Chapel Hill proves to be no place for a Wolfpack

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North Carolina State came into this game tied for first in the ACC, but upon leaving Chapel Hill, it looked far from it.

No. 7 North Carolina (17-3, 4-1 ACC) may be without junior guard Dexter Strickland, but the Tar Heels still managed to blowout the Wolfpack (15-6, 4-2 ACC) by the final score of 74-55 in the first game since his injury. In fact, they looked just as good as they have all season despite his absence. Perhaps even better.

The Tar Heels had one of their best defensive performances of the year, holding the Wolfpack under 37 percent shooting from the field. At one point in the game, North Carolina was up by as many as 31 points.

As further proof of the Tar Heels’ defensive prowess, Scott Wood led all NC State scorers with only 11 points.

Although North Carolina State was off to its best conference start in nearly six years, the Tar Heels showed their rival that they are the top dogs in the league. The Wolfpack have emerged victorious at Chapel Hill since the 2003 season. With such a great start in conference play, it is evident that North Carolina State had not faced competition like North Carolina yet.

North Carolina may be without Strickland, but if the implications of his season-ending injury still include massive victories over the league’s better teams, then the rest of the ACC is in serious trouble.

The Tar Heels are a half game behind first place in the conference, but they are tied with league leaders Duke and Florida State in the loss column with one.

The Florida State blowout must have woken up North Carolina because it has won its last two games by an average of 16.5 points.

Next up for UNC will be the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets on Jan. 29, while NC State heads back home to face the Virginia Cavaliers on Jan 28.

 

 

 

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