RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Quadir Copeland scored 20 points and shot 31.7 percent from the field as North Carolina beat No. 16 North Carolina 82-58 on Tuesday night.
Freshman Matt Able added 19 points for the Wolfpack (19-8, 10-4 Atlantic Coast Conference), who desperately needed the win to regroup after a 41-point loss to Louisville and a last-minute collapse at home to Miami. That puts Will Wade’s first N.C. State team in an even more precarious position as it punches its ticket to March Madness.
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But NC State, backed by a raucous crowd, kept attacking its injury-plagued opponent all night long. The Wolfpack shot 53.1% from the field, led by 16 points at halftime, and never looked back.
In the end, NC State posted its largest margin of victory in the series since an 80-56 victory in March 1959.
Copeland added six rebounds and seven assists. Darrion Williams, who scored 13 points, fell in the first half and needed stitches after he hit his face on the court and coaches needed multiple towels to tend to bleeding near his left eyebrow.
Jarin Stevenson and Zayden High scored 13 points each for the Tar Heels (20-6, 8-5), who were without rookie star Caleb Wilson (fractured hand) and big man Henry Vissar (lower body injury) for the second straight game. Wilson and Vissar are UNC’s top two scorers and rebounders, accounting for more than 40% of UNC’s points and rebounds.
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With the 7-foot Vissar and 6-10 Wilson out, the Tar Heels relied on 3-point shooting but never made it. UNC missed 17 of its first 18 3-pointers and went 5-for-33 from behind the arc with Wilson and Vissar on the bench.
Next
UNC: The Tar Heels visit Syracuse on Saturday.
North Carolina: No. 14 Virginia hosts the Wolfpack next Tuesday.
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