Seriously? A boring blowout on the road? Against State? After kicking them all around Chapel Hill five weeks ago?

Yes, yes, yes, and yes.

To be honest, though, Sidney Lowe gave the game away. The Pack had little chance anyway, but when Lowe decided he would play without Hickson and Costner in the second half that was the ball game. Once Hickson left, the Heels took off. And Costner was a no-show for the most part.

I never thought I would say this, but Herb Sendek’s offense has more freedom than Sidney Lowe’s. Every freakin’ time the Pack had the ball they were calling a play. As a player, that just ain’t gonna work. State has no secondary break to speak of. When Wayne hits a 3 within 7 seconds on the shot clock, and then you have to come down and run a set that takes 25 seconds only to get a contested jumper…..well, that pretty much sucks. I’m telling you, something is not good in the State locker room. The Pack just gives in too easily. And all the untouched sprints to the goal by Ginyard…..goodness gracious, that’s plain pitiful.

The Heels played well though. They never let State get loose from them in the first half. Wayne was superb. 21 pts, 8 rebounds, solid defense on Fells, and sold ball handling. The 36 point game at Clemson was Ellington’s signature game at UNC, but this may have been his best game as a Tar Heel. He was aching to shoot the ball. He oozed that confidence only a great shooter has.

As with VaTech, the Pack was doomed when it was pretty clear that State wouldn’t be able to force Q to guard. And, when Q doesn’t turn it over (9 assists, only 2 turnovers) it’s going to be a tough night for the other team. The Heels are spacing much better on offense now (Roy mentioned this in the post game) and Roy is running a lot more stuff for Wayne. That helps Tyler a bunch. All that action focusing on Wayne leaves Tyler alone with his defender many times. And that, as we know, is sure death for Hansbrough’s man.

Wake on Sunday. The Deacs will be awfully tough. Wake is going to be a difficult matchup for Q. And McFarland may be able to frustrate Tyler a bit (if Chase can stay out of foul trouble). Q needs to take care of the ball, the Heels need to take care of the glass, and Deon needs to take care of his knee. Just a hunch – I bet Ty finally plays Sunday. You could see he was more in to the game tonight than he has been. When your ankle hurts and you can’t play, human nature makes you more subdued on the bench. Tonight, Lawson was a bit more chipper. I could be wrong, but I think Ty will practice on Friday and Saturday, and play on Sunday (5-10 minutes).

4 more games. UNC needs 4 more wins.