NC State basketball can't handle Virginia in 90-61 loss

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. — In the first meeting with Virginia, N.C. State knew it wasn’t going to win after getting down double figures 12 minutes into the first half. The Cavaliers outplayed the Wolfpack in virtually every way.

Will Wade said UVA “whipped” his team that December day. He really wanted to see a better outcome on Tuesday in the second meeting between the two programs, but it was not to be. N.C. State fell to Virginia, 90-61, at John Paul Jones Arena for its third loss in the last four games.

Virginia (25-3, 13-2 ACC), meanwhile, extended its winning streak to nine games.

With the exception of a 10-0 run in the first half — N.C. State cut its deficit to two points — the Cavaliers controlled the majority of the game. It went into the half with a 13-point lead. That only ballooned in the second half, when UVA went up by as many as 25 points. Any momentum from its win over North Carolina was nowhere to be found.

Paul McNeil led the Wolfpack (19-9, 10-5 ACC) with 22 points and added six rebounds. Darrion Williams and Ven-Allen Lubin also contributed double figures. Lubin led the Pack with seven boards.

Four Virginia players surpassed the 10-point mark, led by Thijs De Ridder’s 19 points.

The loss does not necessarily put N.C. State out of contention for the double bye in the ACC tournament two weeks from now. It would like to go 3-1, upsetting Duke at home next week. A 2-2 record, with wins over Notre Dame and Stanford, could still position N.C. State in the top four thanks to tiebreaker rules and wins over teams like Clemson and North Carolina.

Here are observations from N.C. State’s second-to-last regular season road game.

Pack’s second-half defense lags

N.C. State’s offense struggled in the first half, but its defense put on a decent performance.

It held the Cavaliers to 32 points and 35.7% field goal shooting. It limited paint scoring and transition opportunities by forcing eight early turnovers. Additionally, the Pack defense only allowed the Cavaliers to grab four offensive rebounds.

Its second half, however, left plenty to be desired. It not only gave up points, but there were a number of players where N.C. State got sloppy and lackadaisical. When it committed turnovers, the Pack seemed to give up in its transition defense.

N.C. State allowed the Cavaliers to score 58 second-half points, four shy of the season-high 62 points against Louisville, and shoot 70% from the field and 50% from 3.

The Pack’s defense has struggled in the second halves of games, but this was the second road game in a row that it saw a total collapse.

Yes, size matters

N.C. State knows it’s undersized in the frontcourt. Senior forward Ven-Allen Lubin is the team’s most-experienced big but listed at 6-9. Freshman forward Musa Sagnia, listed at 6-10, still doesn’t have the same aggressiveness or bulk that opposing players possess.

The Wolfpack has overcome its physical disadvantages at times by forcing steals, hitting 3-point baskets and, at times, sheer will. On Tuesday, however, the Cavaliers’ size made things difficult for the Pack on the interior.

Virginia’s defense shut down nearly the entire 2-point area and was especially effective at the rim. At halftime, Virginia had more blocks (8) than the Pack had field goals (6). N.C. State went 3 for 9 on layup attempts in the opening period.

Ven-Allen Lubin started the game 0 for 4, and three were blocked by a Cavalier player.

N.C. State was instead forced to shoot from the perimeter. Normally, that would be fine — the Pack makes roughly 40% of its 3-point attempts — but UVA’s defense limited easy opportunities. The Wolfpack went 2 of 15 (13.3%) from 3 in the first half and at one point was 1 for 10.

Several members of the Wolfpack fought for positioning and attempted to make up for the sizing issues, but seven-footers Johann Grunloh and Ugonna Onyenso contested everything, pulled down rebounds and generally got in the way. Even UVA’s smaller guards often had size advantages to N.C. State’s backcourt.

It’s possible to win with a smaller team, but the Cavaliers’ height and length were tough to compete with.

Copeland sits with foul trouble

It’s hard to overstate the impact Quadir Copeland has on the Wolfpack’s offensive rhythm. Copeland played just 11 minutes in the first half after officials called him for his second foul with nearly 10 minutes left in the period.

Without the senior guard, N.C. State’s offense looked like it was moving in slow motion and guys got lost on the plays. They turned the ball over, took bad shots and didn’t move well.

N.C. State went to halftime trailing Virginia, 32-19, for the fewest first-half points scored by the Wolfpack this season.

Copeland returned in the second half and played with a third foul. His size and ability to command the floor played a difference in the Wolfpack’s ability to create spacing and make shots. It scored 20 points in the first seven minutes of the second half.

The senior is also one of the team’s more aggressive defenders, unafraid to make contact and play bully ball with opposing players.

Copeland returned to the bench with 13:15 left on the clock.

There’s no denying that Virginia limited Copeland, and his foul trouble certainly didn’t help, but the senior needs to be on the floor as much as possible to direct traffic, draw in defenders and provide a defensive spark.

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