NC State’s last two games could not have been much further apart in terms of performance level.
After the Wolfpack delivered a resume-boosting 82-58 rivalry victory over then-No. 16 North Carolina on Feb. 17, they were smashed 90-61 at No. 11 Virginia on Tuesday night.
The Wolfpack (19-9, 10-5 ACC) will look for more stability Saturday when they face lowly Notre Dame (12-16, 3-12) in South Bend, Ind.
Since a 9-2 start in conference play, NC State has lost three of its last four games. Two of those three defeats were by 29-plus points, including a 118-77 loss at then-No. 24 Louisville on Feb. 9 to begin this skid.
“When we’re bad, we’re really, really bad,” NC State coach Will Wade said. “That’s just kind of who we’ve been.”
Virginia limited the Wolfpack to a season-worst 29.4% shooting in the loss while NC State’s defense provided little resistance, with the Cavaliers shooting 53.4% from the floor and 46.2% from 3-point range.
Paul McNeil Jr. (22), Darrion Williams (14) and Ven-Allen Lubin (11) all reached double figures for NC State but needed 10-plus field-goal attempts apiece to get there.
The Wolfpack entered the week as a No. 7 seed in ESPN’s updated bracketology, but Wade wasn’t projecting much confidence in his team at the moment.
“We’re not ready to compete with the top of the league right now. That’s just a fact,” he said.
Notre Dame has been plagued by injuries, missing star guard Markus Burton since early December and No. 2 scorer Jalen Haralson (15.5 points per game) the last three contests.
Fighting Irish coach Micah Shrewsberry was added to the list Tuesday when he sustained an Achilles injury during a 100-56 home drubbing by No. 1 Duke.
“I don’t really want to get into it right now,” Shrewsberry said after entering the postgame press conference on crutches. “The season from hell continues.”
Cole Certa has filled some of the scoring void for Notre Dame, including a career-high 37 points in its most recent win against Georgia Tech on Feb. 14. However, he shot 33.3% or worse in the two games since, including 3 of 11 on Tuesday for 14 points.
Since winning their ACC opener, the Fighting Irish have lost 12 of their last 14 games. They’re in serious danger of missing the ACC tournament as one of three teams tied at 3-12 and fighting for the 15th and final spot in Charlotte.
