UNC basketball falters down stretch at NC State, hurts NCAA Tournament hopes
RALEIGH – NC State used a second-half surge to beat North Carolina basketball 77-69 and deal a devastating blow to the Tar Heels’ NCAA Tournament chances.
Ahead of the game Sunday, ESPN’s Joe Lunardi had UNC (16-11, 8-8 ACC) among the first four teams on the wrong side of the bubble.
The 23rd-ranked Wolfpack (21-7, 11-6) leaned on the stellar play of Jarkel Joiner at a charged-up PNC Arena to make UNC’s path to the Big Dance even tougher. With 22 seconds remaining, NC State fans started an "NIT" chant.
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Joiner scored 29 points, including 20 in the second half, to help NC State continue to improve its resume ahead of what is expected to be the Wolfpack’s first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 2018.
"These guys have really grown a lot," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said.
". ... You look at the bunch after the game, they're just so excited for one another. I thought Jarkel Joiner was great. I thought he made every big shot we needed to have."
DJ Burns (18 points), Terquavion Smith (12 points) and Casey Morsell (12 points) also had double-figure scoring efforts for the Wolfpack . UNC was led by Caleb Love (20 points) and Armando Bacot (16 points, 13 rebounds).
Tied at 60 with six minutes left, NC State reeled off a 15-3 run over the next five minutes to take command. UNC led 54-48 with 10 minutes left before the Wolfpack outscored the Tar Heels 29-15 the rest of the way.
"We just didn't play well down the stretch," UNC head coach Hubert Davis said.
UNC turnovers power Wolfpack in 1st half
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, but NC State made the most of UNC’s miscues with 12 points off eight Tar Heel turnovers to take a 32-31 halftime lead.
The squads combined to shoot 34% in the first half, but the Wolfpack didn’t have a turnover and led for 16 of the first 20 minutes. UNC went nearly six minutes without making a shot late in the first half as the Tar Heels’ struggles from long distance continued.
The Tar Heels missed eight of 10 shots from 3-point range. Caleb Love knocked down a 3 from the top of the key to give UNC a 31-30 lead with 1:12 remaining, but was tagged with a technical foul for complaining to the refs.
NC State knocked down the ensuing free throws to carry a 32-31 lead into the locker room. Wolfpack guards Terquavion Smith, Jarkel Joiner and Casey Morsell combined to score 25 points in the first half. Love, Leaky Black and Armando Bacot scored 22 of UNC’s first-half points.
Notre Dame, Virginia up next
The Tar Heels travel to Notre Dame (10-17, 2-14 ACC) on Wednesday (9 p.m., ESPN) before returning to the Smith Center to face No. 7 Virginia (21-4, 13-3) on Saturday (6 p.m., ESPN).
Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached at rbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on Twitter.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: UNC basketball: Tar Heels lose at NC State, hurt NCAA Tournament hopes
