There are few things better in sports than an in-state collegiate rivalry. On paper, it\u2019s just another game on the calendar. But in reality, there\u2019s much more at stake than a tally in the win or loss column. It\u2019s about bragging rights. It\u2019s about sending a message. It\u2019s personal.<\/p>\n
When NC State men\u2019s basketball hosted No. 16 UNC-Chapel Hill for their 250th meeting, it was clear that no love was lost between the two teams. They share a storied history of hatred, and the Tar Heels have notably had the upper hand for years.<\/p>\n
But Tuesday night was different. The script was flipped. Instead of falling to UNC as it had done in the past, the Wolfpack dominated the Tar Heels 82-58, marking its biggest win over its Carolina blue counterparts since 1962. And when NC State players entered their postgame press conference sporting a bedazzled belt \u2014 the same thing that the Tar Heels have done in big wins this season \u2014 the message was clear.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey was talking a lot,\u201d said senior guard Quadir Copeland. \u201cNorth Carolina schools this, North Carolina schools that. It\u2019s crazy how fast them tables turn. We bedazzled our belt too, for them.\u201d<\/p>\n
As he\u2019s done all season, Copeland simply took over for the Wolfpack. With UNC\u2019s top players \u2014 Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar \u2014 ruled out, Copeland took advantage of his 6-foot-6 frame, backing down the smaller UNC guards and driving into the lane with authority. On the few times he couldn\u2019t finesse his way into a layup, Copeland found an open man for a free bucket \u2014 all without turning the ball over \u2014 and finished with 20 points, six rebounds and seven assists.<\/p>\n
\u201cI felt like he controlled the game,\u201d said UNC head coach Hubert Davis. \u201cHis talent out there is real. He\u2019s able to handle the basketball, really makes great decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Copeland didn\u2019t always have the reins. This season, the Wolfpack has struggled with creating offensive momentum early, so senior forward Darrion Williams took it into his own hands, scoring seven of the first nine points for the Wolfpack.<\/p>\n
But just five minutes into the game, Williams got bumped while going for a block and took a scary fall directly onto his face. He remained on the baseline, blood pooling on the court before heading back to the locker room with the medical staff.<\/p>\n
However, Williams fought through the pain and emerged from the locker room to raucous cheering, sporting a stitched-up eyebrow and a new No. 34 jersey, a replacement for his blood-soaked No. 1. He only scored six more points, but his return brought life back to both the arena and his team.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe all saw him bleeding on the ground; it was pretty bad,\u201d said freshman guard Matt Able. \u201cFor him to come back out a couple of minutes later and be there, and not only be there, but play hard. He played just as hard as he was before he left.\u201d<\/p>\n
Able took his leader\u2019s actions to heart and put on a show with a career-high 19 points and five 3-pointers. When the star player went down, the former five-star recruit rose to the occasion and filled in the gaps when his team needed him most.<\/p>\n
\u201cI feel like Matt just fully bought in,\u201d Copeland said. \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say he accepted his role because he does so many different things for us, but he bought into the winning part, not the individual. I think that\u2019s not even just him, it\u2019s all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n
The win was just another stepping stone in head coach Will Wade\u2019s plans of a reckoning. It was more than a win, it reaffirmed his belief and investment, not just in the team but in the fans.<\/p>\n
\u201cI represent NC State,\u201d Wade said. \u201cI represent our fan base. I represent our school. If it\u2019s important to our fans, it\u2019s important to us and it\u2019s important to me.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Wolfpack needs to carry the momentum over through the final stretch of the season, beginning with a trip up north to take on No. 14 Virginia on Tuesday, Feb. 24. Tipoff is set for 7 p.m and will be streamed on ACC Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There are few things better in sports than an in-state collegiate rivalry. On paper, it\u2019s just another game…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488196,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[574],"tags":[64,63,726,85],"class_list":["post-488195","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-basketball","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-basketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488195","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=488195"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/488195\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488196"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=488195"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=488195"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=488195"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}