N.C. State has lost 13 straight to North Carolina and 19 of 20 since coach Roy Williams replaced Matt Doherty in 2003.

For most of Williams' first nine seasons, UNC's wins have not been close, with the notable exception of the first game — a two-point UNC win in Chapel Hill — and the last one — a two-point UNC win in Atlanta in the ACC tournament.

Only five of the 19 losses have been by single digits, compared nine by 14 points or more. The average margin of victory for UNC in the 19 games is 13.2 points.

RALEIGH — N.C. State's loss at Wake Forest on Tuesday and defensive meltdown in the second half prompted a team meeting on Thursday.

Junior guard Lorenzo Brown did not provide too many details about the meeting other than the "nonsense" of the past three games — a loss at Maryland, a close home win over Clemson and the loss at Wake Forest — was addressed.

"There's been a lot of nonsense going on between us but we're all grown men," Brown said. "We sat down and talked it out. We're perfectly fine now."

Three Points from N.C. State's 66-62 win over Clemson:

1) Winning with the changeup

There's winning without your fastball and then there's winning without your fastball, curveball or slider. That's what N.C. State did on Sunday.

C.J. Leslie and Lorenzo Brown scored six points each and the Wolfpack's veteran quartet finished the game with fewer combined field goals (10) than Clemson's Devin Booker (13) had by himself.

Three Points (and 1) from N.C. State's 51-50 loss at Maryland on Wednesday:

1) Mix and match

Some matchups work in your favor and some don't, that's a basic rule of basketball, especially for a team with as many nontraditional parts as N.C. State. Maryland is/was a difficult matchup for N.C. State (and most teams) with its size and athleticism.

Working from the baseline that N.C. State lost a one-point game to a good team on the road, at the buzzer, after a miserable start, the two biggest problems for N.C. State on Wednesday were forward Alex Len and wing Dez Wells.

Quinn Cook has played like a first-team all-ACC player through Duke's nonconference schedule. Credit: CHUCK LIDDY

Back in October, ACC beat writers and reporters gathered in Charlotte for the conference’s preseason media day. One of the annual traditions is voting on the preseason favorite to win the league and picking preseason all-conference teams. With ACC play about to (finally) begin Saturday, let’s see how my picks look at this point in the year.

Here’s what I predicated in October:

N.C. State blocked a season-best 11 shots in Tuesday's 88-79 win over Stanford and has blocked 25 shots in the past three games.

Scott Wood, 7-footer Jordan Vandenberg, C.J. Leslie and T.J. Warren tied for the team lead with two blocks.

Three Points from N.C. State's 72-55 win over Penn State on Thursday:

1) Two for two

In two games, N.C. State is 2-for-2 in answering offseason questions.

Q: How will the Wolfpack handle the all the hype and pressure of the expectations?
A: Just fine.

Q: What will the Wolfpack do when Richard Howell gets into foul trouble?
A: Turn T.J. Warren loose.

BAYAMON, Puerto Rico — In a four-minute stretch in the second half, N.C. State junior C.J. Leslie showed the strength of his game.

Leslie scored on two strong drives, had an assist on a third basket and then buried a hook shot from the post.

Penn State trailed by seven points before Leslie got rolling. The Nittany Lions were down by 17 when Leslie was done.

RALEIGH —If N.C. State is feeling any pressure to live up to the preseason hype, the Wolfpack didn't show it in the first game of the season.

It looked like seven days had passed since N.C. State's trip to the Sweet 16, not seven months. The sixth-ranked Wolfpack played with the same confidence it had last March in its 97-59 win over Miami (Ohio) on Friday at PNC Arena.

Handling expectations, Lorenzo Brown's health, which forwards will play off the bench, 'skinny' Rich Howell and shot at UNC — notes from N.C. State basketball's media day: