Playing without both Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar for the second consecutive game, UNC’s offense struggled all night as the Tar Heels fell 82-58 at NC State Tuesday. The 24-point margin of victory was the Wolfpack’s largest in the series since 1962.
UNC shot an abysmal 8-32 (25 percent) in the first half and just 1-16 (9.3 percent) on three-point attempts, falling behind 42-26 by halftime. NC State, which came into the night as the top three-point shooting team in the ACC, shot 5-9 (55.6 percent) from downtown and 17-32 (53.1 percent) overall in the half. Wolfpack guard Quadir Copeland had his way all night long, efficiently managing the NC State offense to the tune of 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists.
“I felt like he controlled the game,” UNC head coach Hubert Davis said of Copeland. “His talent out there is real… he’s able to handle the basketball, really makes great decisions when he has the basketball.”
For UNC, Zayden High once again started in place of Wilson and Stevenson replaced Veesaar. The two were the lone offensive bright spots for Carolina: High logged his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Stevenson added 13 points and nine rebounds. No other Tar Heel reached double figures.
“Outside of Jarin and Zayden, we just couldn’t generate any good shots consistently,” Davis said. “We just couldn’t generate consistent paint touches, putting two on the ball and being able to generate consistent, really good shots.”
UNC ended its night with just 19 made shots, shooting 19-60 (31.7 percent) from the floor and 5-33 (15.2 percent) on threes. Freshman guard Derek Dixon accounted for eight of Carolina’s misses from downtown, finishing 1-9 from deep and 2-12 overall. He ended the night with five points.
For NC State, four other Wolfpack players outside of Copeland reached double figures, including former Tar Heel Ven-Allen Lubin. Lubin, who transferred to NC State in the offseason, scored 12 points and grabbed six rebounds. He shot 5-6 from the floor, extending his lead as the ACC’s top shooter by field-goal percentage.
“I thought he played well,” Davis said of Lubin. “No difference than regular Ven.”
Tuesday’s loss drops UNC to 20-6 overall and 8-5 in ACC play. The Tar Heels will be back in action when they visit Syracuse Saturday at 1 p.m.
Featured image via Associated Press/Karl DeBlaker
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