Another Strong Defensive Effort In 67-54 Win At NC State

Wednesday, January 10

Raleigh, N.C.

8 PM

North Carolina

12-3,4-0ACC

NC State

11-4,3-1ACC

North Carolina

NC State

Photo by: University of North Carolina Men's Basketball

January 10, 2024 | Men's Basketball

Box Score Lucas: Cooked Lucas: Rapid Reactions Postgame Notes Box Score (.pdf)

By: Matt Bowers

RALEIGH, N.C.—Seventh-ranked North Carolina went on a 15-2 run late in the second half on its way to a 67-54 win at NC State on Wednesday at PNC Arena. The Tar Heels won their fifth game in a row and improved to 4-0 in Atlantic Coast Conference play for the first time since 2015-16.

Carolina has held three consecutive ACC opponents under 60 points. The Tar Heel defense limited NC State to just 2 of 20 three-point shooting (10.0 percent) and 27.3 percent shooting overall, snapping the Wolfpack's four-game winning streak.

State's field goal percentage was the lowest by the Pack against the Tar Heels since at least 1954. It was the fourth-lowest percentage allowed by the Tar Heels in any ACC regular-season or ACC Tournament game.

UNC (11-3, 4-0 ACC) got a game-high 16 points from RJ Davis, who shot 6 for 19 from the floor but hit four three-pointers and scored 11 in the decisive second half after Carolina led, 30-28, at the break.

Harrison Ingram grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds and scored nine points. He has 38 rebounds in the last three games.

Freshman guard Elliot Cadeau hit 4 of 8 shots and 3 of 4 free throws, finishing with 11 points and a game-high six assists with only two turnovers.

The first half wasn't the prettiest either team has played this season with the Pack shooting 27 percent while Carolina was at 38 percent. The Tar Heels led, 30-28, at the half despite getting only a combined seven points from Davis and Armando Bacot. Cormac Ryan drained a pair of first-half three-pointers.

Both teams continued to struggle with similar field goal percentages in the second half, but the Tar Heels wore down the Wolfpack by drawing fouls and 18 free throw attempts after the break (making 11). UNC outscored State, 37-26, in the final 20 minutes.

How It Happened
First Half
• Both teams got off to slow starts. State led, 8-6, in the first seven-plus minutes despite shooting 27 percent in the early going. Carolina missed 7 of its first 10 shots and committed four quick turnovers.
• The Tar Heels went on a 9-0 run to take a 21-16 lead, holding the Wolfpack scoreless for 3:40 and forcing seven consecutive missed shots.
• State missed 9 of its last 11 shots from the floor and did not score a field goal in the final 5:02 of the half.
• UNC held NCSU to just 28.1 percent shooting in the first half (9 for 32), its worst shooting first half of the season to this point.
• Ingram had his fourth double-digit rebounding game of the season before halftime with 10 boards before the break.
• Bacot was limited by first-half foul difficulties to two points, 1-4 FG shooting and no rebounds in 10 first-half minutes. He finished with nine points and five boards in 23 minutes.
• UNC dominated inside early despite seven first-half points from DJ Burns. Carolina had a 20-12 edge in first-half points in the paint.
• Carolina attempted just two first-half free throws while State was 10 for 15 at the line.

Second Half
• Davis hit his first three-point try of the second half and scored 11 after tallying only five points in the opening 20 minutes.
• Carolina missed 13 of its first 19 shots in the first 10 minutes of the half but finished shooting 39.3 percent after halftime.
• Davis hit a jumper with 6:37 remaining, giving the Tar Heels their biggest lead of the night to that point at 59-48. Shortly thereafter, it was a 15-2 UNC run and a 63-48 lead.
• The Tar Heels continued to wear down the Pack, holding a double-digit lead the rest of the way.

Postgame Tidbits & Notes
• The game was the first meeting in the series since 1974 when both teams were at least 3-0 in ACC play.
• UNC is 165-80 all-time against NC State. That's the most wins by Carolina over any opponent in program history.
• Carolina is 37-6 against NCSU in the last 43 meetings in the series and 54-13 over the last 32 seasons.
• The Tar Heels are 69-48 on the road vs. NC State, including 19-6 at PNC Arena (UNC's best winning percentage vs. any ACC team in its home arena).
• Carolina controlled the boards, winning the rebounding battle by a 49-42 margin.
• UNC also held an 18-8 advantage in fast break points.
• NC State hit just 2 of 20 three-point attempts on the night (10.0 percent).
• UNC is 5-1 in 2023-24 when scoring under 80 points.

Up Next
Carolina will play three of its next four contests at home, beginning on Saturday at noon against Syracuse.

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