There’s not much more NC State men’s basketball could’ve done.
It held the highest-scoring team in the ACC over 20 points under its average. It scored more points in the second half than a team that averages nearly 50 points in the final 20 minutes. It held a former first-team All-American and ACC Player of the Year to just 11 points on under 40% shooting.
It even had the ball with a chance to take the lead in a tie game with under a minute left. Then it had another chance to tie or win the game with 20 seconds left. Despite having so many things go its way, NC State still managed to lose 63-61 to UNC-Chapel Hill Saturday night at Lenovo Center.
NC State not taking advantage of the Tar Heels’ poor first half may have been its biggest missed opportunity. UNC scored just 26 points in the first 20 minutes — the least amount of points it scored in a half this season — but the Wolfpack was still down six with its lowest-scoring half of the season. Most of the Tar Heels’ losses this season have come because they’ve fallen behind in the first half and couldn’t mount a comeback. The Wolfpack had the perfect chance to build a significant lead in the first half but its offense faltered against the worst defensive team in the conference.
Senior guard Marcus Hill scored the Wolfpack’s first 10 points, but that took over 10 minutes. It wasn’t until senior forward Ben Middlebrooks made an and-1 with eight minutes and 42 seconds left in the opening frame that someone other than Hill scored.
Whether it was a lack of ball movement or other players passing up open shots, the Wolfpack let an elite defensive performance in the first half go to waste because it couldn’t find a way to score. While Hill had it going, he did shoot 5-14 in the opening frame, and the Wolfpack had just one assist as it went into halftime down 26-20.
“There was a lot of one-on-one ball, especially in the first half that really kind of hurt us,” Middlebrooks said. “We need to start sharing the ball a little more. … A little bit more of driving and kicking is really gonna help us.”
Time and time again, the Wolfpack squandered an opportunity to make a statement play. Despite grabbing 16 offensive rebounds, it managed just nine second-chance points. NC State won the margin in both steals and blocks but came up with just 10 fast break points, a stark difference for a team that is top 10 in the country, averaging 17 fast break points per game.
Perhaps the biggest blame for the Wolfpack’s loss was its lack of 3-point shooting. NC State made just three of its 19 attempts from beyond the arc. The Pack’s most consistent shooter, senior guard Breon Pass, took just one attempt from beyond the arc and finished with zero points in 19 minutes.
On the other side, it looked as though the Wolfpack had found the answer to containing UNC’s star guard Ian Jackson in the first half. The true freshman averaged nearly 24 points and three 3-pointers over the last five games but went into halftime with just five points and one 3-pointer. But the offensive talent can only be slowed for so long as Jackson scored 16 points and knocked down more 3-pointers in the second half than NC State made for the entire game.
“We fought hard,” said senior guard Dontrez Styles. “Had a chance to win the game. Just some defensive breakdowns, so we gotta be better.”
Hill did everything possible, scoring 20 points and grabbing a career-high six offensive rebounds, but it simply wasn’t enough to drag the Wolfpack over the hump. The former All-MAC First Team player has emerged as the biggest interior scoring threat for the red-and-white but continues to be hindered by his lack of 3-point prowess. NC State will continue to rely on him as one of the primary scorers and a focal point of the offense.
“He’s buying in,” Keatts said. “He’s starting to play and understand what we’re looking for. He’s playing with a little toughness and when you play with toughness and play with grit, the ball scores for you. That’s what he’s doing for us.”
With senior forward Brandon Huntley-Hatfield being ruled out with an injury prior to the match, a lot of pressure fell upon Middlebrooks in his absence. Though scoring just five points, the big man led all players with 14 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. Middlebrooks’ ferocity and energy on defense served as a platform for his teammates to build off.
There is nearly no room for error as the Wolfpack desperately tries to recover from a slow opening to the season. NC State will look to stop the bleeding at Virginia Tech on Wednesday. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.
