ACC Roundup – NC State Blows Out UNC, Miami Wins Another Close One

NC State took out decades of frustration on UNC Tuesday night

Summarized by AI ⓘ

What is the story about?

In Tuesday’s ACC Action, SMU surprised Louisville 95-85, Florida State came back to beat Boston College 80-72, Miami just barely got by Virginia Tech 67-66, and NC State ripped UNC apart, 82-55. This was NC State’s biggest win over the Heels since 1962, when the program was recovering from the scandals of the Frank McGuire era.

This one had been building for months. When he signed Ven-Allen Lubin, Will Wade mocked Hubert Davis for not knowing how to use him, saying he would have a better idea. Darrion

Williams said he didn’t like Carolina and Davis because of how Davis, according to Williams anyway, misused Lubin and his old Texas Tech teammate Kerwin Walton, who was at UNC before departing for Lubbock.

And of course the long-suffering NC State fans have been spoiling for a big win against the Tar Heels, not least of all after the frustrations of last season, when the Pack finished 12-19.

This game was a blast for Wolfpack Nation. Of course, they caught the Tar Heels without their two best players, Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar, as both big guys sat out with injuries.

That was obviously a lot to overcome but it didn’t entirely explain a 24-point loss to a neighborhood rival.

UNC…how to put this? UNC is not the UNC of yesteryear. Ironically wearing throw-back uniforms, these Tar Heels looked nothing like the Tar Heels of old.

In Dean Smith’s day, or even Roy Williams’ day, UNC would have been much smarter and tougher. Even taking into account the absence of Wilson and Veesaar, and that obviously was huge, this was not a smart, disciplined team, nor was it particularly resilient.

UNC shot just 5-33 from the bonusphere. On one sequence, we think they tried four threes on the same trip. There was no attempt to get the ball inside, just chucking up threes.

UNC’s starting guards combined to shoot 3-21/1-12. The reserve backcourt players shot 5-18/2-9.

You can understand some guys being cold, but everyone? Five guards?

Part of it was State’s defense. Part of it was just poop preparation. We meant to say poor preparation, but po-tay-to, po-tah-to, you know?

Zayden High and Jarin Stevenson did pretty well, with High hitting 4-6/0-1 and Stevenson 4-7/0-3. Both had 13 points and High grabbed 10 rebounds and Stevenson 9.

Luka Bogavac started at small forward and shot 3-8/2-5.

UNC shot just 19-60 overall (32%) and 5-33 (15%).

The secondary break, a Smith staple, seems like a forgotten dream. When UNC fast breaks, they don’t always even attempt to fill lanes. The Heels just head pell-mell to the basket and whoever got there first against State challenged the defenders to stop it, which they did fairly consistently.

Also damning: NC State had only 4 turnovers and UNC had zero steals. Zip, zero, nada.

There was a time when UNC’s defense was feared and innovative, with a million tricks in Dean Smith’s pocket. There was a time when UNC would trap the ball once it crossed half court and force bad decisions. There was a time when UNC could turn to career backups who, while less talented than the starters, were well-trained enough to keep the train on the tracks.

This is not that UNC. They’ll be competitive when Veesaar and Wilson are back, but for people who saw the Tar Heels back in the day, this is a pale imitation of Carolina basketball. It might hurt UNC fans to read that, but it’s the truth, and being forced to play without their best players just underscores what’s happened under Davis. We’re Duke partisans obviously, but the decline is honestly kind of sad.

A small side note: High sat out last season for reasons which were unspecified at the time but which we now know involved allegations that High videoed a sexual encounter with another student without her permission.

NC State fans directed chants of “No means no! No means no! No means no!” at High. In good taste? No. Inevitable in Raleigh? For better or worse, probably so.

By the way, remember how Caleb Wilson promised to “bring the belt” to ACC rivals? Lubin showed up to the post-game presser…with a belt.

As always, after a big dud from the Heels, we recommend a visit to Carolina Meltdown on X. It’s more than worth your time.

Louisville went to Moody Coliseum with a 5-game winning streak and left that behind. The Cards gave up 52 first-half points and SMU outscored them by 13 in the second.

The game was tied at 76-76 with 6:18 to play and from there, Louisville let the Mustangs run wild with 19 points in the last 6:17.

That’s pretty bad. So is this: Louisville had 17 turnovers and let SMU shoot 9-19 from outside (47%) and 38-65 (58%) overall.

Mikel Brown shot well again but had 7 turnovers personally, and that’s a disaster. And it’s not like SMU is a defensive powerhouse. Jaron Pierre had 25 and Boopie Miller 23 for the Ponies. Pat Kelsey had calmed down the boo birds in his fan base, but this is likely to wake them up again. Note to Cards fans: your team won 12 games in two years before Kelsey arrived. His current two-year record, to date, is 46-14. Be careful what you wish for.

Boston College got to Tallahassee with a six-game losing streak and left with seven straight. The Eagles were up by 14 in the second half but let the ‘Noles off the hook. Florida State finished on a 35-12 run. BC didn’t help things by shooting just 3-13 (23%) from the line.

They were without Donald Hand, but Fred Payne continues to play well, scoring 22 here. Robert McCray had 27 for the ‘Noles.

It’s become a dreary season for BC – their last win was on January 21st – and since January 3rd, Boston College is 2-11.

For Florida State, quite the opposite. FSU is just 13-13, true, but they are unquestionably improving. The ‘Noles are 5-1 in their last six games and the loss, to Virginia, was by just three points. He’ll never win ACC Coach of the Year, but who has done a better job than Luke Loucks? Keep in mind that his starting center, Alex Steen, was a D-II player who has had minimal offensive impact. He’s done an amazing job with limited talent. This year he builds credibility. What comes next?

Finally, Miami and Virginia Tech had the best game of the night, with the ‘Canes winning by one point.

You won’t see this too often: Tre Donaldson scored Miami’s last 15 points. And that was key because Malik Reneau was sort of out of it and had to leave the game for a time, possibly with a migraine.

It was a brilliant performance by Donaldson and, crucially, it was the second straight unlikely win by Miami. This is a team that is really beginning to believe in itself. The Hurricanes lost to FSU by two on January 20th and since then, are 6-1 with a one-point loss to Cal.

They close out with Virginia on the road, at Florida State, BC at home, with a trip to SMU and then finally Louisville visits. Could they run the table?

It won’t be easy, but you can’t rule it out. Either way, this is not a team you’d want to see in March because they just seem to win.

No games until Saturday, when the highlights are likely to be Miami at Virginia and #3 Duke’s non-conference clash with #1 Michigan.

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