Lucas: NC State Rapid Reactions

By Adam Lucas

1. Carolina allowed State to get red-hot in the final quarter of the game, as State closed a win with a 29-15 stretch in the final ten minutes to win, 77-69.

2. Pretty simple: Carolina couldn't stop Jarkel Joiner and D.J. Burns down the stretch. At one point, the State duo combined for 24 of the Pack's 27 points, which helped the home team build a nine-point lead. Joiner (29 points on 11-for-21 shooting) and Burns (18 points on 9-for-15 shooting) were the two most impactful players on the court for either side. It was noticeable in the final minutes that State seemed very sure what they were trying to get offensively (and Carolina couldn't stop it), while the Tar Heels struggled to get similar looks (and missed them when they did).

3. Important stretch in the second part of the second half. Carolina took a 54-48 lead and then had the ball three different times with the chance to add to the lead. But the Tar Heels had two turnovers (one on an offensive rebound, one on a miscue on the fast break) and missed a rushed shot. State immediately went on a 7-0 lead and any chance to put the game away was gone...and the Pack was off and running.

4. It's been well documented that Carolina's transition offense has struggled. The Tar Heels worked this week on pushing the ball with the pass rather than the dribble. It worked at least three times--Caleb Love hit Leaky Black in the first half, and Black hit Love twice, with one leading to a field goal and the other into free throws. It's a mark of how meager the transition game has been that those seven points feel like a big improvement--but those were also the only fast break points the Tar Heels converted on a day when State had 25 in that category.

5. You're definitely starting to see a different Tar Heel rotation. Pete Nance remains in the starting lineup, but his first half minutes were nearly the same as Puff Johnson, who played ten minutes off the bench in the first half. Nance also played some limited minutes backing up Armando Bacot in the post. Johnson and Nance played 22 minutes apiece in the game, with Johnson grabbing seven rebounds to go with his seven points, and Nance contributing seven points and five boards.

6. 14 points and 12 rebounds from that position should be a reasonable contribution. But not on a day when RJ Davis was 2-for-13 and Armando Bacot was 6-for-14, with six of Caleb Love's 23 points coming after the game had been decided.

7. Going to the offensive glass helps a team in so many different ways. RJ Davis aggressively followed his miss in the first half and grabbed an offensive board; that play led to him drawing DJ Burns' second foul of the half, which sent Burns to the bench for most of the remaining 8:33. The bad news is that the Tar Heels didn't hugely capitalize on Burns' absence, as they were just +2 during that stretch.

8. It was nice to see a more attacking version of Leaky Black, who turned in his usual very good defensive effort against Terquavion Smith (5-for-16 and largely unimpactful). Black had taken just two free throws in the last six games and swished a couple of charity tosses. He also showed a willingness to attack from the corner, which created some good looks. Black's eight rebounds were the second-most on the team.

9. Tar Heel turnovers kept State in the game in the first half. Carolina committed eight miscues in the first 20 minutes, and State got 12 points from them. Making matters worse, the Tar Heels forced zero NCSU turnovers (State didn't commit a turnover until midway through the second half and finished with three). The Wolfpack shot 5-for-8 off UNC turnovers in the first half...and 7-32 otherwise. It's no secret how they were generating their offense.

10. Wild ride of a game for Caleb Love, who is now on a streak of four straight 20+ games after finishing with 23. The Tar Heel guard made some big shots. He also followed some of those buckets with errors, including four turnovers and drawing a technical foul after chirping at official Pat Driscoll asking for a foul. One of those turnovers came when Carolina had a three-point lead and the ball with 12 minutes left in what felt like a big moment. Love and RJ Davis miscommunicated and Love fired it out of bounds in the corner.

11. Prior to Love's late two three-pointers, Carolina was 5-for-20 from three. They finished 7-for-22 and still missed getting to the 35 percent mark that has meant victory in all seven times it was reached this year. The Tar Heels stay right at their season 30.6 three-point shooting mark that would be the second-lowest in school history (2019-20 was the lowest at 30.4).

12. Not a big secret that Carolina's postseason credentials are now in trouble. The Tar Heels are .500 in a down ACC and must win out and then probably get some wins in Greensboro in the ACC Tournament. The Tar Heels are now 2-7 on the road this year and 2-6 on the road in the ACC, with a road trip to Notre Dame on Wednesday.

13. With the loss, Carolina is now 36-6 against the Pack in the last 42 games and 53-13 in the last 66 games. The loss also "drops" the Heels to 18-6 against the Pack at PNC Arena; the .750 winning percentage remains Carolina's highest against any ACC team in that program's home arena.

14. Numerous Tar Heel lettermen were on hand, including Pete Chilcutt and Garrison Brooks. And with the NBA on a weekend break, Coby White and Day'Ron Sharpe were also in attendance behind the Tar Heel bench.

Players Mentioned

Armando Bacot

Leaky Black

RJ Davis

Puff Johnson

Caleb Love

Pete Nance

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