It’s been a rough start to the week in Raleigh, N.C. as both NC State Wolfpack men’s and women’s basketball teams succumbed to their rival, the North Carolina Tar Heels, over a period of three days.
North Carolina 86, NC State 74
On Tuesday night, the #7 Tar Heels’ Kendall Marshall (22 pts, 13 a) led all starters who turned in double-digit performances to outdistance themselves from the Wolfpack at the RBC Center.
Harrison Barnes (20 pts, 1 a), Tyler Zeller (14 pts, 1 a), John Henson (14 pts, 1 a), and Reggie Bullock (11 pts, 2 a) all helped to put together a 51% shooting performance that beat NC State for the second time this season – this time in front of their fans.
Even with C.J. Leslie’s career night in posting 24 points and 12 rebounds along with Lorenzo Brown’s contribution of 18 points, 4 assists, and 5 rebounds, NC State could get close but not enough to overcome the Tar Heels.
North Carolina’s perimeter shooting was the difference-maker as they hit 10-19 (52.6%) with Marshall contributing four of those baskets to minimize the effectiveness of the Wolfpack’s zone defense throughout the game.
North Carolina 68, NC State 59
Just two days earlier, the Wolfpack women’s team traveled to Chapel Hill and came up short against the Tar Heels at Carmichael Arena.
Tierra Ruffin-Pratt had a career game as her 23 points and 11 rebounds led the Tar Heels on the offense while Waltiea Rolle contributed 12 points and five blocks along with Laura Broomfield’s 8 points and 13 rebounds fortified the defense to get the win.
NC State’s Bonae Holston (15 pts, 6 reb), Krystal Barrett (12 pts, 1 reb) and Myisha Goodwin-Coleman (11 pts, 4 reb) led the Wolfpack, but an overall team shooting performance that hit only 19 out of 72 attempts (26.4%) was not good enough to beat the Tar Heels.
ACC tournament time
For NC State fans, games against Carolina can be the highlight or the lowlight of a season, but ones that they are always ready to prepare for and willing to go to extremes to get tickets for in order to support their team.
As ACC Championship tournament dates approach for both divisions in the coming weeks, Wolfpack fans can hope for the possibility of the Wolfpack getting another chance to exact revenge on North Carolina.
The ACC Women’s Basketball Championship takes place Mar. 1-4 at Greensboro Coliseum in Greensboro, N.C. while the ACC Men’s Basketball Championship takes place a week later, Mar. 8-11 at Phillips Arena in Atlanta, Ga.
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