Pack folds to UVA in Charlottesville
There's losing a road game, and then there's whatever this was.
NC State walked into JPJ on Tuesday night riding a solid 19-9 season, fresh off dismantling UNC by 24 at home. They left shooting 29.4% from the field — a season worst — after getting outscored 58-42 in the second half by an 11th-ranked Virginia team that decided to shoot 70% after the break. Seventy. Percent.
First Half: Bad. Second Half: Worse.
The Pack made one of their first 13 shots to open the game. One. Virginia jumped out 15-3 and it felt like the kind of start you can usually chalk up to road jitters. State actually clawed back with a 15-5 run to get within two at 20-18, and for about 90 seconds it looked like a basketball game.
Then the Wolfpack didn't make a field goal for the final 6:23 of the half. Virginia closed on a 12-1 run and took a 32-19 lead into the break. Ugly, but survivable. Down 13 at the half is comeback territory. We've seen it before.
Except the second half was somehow worse. The two teams played even for the first 10 minutes, and when Matt Able hit a three to get State within 12 at 60-48, there was a brief flicker of hope. Virginia responded with six straight points and then just kept going — a 30-13 run to close the game. The flicker died fast.
Johann Grunloh Had a Block Party
Virginia's Johann Grunloh finished with 8 blocks. Eight. That's tied for the fourth-most by any individual opponent in NC State program history, and the most blocks a Pack opponent has racked up collectively (12) since Virginia Tech did it back in 2010. State couldn't get anything at the rim, couldn't hit from outside, couldn't do much of anything offensively.
The Silver Lining (If You Squint)
Paul McNeil Jr. did his thing with 22 points and three more threes, giving him 86 on the season — ninth-most in a single season in program history. Darrion Williams added 14 and Ven-Allen Lubin had 11 with a team-high 7 boards. But when the team shoots under 30%, individual performances are just footnotes.
For Virginia, Thijs De Ridder led the way with 19 on 7-of-10 shooting. Sam Lewis had 16 and Jacari White added 15 off the bench. The Cavaliers are 25-3 and rolling.
Stat Sheet
NC State (19-9, 10-5 ACC): 29.4% FG, 27.3% 3PT, 36 rebounds, 10 turnovers
Virginia (25-3, 13-2 ACC): 53.4% FG, 46.2% 3PT, 40 rebounds, 12 turnovers
This was also the second time this season UVA held State to a season-low in scoring. The January 3rd meeting? 61 points. Tuesday night? Also 61 points. At least we're consistent.
