Give a team enough 3-point shooters —  Duke has several — and there can be games when traditional basketball logic doesn’t count for much.

Three Points from N.C. State's 74-55 road loss to UNC on Thursday:

There's no shame in losing to the best team in the country on their home floor but there is in the way N.C. State lost to UNC on Thursday.

The Wolfpack (15-6, 4-2 ACC) kept making the same mistakes — at least while the game was still close in the first half — over and over and over. And they were the same mistakes from last year's losses to the same UNC team.

CHAPEL HILL — Mark Gottfried didn't watch the tape of either of N.C. State's losses to North Carolina from last season. He didn't have to, UNC gave him reprisal on Thursday.

In the same dominant, defensive fashion from a year ago, UNC looked every bit like the preseason No. 1 team in the country in a 74-55 pasting of the Wolfpack at the Smith Center.

State started the day tied for first in the ACC, with four wins in its first five games, but it got a dose of reality from a motivated UNC team, which beat the Wolfpack for the 11th straight time and improved to 17-1 under coach Roy Williams in the series.

A belated three North Carolina-related things to consider on this Wednesday:

While N.C. State’s C.J. Leslie still has five days to put his name into the draft, most of the big NBA decisions in the area have been made, with North Carolina’s Harrison Barnes announcing Monday his intention to stay, joining John Henson and Tyler Zeller.

What it means for the teams involved aside, for the players involved -- the three Tar Heels and Duke’s Kyrie Irving, who will jump to the NBA -- it means that everyone (so far, counting Leslie) has made what looks to be the right decision for their future.

Two down, one to go.

North Carolina forwards John Henson and Tyler Zeller will return to Chapel Hill for their junior and senior seasons, respectively, the school announced today. Meanwhile, Tar Heels freshman Harrison Barnes is still reviewing information about the possibility of declaring for the NBA draft.

"John and Tyler certainly considered their options, but in the end it came down to how much they enjoyed not only college basketball, but being part of the collegiate experience both on and off the court," UNC coach Roy Williams said in a prepared statement. "I spoke to about 10 NBA teams on their behalf and gave them that information, but their individual decisions are less about the NBA and more about what they wanted to do right now and the experiences they are enjoying at the University of North Carolina.

North Carolina coach Roy Williams said on the Dan Patrick Show this morning that he plans to meet with underclassmen Harrison Barnes, John Henson and Tyler Zeller this week to talk about their futures.

“I don’t think they’re going to drag it out or anything,’’ Williams said on the former ESPN anchor's radio show. “But I’d say this week or next week, we’ll know what’s going on, but it could be next week. I’m going through the process of getting all my information from the NBA people. I’ve got two more people to talk to today, in fact.

“Gut feeling? The NCAA says you shouldn’t bet, and I’m not betting on this one.”

You've read Caulton Tudor's best-case scenario for ACC teams next season should the top underclassmen in the league all decide they want to return and give the Horizon and Colonial leagues a run for NCAA tournament bragging rights next season.

Since every yin has its yang, we asked Tudor to consider the worst-case scenario and determine who would end up on top in the ACC next season following a mass exodus to the NBA's land of milk and honey, lockout or no lockout.

updated 9:20 p.m.

NEWARK, N.J. -- All season long, North Carolina coach Roy Williams warned that eventually, star freshman Harrison Barnes would miss a clutch shot.

Sunday, in the most frenetic and pressure-packed of circumstances at the Prudential Center, he missed two.

With the ultimate comeback on the line – a trip to the NCAA Final Four, after a failure to even make the field last March – Barnes-led UNC came back from an 11-point deficit against Kentucky only to lose 76-69 when Wildcats guard DeAndre Liggins made a big 3-pointer, while Barnes and point guard Kendall Marshall failed to make four shots in the final 62 seconds.

NEWARK, N.J. -- Some online mock NBA drafts project North Carolina freshman Harrison Barnes and sophomore John Henson as lottery picks; and 7-footer Tyler Zeller, a junior, is showing up on some of the lists, as well.

It’s difficult to get a real answer from players during the NCAA tournament – partially because they don’t want their words to be a distraction for their current team, partially because how they play in the tourney could have an impact on their ultimate decisions.

But for the record, each of the trio of starters said Thursday they haven’t yet started thinking about whether they’ll leave after this season.