North Carolina 77, NC State 63

09-10 Basketball ACC ACC & Other Big Four Rivals Sidney Lowe119
Ethan Hyman/N&O

Ethan Hyman/N&O

Other than that Mrs. Lincoln…

In a game that was there for the taking, NC State couldn’t get it done tonight against the Heels, letting a five-point lead slip away during an eight-minute scoring drought in the second half. The Wolfpack missed 12 straight shots during Carolina’s run.

On the night NC State shot 39 percent from the field and 31 percent from behind the arc. Carolina, conversely, shot 51 percent overall and 46 percent from three point range.  The Tar Heels dominated the Wolfpack on the glass, out rebounding NC State 35-28 in what is becoming an alarming tend for State lately.

If there’s a formula to lose a game, that’s it.

Deon Thompson, Larry Drew II and Ed Davis  (who certainly looked better than ‘very questionable’) led the Tar Heels. Thompson notched 21 points with Drew and Davis scoring 18 and 12, respectively. Davis and Thompson also played relatively good defense on Tracy Smith for most of the night.

Tracy Smith scored a hard-earned 20 points and pulled down six boards despite going against two and sometimes three defenders much of the night. Javi Gonzalez tallied 19, but much of it came in a five-minute stretch at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half.

Here’s the complete box score. Try to ignore Scott Wood’s…umm…below average performance. And Dennis Horner’s. And Richard Howell’s. And Julius Mays’. You get the point.

Here’s the N&O’s take.

Come March, North Carolina might look back on Tuesday’s 77-63 win over N.C. State and pinpoint exactly when its season was saved.

A three-game ACC losing streak was in danger of turning into four when the Tar Heels found new life and their way back into the win column.

Deon Thompson’s dunk at 10:04 left the lone returning starter from last year’s national title team pounding his chest and sent the Heels on their way to a seventh straight win over the Wolfpack.

There isn’t a whole lot more to say really. If NC State doesn’t go cold in the second half, it would have been in the ball game late. Carolina certainly didn’t play great and left the door open for the Wolfpack to make a run. That run just never happened.

09-10 Basketball ACC ACC & Other Big Four Rivals Sidney Lowe

119 Responses to North Carolina 77, NC State 63

  1. Tampa-Pack 01/27/2010 at 12:03 PM #

    I just turned the TV off and went to bed at halftime. It was the first time ever, but the program has finally just beat the passion out of it for me. I knew right away when we weren’t hitting outside shots, that we couldn’t even beat that version of the Heels. The Duke game was obviously a “perfect storm” for us, and one that doesn’t appear to likely to be seen very often. I still care greatly about the school and the athletic programs, but I have zero interest in watching this right now. I’ll just follow the results here….

  2. 44fan 01/27/2010 at 12:10 PM #

    Us State fans are like golfing….we can hit horrible shots all day…but, then we get lucky and hit a GREAT shot (Duke game)…we then think we are jack Nichlaus….when really we are still horrible!!!!!

  3. gofmaniac 01/27/2010 at 12:13 PM #

    I don’t know why I feel compelled to post finally make a post after all these years. I’m 61 and a lifelong wolfpacker. I can’t remember when the university accepted the sustained mediocrity that we’re now experiencing in our athletic programs. Sidney Lowe, a nice enough guy, just does not have the program going in the right diretion, inf fact I can’t determine that we going in any direction but down. There’s got to be a coach out there that wants the challenge of competing in the conference, and against Ol’ Roy, and Mr. Consonant for over in Durham. It may also be time for a change in the AD’s office. Fowler has consistently settled, and not pursued the calibre of coaches we need. Tom O’Brien fell into his lab, he had nothing to do with attracting him to Raleigh.

  4. packfan03 01/27/2010 at 1:00 PM #

    We would have won last night if Ryan Harrow was in attendance. Although, we did have Batman on the sidelines.

    Did anyone notice the cut out heads of the cast of the Jersey Shore in the student section? And I loved seeing the sound meter.

    For those bashing Javi, I wonder if it would be better for us to play him at the 2 and Farnold at the 1? Javi comes up with big plays on the court (scoring) that is, and Farnold seems more apt passing/penetrating. Julius Mays (god love him) is not the answer. I like his enthusiasm, and think he has a positive impact on our team as a role player…but he pounds the ball into the court for about 10 seconds before he initiates our offense.

  5. packfan03 01/27/2010 at 1:00 PM #

    ^Kidding about Harrow, although it would have been nice to see him in the stands.

  6. triadwolf 01/27/2010 at 1:10 PM #

    We did not shoot the ball at all (except for Javi and some garbage points by Horner at the end) from the outside. If we had hit 1/3 of the open jumpers we had in the first half, we win this game fairly comfortably.

    Once UNC figured we could not score from outside they took away Tracy and shut us down. I can somewhat understand Wood, Howell, and to an extent, Julius not shooting well; freshman and sophomores are usually not dependable. But Horner not showing up was inexcusable. In general I like Horner’s heart and his loyalty, but he could have single handedly put UNC away in the first half and preceded to just throw up bricks with wide open looks. Degand didn’t shoot well from the outside, but he made it up in penetration and assists; Javi shot well, but he can’t make up for 5 guys shooting horribly.

    I thought the effort was good except during a stretch in the second half when UNC made their run. At that point we were mentally beat and Sid didn’t have enough timeouts left to deal with it; he had not choice but to let them play.

    Anytime a team can shut down Tracy and we cannot hit outside shots we will lose. No one else is good enough at this point to pick up the slack for Smith inside. I think the young guys have that potential, but it’s not there yet.

    It’s simple – we shoot better last night and we come away with a win.

  7. BJD95 01/27/2010 at 1:14 PM #

    That’s crazy. State shot 50% in the first half. They didn’t get the same kind of looks in the second because (i) UNC turned up the defensive intensity; and (ii) we took lots of ill-advised shots because we had been (unsustainably) making them in the first half.

  8. Pack Mentality 01/27/2010 at 1:24 PM #

    I have come to the conclusion that State will not be a national power in basketball for the rest of my life. I’m 34 years old. I really do believe this. If I am wrong they will have to prove it to me. No amount of hype or speculation will make me believe it before the wins actually come.

  9. happypackdad 01/27/2010 at 1:30 PM #

    “Sidney Lowe, a nice enough guy, just does not have the program going in the right diretion, inf fact I can’t determine that we going in any direction but down”

    that is crazy. Lowe for sure has this program headed upward. Please people, wait a day before posting garbage after a loss.

  10. Pack Mentality 01/27/2010 at 1:36 PM #

    “Lowe for sure has this program headed upward.”

    Will you please offer me some proof of this statement. I can offer you plenty of evidence to the contrary. All you need to do is look at our record.

  11. triadwolf 01/27/2010 at 1:48 PM #

    We may have shot 50% (although I find that hard to believe – I’ll have to check on that)in the first half, but except for Javi’s little flurry none of that was from the outside. UNC did turn up the intensity in the second half, but mostly they just took away the few threats we had and we never forced them to defend the entire court. We only had a couple options on offense and that made it easy for them.

  12. Rick 01/27/2010 at 2:00 PM #

    ““Sidney Lowe, a nice enough guy, just does not have the program going in the right diretion, inf fact I can’t determine that we going in any direction but down””

    We cannot get any lower.

  13. JT 01/27/2010 at 2:11 PM #

    It all comes down to talent and State doesn’t have it. There are some building blocks but that’s it- no stars. Smith is excellent, but he shouldn’t be the best player on a good ACC team. Lowe could push every button exactly right and this team would still be lower tier in the conference. I guess that’s what troubles me the most, the bad recruiting thus far. Deep talent makes for almost anything. And State is as thin as I remember, especially at point.
    I will say that no matter what, I am SO glad Sendek is gone and I still pull for Lowe. But if he doesn’t get the players VERY soon, like next year, it’s game over, time to move on.

  14. Wulfpack 01/27/2010 at 2:32 PM #

    The “improvement” barometer measure for success, now defunct (see blowout losses to UNC and Maryland), will be replaced with the WTNY barometer, and if that doesn’t stick, it will be the “well we have sucked for a long time, so Sid is as good as anyone” mindset.

  15. mwcric 01/27/2010 at 3:21 PM #

    Pretty much exactly what I expected. Carolina had dropped three straight and fallen out of the polls – that was a red light that State failed to see, as this is a program that long ago lost the concept of rallying and bouncing back. The Maryland game was the beginning of the end of the season (why does it always seem to start with Maryland?). The Duke game could have been the springboard to the now decades-awaited next step, and instead it will prove to be the season’s peak. I predict the Pack will win in very unspectacular and unattractive fashion Saturday vs. Central, and if lucky to get an opponent on an off night pick up at most two more wins on the season. State will be the 11 or 12 seed in the ACC tourney and put up a lifeless performance in exiting after one game. We’ll hear about how the players grew and are better prepared for next year, and we’ll hear about all the reasons we have to be optimistic based on some individual highlights cherry-picked from various games this season and yet another savior class coming in.

    You know what? It’s not the results that bother me as much as the predictability. Who did NOT know we were going to lose to a UNC team on a three-game losing streak? Who did NOT know we were going to be down 15 with 10 minutes to go? I literally said that out loud last night, after we opened the half on a 10-1 run. I said, “So here’s where the drought comes and we’ll still be down 15 with 10 minutes to go.” It’s like a script – this is UNC, so this is how the performance goes. And I didn’t even get pissed. I laughed. I laughed, because I knew it was going to happen just like the rest of us. And I laugh because after two decades I know it is never going to get any better but I’ll keep coming back. And I laugh because, for example, Indiana will have like two bad seasons and probably be a top 10 team within two years. I laugh because Maryland hit the doldrums at the same time we did and followed it with their best years while we’re still wandering around in the wilderness. I laugh because Baylor – never a national power – recovered in a few seasons after one player murdered another, to be competitive in the Big 12. I laugh because Virginia can win as many conference games in its coaches’ first year as we’re told to expect in two. I laugh because the national media portrays this fan base as unrealistic and impatient, as if one Sweet 16 and zero conference titles in 20 years would be acceptable to any power conference program. It’s never going to change. Never. N-E-V-E-R.

  16. BassPacker 01/27/2010 at 3:22 PM #

    I said at the beginning of the season, after a major disappointment in football, I was gonna emotinally separate myself from the pain of NCSU basketball. I’m like all Pack fans, a lifelong addict to the hope of winning at something. I think I can let it go, then along comes another relapse in the form of a win in football over Carolina, or over Dook in basketball, the junkie I am feels the euphoric effects and again becomes delusional over NCSU athletics.

    Its a sickness that will have no cure in my lifetime. I can only hope for current students like my daughter at NCSU. She looked at me last nite after the game and said, “Dad, I camped out overnite in 14 degree weather for a chance to see this……I’m done with the Wolfpack.” So am I says the addict.

  17. Wolfy__79 01/27/2010 at 3:55 PM #

    lol, funny but so true. it is a shame! serinity now, win baby win. nothing works, we do suck, sucktastic athletics..

  18. Wolfy__79 01/27/2010 at 3:56 PM #

    so one of the unx sayings today, “this is the worst record the tarheels have had in years and we still beat STATE.” …..ouch, why?

  19. tuckerdorm1983 01/27/2010 at 4:08 PM #

    next year lineup

    harrow backup(Javi/Mays)
    brown backup (??? anybody that can shoot)
    wood backup (??? anybody that can shoot)
    smith backup (Painter/ Vanderburg)
    howell/leslie (if he commits) backup (cothram)

  20. tuckerdorm1983 01/27/2010 at 4:15 PM #

    NIT MATH??? Well 13-8 and a win this weekend 14-8

    9 games left and at least one in ACC Tourney

    10 games left

    Win 2 lose 8 puts us at 16-16

    Win 3 lose 7 puts us at 17-15

    ERGO MUST WIN 3

    UVA away
    GT away
    VT home and away
    UNC away
    MD home
    WAKE home
    Miami away
    BC home
    ACC Tourney

    not impossible, if we make the NIT that is better than last year

  21. Broccoman 01/27/2010 at 4:23 PM #

    That would get us the CBI, not the NIT.

  22. rtpack24 01/27/2010 at 4:55 PM #

    I went to the game last night. Very disappointing to see how disorganized we are at times. It is late in the season and our coach has to call every set and then motion people in different directions. Many times our guys looked to the bench not knowing what to do. Hopefully they will turn it around. I would like to see a good effort 2 games in a row which we seem to have a hard time doing. WTNY is the worst saying in sports. Next year everyone will say well we are playing alot of freshmen. Degand should be our starting point guard and this is obivious apparently to everyone but our staff.

  23. VaWolf82 01/27/2010 at 5:17 PM #

    Latest from Coach Folwer

    thanks to all who use the direct message feature. it’s great hearing from the fans. i’ve turned most of them over to the fbi. go pack.

    http://twitter.com/lee_folwer

  24. mwcric 01/27/2010 at 5:47 PM #

    Basically, this is what I’ve been reduced to re: NCSU athletics:

  25. Wulfpack 01/27/2010 at 6:02 PM #

    NIT Math: Finish something better than 10th place. They don’t take half of the conference.

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