1. NC State wanted this one more
Perhaps we should have known the way this game was going to go when Caleb Love played the “not our rival” card earlier in the week. Yes, the Tar Heels have owned the Wolfpack the past few decades, but anyone with working ears could hear what the PNC Arena crowd thought. From start to finish, the place was a zoo. What’s disheartening is that due to its flimsy postseason chances, Carolina should have been the team playing with more desperation, but it was clear that State, and their fans, were not going to let this one get away.
Inspired by the crowd, State played free and loose, and they actually seemed to be having fun out there. Contrast that with UNC, who has played this entire season with a demeanor that can best be described as grim. I can’t remember a Tar Heel team that has seemed like they’re having less fun on the court. Every basket seems like a chore, whereas State seemed to revel in twisting the knife, such as when Jarkel Joiner emphatically slammed home an alley-oop when the game was already decided.
One look at the turnover stats shows who wanted this game more, with State committing only three the entire game. How is that possible? Carolina coughed the ball up 13 times, with most of them occurring the same way they have all year: by dribbling into traffic, and with lazy passes far from the basket. To win in such a hostile environment, you need to bring it, and Carolina seemed to wither and die when State made its game-sealing run.