ACC Basketball: North Carolina demolishes NC State in Chapel Hill

In an ACC basketball game that was supposed to be played on Saturday evening, North Carolina ran North Carolina State out of Chapel Hill.

This was supposed to be a thrilling rivalry game. Instead, it turned into a beat down of epic proportions.

The North Carolina Tar Heels ran their rivals, North Carolina State, out of the Dean Smith Center, 107 to 56, on Sunday afternoon. This game was originally supposed to be played on Saturday evening, but winter storm Helena dumped multiple inches of snow in the Raleigh area.

Roy Williams’ team had four players score in double figures, but were led by Justin Jackson (21 points on 6-of-11 from three) and Joel Berry II (19 points on 6-of-10 shooting). Isaiah Hicks chipped in 11 points, while freshman big man Tony Bradley added 11 himself.

This game was truly never in doubt, as the Tar Heels blitzed the Wolfpack from the get-go. Dennis Smith Jr. (11 points and six turnovers) picked up two fouls less than four minutes into the game and UNC burned the Wolfpack in transition. The Tar Heels seemed to get every 50-50 ball, ran their offense to perfection and locked up defensively, limiting the Wolfpack to one shot.

But on the flip side, Mark Gottfried’s team looked like they did want to be playing basketball on Sunday afternoon. North Carolina was getting anything (and I mean anything) they wanted offensively and the Wolfpack were losing track of their men defensively. On offense, the ball movement was non-existent (one assist in the first half and eight total) and they turned the ball over a remarkable 26 (!) times.

A lot of the Wolfpack’s offensive “sets” consisted of one-and-one iso plays and very little ball movement.

However, let’s not take anything away from North Carolina. This is a Tar Heels team that was arguably the most impressive squad in the nation during the month of November. They won the Maui Invitational and won every game they played by double digits.

While they suffered losses to Indiana (early December), Kentucky (in Vegas) and Georgia Tech (last weekend), this is still a team with National Championship potential. Remember, their most valuable player, Berry, dealt with a nagging ankle injury after their win over Radford and Theo Pinson played in his first game of the season on Sunday.

When Berry and Jackson (who is one of the most improved players in the nation) play like they played against NC State, they’re a top two team in the ACC.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack looked like a unit of players that are still coming together and haven’t had enough experience in true road environments. North Carolina State has Sweet 16 level talent, but they’re also starting two freshman and two players who sat out last season. They have a lot of players adjusting to their respective roles.

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As the season goes on, the Wolfpack will improve and eventually reach their potential. But their lack of energy and effort on Sunday gave them no chance against one of the elite teams in the country.

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