Despite a furious second-half rally, the NC State men’s basketball team fell short, dropping its second straight ACC game to the Louisville Cardinals 77-72 in PNC Arena Thursday night.
Louisville (13-2, 2-0 ACC) rolled into Raleigh looking to follow up a Sunday win over Wake Forest. They faced a Wolfpack (10-5, 0-2 ACC) team reeling from a Saturday loss to the Virginia Tech Hokies.
The Wolfpack put forth an incredible first-half effort. State out rebounded, out hustled and bested the Cards in both fast break and second-chance points. The Pack totaled 12 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points on eight total shots made in the first half.
From the opening tip off the Wolfpack just couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net and struggled, shooting an abysmal 26.7 percent in the first half.
“We were playing bad but we weren’t down by a lot”, junior guard Anthony “Cat” Barber said.
Sophomore forward Abdul-Malik Abu had three offensive rebounds in the first six minutes of game time as he displayed an aggressiveness that has been lacking recently but also added two quick turnovers.
State’s first 9 points all came on second-chance opportunities as the Wolfpack was crashing the glass with tenacity. Abu recorded yet another double-double on the night with 15 points, 12 rebounds (5 offensive) and a block as a result of his stellar play.
“My personal game is to just do everything that’s in your control.” Abu said. “Sometimes shots won’t go in, sometimes a ref will make a call, but if you go out there and work hard it’s gonna be in your benefit.”
In the first half Louisville head coach Rick Pitino was able to rotate 11 players compared to State’s seven and applied intense full-court pressure for much of the half. The rotation by the Cardinals contributed to a strong 15-point showing from their bench compared to only five points from the Wolfpack.
“They got a lot of guys coming in, and with their guard play, they were trapping a lot.” Barber said. “And when you’ve got guys with fresh legs trapping, it works.”
The half closed on a high note as the Pack climbed back in the game from 14 down at the 7:21 of the first half. Barber along with freshman guard Maverick Rowan, junior forward Lennard Freeman and sophomore guard Caleb Martin all scored on the 9-3 Wolfpack run to close the gap to 34-29 at the half.
The Cards began the second half with a different game plan as they strayed from taking quicker jump shots, often milking the clock even early in the half and finishing strong to the basket.
Near the end of the game the Pack, which trailed by 10 or more for much of the second half, attempted a late comeback. Spurred by two Caleb Martin 3-pointers, one from Rowan, a lot of hustle on defense and rebounding from the entire team, the Pack’s rally was gaining speed.
The run, and any hope for a Wolfpack win, was erased following a drive from Barber that resulted in the ball bouncing out of bounds.
The Pack spent a time out to set up for a potential game-tying shot with under eight seconds remaining. During the time out, the referees went to the replay to determine the possession, and deemed it Louisville ball, essentially ending the game.
“I’m proud of our guys, they obviously never quit.” NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “They gave themselves a chance; we’re a team that’s not far off. Give Louisville credit, they made every big shot that they had to make.”
Despite a great year so far and high praise from Pitino, Barber continued to struggle shooting the ball against Louisville as he shot 5 of 22 from the field. Tonight, along with last season’s two games, Barber has shot 15 for 44 from the field versus the Cards.
Barber attributed some of his difficulties to the trap and zone defenses employed by the Cardinals.
“They got us down to the last second on the shot clock a lot, their zone is wide and long, and they were trapping me,” Barber said. “I feel like this was the hardest game for me to get my shot off, they tried to double me a lot, it was pretty much the hardest game.”
Sophomore Quentin Snider had a career night off the bench for Louisville, scoring 21 points with four 3-pointers.
While Louisville also didn’t shoot the ball well from the free throw line, the Wolfpack continued to struggle with what may be their most consistent downfall this year making 20 of 31 from the line.
The Wolfpack travels to in-state rival Wake Forest Sunday for its third ACC game of the season. State then returns home Jan. 13 to take on the Florida State Seminoles at PNC Arena.
Junior guard Anthony "Cat" Barber goes up for a picturesque layup after streaking through the Louisville defense. Barber led the team with 20 points in the 77-72 loss to Louisville Thursday in PNC Arena.
