All things considered, that may be the greatest win ever!

Think about how they feel at N.C. State today. This was the game the Wolfpack was going to snap its 6-straight home losing streak to the hated Tar Holes! This was the evening they were going to be howlin’ past midnight. This was your chance, Woofies!

Carolina goes in there with one ACC win in almost three months, 82 days to be exact, and a sub-.500 record in late January for the first time since the infamous 8-20. State was going to the NCAA tournament, the Heels going nowhere.

With 5 minutes left, the red-clad crowd was going home.

The Pack was 11-1 in PNC Arena, the one loss coming on opening night, 24 hours before Carolina beat Notre Dame on 34 by Cole Anthony, who by the way hasn’t suited up in 43 days. State’s leading scorer, C. J. Bryce, who was shooting 50 percent coming in, went 0-for-8 on his way to a goose egg. Maybe Kevin Keatts should try that red suede blazer, after all.

Keatts knew he had to cover Garrison Brooks, who is in the conversation for first-team All-ACC, if not Player of the Year. GB had 25 and 11, natch. The Pack couldn’t even cover Armando Bacot, whose up-and-down first year went up with 11 and 11.

On the perimeter, the Pack was supposed to whack the Heels, with three long bombers shooting 35 percent from the arc. The Tar Heel wingmen, including Brandon Robinson hurting like he had been in the head-on collision that afternoon and not two-plus weeks and 29  against Miami ago, combined for 39 points, more than half of the team’s total.

The usual suspects for another reason made UNC teams that had given Roy Williams a 30-4 record against State so proud. Adding to bruised ribs B-Rob’s 11, mostly on 7 of 7 from the line, Leaky Black also had 11 with suddenly hot shooting, scrappy Andrew Platek had 8, and 9 off the bench from Christian Keeling, Justin Pierce and KJ Smith, all hitting big buckets at critical times.

No, this isn’t a great Carolina team. But one, on this night, that showed poise, toughness and just enough talent to make all of Tarheelia very happy. Hear that (silence)? It’s the Woofies howlin’.

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