The NC State men’s basketball team’s roller coaster of a season continued Sunday as the Pack suffered another lopsided conference loss to the No. 13 Louisville Cardinals, 85-60, at the KFC Yum! Stadium.

The Wolfpack (14-8, 3-6 ACC) jumped out to a quick lead before the Cardinals (18-4, 6-3 ACC) went on a furious 21-3 run led by sophomore guard Donovan Mitchell, who scored Louisville’s first 14 points

The Pack’s defensive woes continued, allowing the Cards to convert on 56.3 percent of shots beyond the arc in the first half.

Junior forward Abdul-Malik Abu was a bright spot for the Pack in the first half, as he scored 11 points before the break. Despite freshman guard Dennis Smith Jr.’s two personal fouls in the first, NC State found itself only down 45-33 going into the break.

“We went on the road the other day, had a nice win and you could kind of see this one coming,” head coach Mark Gottfried told The News & Observer. “We just didn’t respond enough, we had no energy.”

NC State failed to have a player score at least 20 points for the first time in six games, since the Pack lost to Boston College Jan. 11. Abu and sophomore guard Maverick Rowan led the Pack with 13 points apiece. While Abu had a decent outing, shooting 6 of 10 from the field and grabbing six rebounds, Rowan was mediocre, finishing the day 4 of 12 from the field and 3 of 8 from long range.

The second half was more of the same, as the Cardinals entered with a full-court press. Louisville’s defense continued to swarm the Pack, forcing NC State into two shot-clock violations. The Cards quickly closed lanes to the basket, forcing aggressive slashers Smith and freshman guard Markell Johnson to settle for outside shots.

With Smith being the playmaker for NC State, the Cardinals’ game plan from tip-off was to limit his opportunities with the ball, and Louisville did just that. After scoring a career-high 32 points against Duke, the stud freshman was rattled all game long, recording a season-low eight points and converting just 3 of his 12 shots.

“I didn’t bring enough energy on either end to start the game out,” Smith told The News & Observer. “They follow me. So, when I don’t bring a lot of energy, it’s hard for [NC State] to really get going.”

The Pack looked out of sorts for most of the contest, allowing uncontested shots from the perimeter and committing frequent defensive breakdowns. NC State looked especially confused on two specific possessions.

The first came midway through the second half with the game still in reach. Junior forward Anas Mahmoud was at the top of the key looking to pass to a Cardinal guard. Freshman center Omer Yurtseven, with his back turned, was communicating with an NC State player when Mahmoud drove to the basket for a dunk.

“It’s confusion,” redshirt senior guard Terry Henderson told The News & Observer. “Not talking with one another, no one wanted to open their mouth.”

With the second defensive collapse, it became clear that this game was all but over. Down 66-39, freshman forward Ted Kapita left Cardinal forward Mangok Mathiang wide open in the paint for a standing dunk. While the blame is rightfully on Kapita, there were no Wolfpack defenders within a 10 foot-radius of Mathiang. After the play, NC State looked bewildered, trying to find out who was responsible for the mishap.

“We tried everything,” Gottfried told PackPride. “The Xs and Os of this game were irrelevant to me. We had no energy or zip.”

Louisville entered the matchup with the worst 3-point percentage in the ACC, yet the Cards finished the contest shooting 50 percent from deep.

NC State had no answer for Mitchell after the break either. Louisville entered the contest without starting guard Quentin Snider, and Mitchell more than stepped up for the Cards. After scoring a career-high 29 points against Pittsburgh last week, the sophomore continued his hot streak with 28 against the Pack.

“It felt like nobody wanted compete from the start of the game,” Henderson told The News & Observer. “I don’t know why. That’s just how it felt.”

The Pack is back in action this Wednesday at 7 p.m. in PNC Arena against the Syracuse Orange.