NC State jumped out to a big halftime lead at 45-24 due in great part to a 20-0 fastbreak points edge and held on to a 91-83 victory over North Carolina.
Going into the game, I thought holding down State’s Richard Howell would be a key. The Tar Heels didn’t do that as Howell scored 16 points and controlled the backboards with 14 points.
But the Tar Heels could have survived Howell – had it not been for veteran Lorenzo Brown schooling rookie Marcus Paige, T.J. Warren hitting six of nine shots and James Michael McAdoo picking up two fouls in the first two minutes.
State played well enough to win regardless of McAdoo’s fouls. But the Tar Heels seemed to be greatly affected by McAdoo’s absence – not so much that he wasn’t on the court but they seemed to have that “oh-no” feel about them after the two fouls. It changes your mindset. You’ve practiced all week to prepare for a rival that is favored over you on their home court and just like that your best scorer and rebounder is in foul trouble.
It’s a shame that the Tar Heels have that excuse and that State has to listen to the “what if” questions about the absence of McAdoo. Officials certainly need to get early control of a game but it’s not good when anyone’s best player has to sit most of the half after two quick calls.
As for Brown, he did have some late turnovers but during the critical parts of the game he was dynamic. He finished with 20 points, including being perfect from three-point land and the foul line, and 11 assists. On the other hand, Paige missed his first nine shots and was benched for a time in favor of a player who hasn’t seen the court in seven of the Heels last eight games.
Paige ended up going two of 11 for seven points and four assists.
State deserved to win because the Wolfpack, as UNC coach Roy Williams said, played with a greater sense of urgency and worked harder.
Carolina looked really good at times in the second half, shooting 60 percent, but as Williams said, “I don’t care about learning experiences; that’s for babies. We gotta play.”
A happier State coach Mark Gottfried said, “the first 20 minutes defensively we were as fundamentally sound as we’ve been all year.”