Staff photos by Robert Willett
• Box score
• First Look
RALEIGH — Roy Williams expected Tyler Hansbrough to be at his best against N.C. State on Saturday. Psycho T didn't disappoint.
Hansbrough's 31 points led UNC to a 93-76 win over N.C. State at the RBC Center. After Hansbrough scored a season-low eight points against Florida State on Wednesday, Williams expected a vintage performance from the All-American.
Hansbrough ran the floor and burned the Wolfpack in transition, lead UNC to a 46 to 16 advantage in the paint. Even when State could catch Hansbrough, they couldn't stop him.
"He was more into it," Williams said. "I figured he would be because he was disappointed in his play the other night."
Hansbrough had help. All five UNC starters finished in double figures with Ty Lawson adding 16 points and five assists and Danny Green chipping in 14.
Lawson and Green established the early tempo, slashing State in transition and creating easy points for Hansbrough inside and easy shots for everyone. UNC made 56.5 percent of its shots (35-62).
"Their bigs outplayed us," State coach Sidney Lowe said. "That's it. They were tough inside."
Courtney Fells scored 22 points for State, which trailed by as many as 18 in the second half but kept pushing back.
"Courtney Fells was outstanding for us and the guys did a great job in the second half and cutting the lead to eight," Lowe said.
Fells' 3 at 12:06 made it 60-52. But Green responded with a 3 and UNC pushed back out to 13.
State countered with another punch. Trevor Ferguson's baseline jumper at 8:18 cut the Heels' lead to 69-62.
But Lawson sped back with a layup and Green followed with a three-point play.
"When they cut it back to seven or eight, we kept coming back and scoring two or three times in a row," Williams said.
After one last State push was thwarted the only excitement left happened with 1.8 seconds on the clock.
State's Ben McCauley fouled UNC's Mike Copeland on a breakaway. Copeland took exception to the foul and charged after McCauley. Referee Les Jones separated the two and technicals were called on both.
Then Williams sent Copeland to the locker room (he wasn't ejected).
"It was a hard foul but there was no reason for Michael to react like that," Williams said.
Other thoughts:
• Tar Heel fans, who made the trip to the RBC Center for the first two rounds of the 2008 NCAA Tournament, turned up in pockets. With their light blue and the pink in the N.C. State student section — an homage to Kay Yow — the place looks like a maternity ward.
Just a guess, but that is the most UNC fans in N.C. State's building for a State-Carolina game in 15 years. A 15-point favorite, the Heels did not disappoint their traveling fan base.
Note: It's not like the 2003 State-Carolina game at the Smith Center, which was a virtual home game for State, but there's a good amount of blue sprinkled throughout the building, especially the upper deck, which mostly has been empty this season.
Comments
Congratulations the zebras
Mon, 02/02/2009 - 11:03 — nascarpackneckCongratulations the zebras gave you a game, pansies. I have gone back and looked at Hansblows points and out of thirty most of those he traveled on so I'm sending them all in a video to the ACC. That would erase the 15 points we lost by so as far as I'm concerned we won. Go Pack! 41-10
aaaahhhh
Mon, 02/02/2009 - 22:21 — gvillegatrthere it is. 41-10. I knew it would come out of someone with no defense for a joke of a basketball program. stay classy.
Pack
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 23:11 — FlaSkidTough to win when you have the 3 NO's
NO Defense
NO Hustle
NO Point Guard
Sid really needs to find ACC Caliber players if he wants to keep his job. When I see Clemson, Wake and VT in the top 5 of the conference and the PACK at the bottom I just shake my head. What a once proud program into the 90's have fallen to the Dregs of the ACC. Shameful.
Heels Play Sharp!
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 22:53 — jeromfitzThe Backcourt and Frontcourt dominated NC State at any given moment. UNC appears to be learning about controlling the game when it appears to be slipping away. Hansbrough got good looks today and executed like a player of the year. Lawson definitely put the turbo on up the court with good decision making. I like the way Green got his shots to go down and hustle play looks consistant every game. They all did their jobs and left NCState with a victory.
The incident at the end of the game was a disappointment to see how a harsh foul that could have you on the injury reserved in a second. I have to say NCState showed no sportsmanship on the play and Copeland only reaction was to protect himself.
"I have to say NCState
Mon, 02/02/2009 - 11:23 — JamesinWillowSprings"I have to say NCState showed no sportsmanship on the play and Copeland only reaction was to protect himself."
This pretty much supports my "Carolina fans are the densest in the Triangle" theory.
Mad Max Melting
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 21:15 — festerGreat meltdown, that's classic.
Dysfunctional
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 21:13 — unc1dmo1. WAS a BS / flagrant/ unnecessary foul with 2 seconds left and 16 down......too bad Copeland didn't get to him and cold cock that stiff......
2. unc half court offense is dysfunctional at best unless a driver goes unimpeded and untouched to the basket....otherwise it is ugly and any close game unc has to rely on this half court offense will be ugly......
lucky today for unc, nc st missed alot of chippies and the game got away from them.....
3. slow fraser guarding a red hot C Fells...WTF ????
4. alot of work Roy Boy....for you to do...far more important getting this "TEAM" back on the tracks than chastising Copeland for defending hiimself ....
No surprise
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 21:02 — JPDOhioGeez, I left for dinner with 2 minutes left and misses all the excitement! Anyway, Pack had to be perfect to have a chance and they weren't. Too many misses bunnies and maybe someone should box somebody out now and then.
On the positive side, the effort is way better than it was last year. I like the fact that they didn't quit when it would have been easy to. The point guard production is improving too. Mays got spooked at one point that I remember, but otherwise both he and Degand did better than I thought they would. And I like seeing Fells lighting it up again.
About Copeland. I understand he doesn't play much and wanted to score at RBC. I get that, but don't be surprised when the other team takes offense. Take the foul, go to the line and get your points. In other words, grow up.
light bulb
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 23:30 — gvillegatrif Frasor doesnt pass him the ball, the shot never goes up. if McCauley wasnt so embarassed about his teams play (year after year) he prolly does not blatantly take out Copeland.
McCauley ought to be suspended for the next game ... not that it matters.
Also,
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 21:05 — JPDOhioSid is doing fine. The team is playing hard, but just doesn't have enough talent. Let's see what he does with recruiting for the next few years and see what happens. Carping about him and starting over with a new coach at this point makes absolutely no sense.
What?
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 20:16 — UNC1998No one's called out the football score yet.
Seriously, Copeland doesn't play much and wanted to score. Would you give up a chance to make the linescore in his place? Why didn't NCSU put in the bench when the game was over? I thought convention dictated that. Well, it's over. Move on to Md.
Alot of crying on today's
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 20:11 — JPMajorAlot of crying on today's boards..
But i thought it was the Carolina fans who do the crying? Welp! guess State fans were wrong again!
Go Heels! Alot of blue in there today =] Shouldnt the talk of the game be about Hansbrough's 31 pts? must really hurt considering how much yall hate him..
&&
it was nice to see all the pink in there today in honor of YOW. R.I.P.
Copeland was simply classless, Officials were clueless
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 19:37 — rspncSo with a 15 pt lead, 10 sec left and no shot clock, UNC decides to try and dunk on McCauley and Coleman gets fouled. So Coleman decides to go after McCauley hitting him in the chest, talking smack. That settles which team has class.
ANd then the official calls a double-technical on BOTH McCauley and Coleman, listens to Roy Williams and does not eject Coleman from the game, and gives UNC 2 free throws and the ball out of bounds. Just an extension of the cluelessness the officials exhibited throughout the game.
Hmmm... and then Roy Williams says 'maybe we should not have thrown the ball in there trying to score ...' Right.
Show some class Roy and suspend Coleman from the team. Otherwise your team get the message that you think this kind of behavior is just fine.
1st off
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 23:22 — gvillegatrthe dadgum point spread was on the line!! lol.
second, his name is Copeland. go light a latern (coleman) and sing by the light while you freeze outside. you're an idiot!
again, we had our 2nd tier in (which is better than your starters) and you had your best player in. and for the record, he wasnt dunking on McCauley, b/c McCauley was behind him!
when is NCSU ever going to be good at a money revenue sport??????????????
His name isn't COLEMAN
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 22:44 — excuses4everYou've got to be a state grad -ya'll have all the class (and I.Q.)
right on. well said
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 19:52 — mad_maxright on. well said
3 major points to this
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 19:04 — mad_max3 major points to this game:
1) too many bunnies missed by the pack in the paint
2) reliable god-awful officiating (do these guys know the difference between a blocking foul and a charge???)
3) unc's classless thug behavior at the end. that's what happens though when you recruit illiterate scum. and to think, my tax dollars pay for food stamps and welfare so that jerks like him can play a game for a living and not have to worry about their illegitimate children
all in all, it hurts to lose to your arch-rival...but at least we have respectable fans, coaches, and players. didn't hear any "go back to the ghetto chants"; there won't be a full article in tomorrow's paper featuring lowe ranting on the refs; and we don't have low-life thugs that want to fight on the court or get arrested for dui and driving without a license only to be slapped on the wrist. so go ahead unc fans, talk your smack. you'll never know what it's like to have honor and dignity even through the hard times...and that's something you can never take away from the pack. but then again, state isn't your rival, so i guess you guys don't care right?
Instead of blaming the refs,
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 23:22 — psh0117Instead of blaming the refs, why don't put the blame on who's really at fault. The state players just didn't play that good. it's one thing to play hard, but they need to play good as well. That so call "big Line up" wasn't so hot for state getting outscored in the paint something like 46-16. It Must hurt.
And please…UNC thugs?? Don’t sit there and act like state never had thugs……(Julius Hodge)
"So what Copeland tried to
Mon, 02/02/2009 - 11:20 — JamesinWillowSprings"So
what Copeland tried to score, you know you would do the same thing if
you only got into the game for 30 seconds or so. don't fault a guy for
trying to score."
I don't. I also don't fault McCauley for trying to prevent him from scoring.
Seriously...how f*cking hard is this to understand? Carolina fans must be the densest group of idiots I've ever seen.
dude
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 23:16 — gvillegatryou root for a crappy team who used to be good in the 70's. quit already.
we have one bobby frasor, you have about 8 of them. dont think for one second the refs ahd anything to do with the outcome of this game.
and McCauley is a punk. we had our reserves in the game. YOU HAD YOUR STARTERS IN THE GAME. McCauley chose the low road. plain and simple.
Let me go full cirlcle and say Booby Frasor shouldnt even have passed the ball to Coplenad. Gawd, why cant Hansbrough rub off on Frasor since they are roomates???
wah wah wah!
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 20:05 — JPMajorIt's always the refs fault isnt it??
and about the fans being respectful ? haha that's a good one. Have you ever attended a NC State event? Obviosuly not. Class isnt allowed in the RBC or C-F. Just go into your cubby and cry some more... Your post about well fare and scum is pretty classy, lemme tell ya!
YOUR LIGHT BLUE IN OUR HOUSE
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 18:46 — wilmpackYOUR LIGHT BLUE IN OUR HOUSE ISNT ANYTHING COMPARED TO THE "WOLF" "PACK" CHANT AND RED IN KENAN EVERY TWO YEARS. THIS IS FOR TOPPING 241
Keep Sidney!
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 18:01 — WNCMikeKeep Sidney!
I noticed the blue in HD
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 17:47 — festerIt's a much better looking arena with the blue trim.
Toots Knows His Subject Matter!
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 17:44 — topping241As Toots predicted NC State lost this game and rather badly. While State would move within six of eight, Carolina would just pull away very easily. The number of Carolina fans at the RBC Center is a major embarrassment to WolfPack fans, very similar to the number of Carolina fans in Charlottesville. Ben McCauley is primarily in the NC State line-up to foul and in my opinon is a waste of a NC State basketball scholarship.
NC State will remain in the lower tier of the ACC for the remainder of the ACC Season and the clock is ticking on Coach Lowe.
"As Toots predicted NC
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 19:12 — mad_max"As Toots predicted NC State lost this game and rather badly."
^did they really lose that badly? let's not forget, this is the all-time greatest team ever...ya know, preseason unanimous #1. the team that was gonna go undefeated? yeah, so you beat arguably the worst team in the league by 15. what a blowout...*cough*
"The number of Carolina fans at the RBC Center is a major embarrassment to WolfPack fans"
^did you even read JP's post? 2003 in the smith center? and let's not even bring up football, though i'm sure you would claim that you don't care about football until unc actually wins a big game. next time you wanna come out of the woodworks to talk smack, make sure you don't sound like such a moron.
a shame
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 17:30 — gvillegatrI got to leave right now for a bday party but i'll be back later to rumble with McCauley and fans!
oh yea, UNC covers too!
truly amazing
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 17:06 — gvillegatrBobby Frasor couldn't guard his grandmother. another stat that has become all to familiar ... a crappy team shooting 55% from the three pt line at this moment against the Heels (11-20).
Frasor
Sat, 01/31/2009 - 16:57 — gvillegatrwhat good ever comes out of his playing time?? when we are losing, we are at a bigger defecit when he leaves the game. when we are winning, we are winning by less or losing when he goes out.
I understand why Coach puts him in, but it never works to our advantage. never.