Despite the return of redshirt freshman forward Manny Bates, the NC State men’s basketball team lost at home Monday night to Tobacco Road rival North Carolina 75-65. The Wolfpack (14-7, 5-5 ACC) squandered its best chance in years to pick up a win over the hated Tar Heels (10-10, 3-6 ACC) in front of the PNC Arena faithful. Here are some of the important numbers from Monday’s game.
14 — Offensive rebounds and second-chance points NC State allowed North Carolina to rack up. The Wolfpack was destroyed in the paint all night long as multiple Tar Heels players hauled in at least 11 rebounds.
39 — NC State’s shooting percentage in a second half that saw North Carolina run away with the game. The Wolfpack could never see the ball through the net, and outside of redshirt senior forward D.J. Funderburk’s 4-for-4 second-half outing, the Pack connected on just 31% of its shots.
21 — Fouls committed by the Wolfpack. Although skewed a little by late-game desperation fouls, NC State was undisciplined on the defensive end. Bates fouled out and four other Wolfpack players picked up at least three fouls.
5 — Blocks by Bates in his first game back after a concussion. Playing with a minutes restriction, the shot-blocking phenom picked up right where he left off, rejecting five North Carolina shots in just 16 minutes of action.
59 — Shooting percentage on layups for NC State. The Wolfpack did a good job attacking the basket throughout the game but wasn’t able to convert at an equally good rate, constantly getting deterred and seeing its shots altered by the Tar Heels’ big-man duo of Garrison Brooks and Armando Bacot.
17 — Points NC State was outscored by over the last 37 minutes of the game. After jumping out to a quick 7-0 lead and firing up the PNC Arena crowd, the Wolfpack turtled the rest of the way. Despite the 10-point margin, NC State was outplayed by more than that for almost the entire game.
0 — Points scored by redshirt senior C.J. Bryce. The Pack’s leading scorer and one of its best at knocking down difficult shots, Bryce wasn’t able to see a shot, be it a layup or jumper, through the bottom of the net.
80 — Minutes in a row Bryce has gone without scoring a single point. Since knocking down a tough, game-sealing jumper against Virginia, Bryce has been held scoreless in back-to-back games, and without him knocking down shots, the Wolfpack’s offense is borderline nonexistent.
Senior Markell Johnson goes for a layup in the game against UNC on Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2020 at PNC Arena. Johnson scored 12 points and had 6 assists. NCSU lost to UNC 75-65.
