, even though it didn’t score in the final five-plus minutes of the game when the reserves were playing. UNC was dominant around the rim, hit a few 3s, and managed 14 points off of offensive rebounds. UNC shot 48.4 percent on the night. Grade: B+.
NC State defense: The Pack had no answers for Carolina big men and didn’t do a good job disrupting UNC’s offense. That UNC reserve point guard Stilman White didn’t have a turnover is a telling stat. The Wolfpack was too passive and lacked aggression. Grade: D.
UNC defense: Best performance of the season. And if you consider that so much focus was on how Carolina would perform without Dexter Strickland, well, Reggie Bullock put a blanket on Scott Wood in the first half, holding him scoreless. UNC forced 17 turnovers, and 19 of the Pack’s shot attempts failed to hit the rim. Eight were blocks and the others were air balls and shots that clanked off the backboard without gracing the rim. Many were errant shots and poor shooting, but were also the result of UNC getting into the Pack’s heads. Grade: A+.
NC State intangibles: State’s body language was awful for the middle 20 minutes of the game, but the Pack didn’t quit. It showed some pride late, and at least Mark Gottfried can build from that. Grade: D.
UNC intangibles: Carolina dove on the floor for loose balls, crashed the glass, got solid minutes from its bench and was clearly ready to play. This was a team on a mission, and despite 15 turnovers and not scoring over the final five-plus minutes, the Heels were in the proper zone to compete for the big prize. Grade: A.
