Several weeks ago Herb Sendek joked that his team had shown progress rebounding-in the lay up line. But when it comes to rebounding actual missed shots in a game, the Wolfpack is on the bottom of the ACC looking up.
Consider these numbers: Carolina missed 32 field goals and 6 free throws-a total of 38 shots. The Tar Heels snared 19 offensive rebounds. That means once out of every two times Carolina missed, there was a second shot. And sometimes a third.
One possession in the second half stands out. The Heels missed a shot, but Danny Green got the rebound. They missed again and Green pulled down another offensive board. On the third possession from this same trip down the court, UNC got the ball to Tyler Hansbrough for a dunk. All season long State has held opponents to shooting percentages in the 30's and 40's.
On this night, Carolina shot 53% (61% in the second half). So State had to try to overcome the double hardship of allowing its opponent to shoot a great percentage, and also missing half the rebounds from the small number of missed shots.
Only two NC State players spoke to the media afterward. Both Ilian Evtimov and Ilian Atsur said State's biggest disappointment stemmed from its lack of intensity on defense. The guys from Chapel Hill (aka Turnover City) were forced into six just errors. That's the fewest number of turnovers by a Carolina team since the days of Dean Smith. State also shoot poorly from beyond the three point line-just 6 of 25.
However,the Pack could have hit 13 of 25 and still lost. There were just too many
deficiencies to overcome.
-Bob Holliday
