Well, that was ugly.
The North Carolina Tar Heels had a historically bad performance in Tuesday night's road game at NC State, falling 82-58 to the Wolfpack. It was the biggest win for NC State over North Carolina since 1963 and gives Will Wade his first win over the rival in his coaching career.
While it was close for the first two or so minutes, the Wolfpack took control after that. They never really looked back either. UNC shot the ball poorly, finishing the game 19 of 60 (32 percent) from the field and 5 of 33 (15 percent) from the three-point line. Those struggles started early and UNC couldn't buy a bucket in the first half, going 1 of 16 from the three-point line in the first 20 minutes.
They couldn't get the lead past 13 in the second half and NC State turned it on late to push it to a 23-point lead which was UNC's largest deficit this season.
It's a tough loss for the Tar Heels who were without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar . And it stings even more that these two teams only play once now in the regular season. But shooting this poor isn't because of Wilson and Veesaar missing the game, it's more on UNC's perimeter shooting as a whole.
Zayden High and Jarin Stevenson led all scorers with 13 points each. High grabbed 10 rebounds for his first career double-double.
The Tar Heels fall to 20-6 on the year and 8-5 in ACC play. They hit the road to face off against Syracuse on Saturday afternoon.
Welp. The bench is emptied for NC State as it's a blowout.
The Wolfpack are now up 71-48. It's the largest deficit all season for North Carolina. There's 5:45 left.
Unfortunately for the Tar Heels, NC State came to play. They lead 65-47 at the under-8 timeout. UNC is going to need a miracle.
Quadir Copeland is having a big second half. He has 18 points in the game as the Wolfpack are now up 58-40.
The Wolfpack holds a 48-33 lead over the Tar Heels as the under-16 timeout.
UNC missed their first two attempts in the second half, but Derek Dixon drains a three. That's just the second made three for the Tar Heels all game.
The Tar Heels shoot 8 of 32 from the field, including 1 of 16 from the three-point line. They are STRUGGLING big time in the first half.
It's been all Wolfpack early on. NC State opens up a 35-20 lead with under four minutes left in the first half. The Tar Heels cannot buy a bucket. They are 6-of-25 from the field and 1-of-15 from the three-point line.
With Seth Trimble's miss, the Tar Heels are 1-of-11 from the three-point line to start the game. Ouch.
He's scored six-straight points as UNC has cut it to 25-18.
The Wolfpack guard started 3-for-3 from the three-point line in this one, helping NC State jump out to a 25-14 lead.
The Wolfpack are 9-of-13 from the field and 3-of-4 from the three-point line as they grab a 22-11 lead.
NC State is up 19-11 with 12:40 left in the first half. The Tar Heels are struggling offensively.
NC State gets the first shot and it's a Tre Holloman three that's missed. But he has to leave the game right away as he went back to the locker room.
90 minutes before tipoff, North Carolina has officially ruled out Henri Veesaar.
TV Channel: ESPN
Time: 7 p.m. ET
Radio: SiriusXM (Channels 193 and 388)
Website: WatchESPN
This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC Basketball: NC State dominates as Tar Heels' struggle in road loss
