NC State men’s basketball closes regular season on low note with loss to Pitt

In its regular-season finale, NC State men’s basketball continued its freefall with a deflating 81-73 loss at Pittsburgh — the Pack’s fourth consecutive loss. 

As it has throughout its losing streak, the Wolfpack’s (17-14, 9-11 ACC) defense struggled to contain its opposition. Whether shooting from beyond the arc or bruising in the paint, the Panthers (21-10, 12-8 ACC) had no issues scoring on the Pack’s defense. With eight 3s and 40 points in the paint, Pitt exposed multiple holes in the Wolfpack’s already struggling defense. 

In particular, forward Blake Hinson and guard Carlton Carrington gave the Wolfpack trouble, surpassing 20 points each for the Panthers. The duo torched the red-and-white all night, combining for 44 points and six triples. Failing to corral both of Pitt’s stars ultimately proved fatal for the Wolfpack’s chances to steal a road win. 

NC State had its own star in junior guard Jayden Taylor. The Butler transfer led all scorers with 28 points, posing a threat from deep. While Taylor has been streaky all season, he found his groove in the Steel City and shot 5-10 from beyond the arc. Taylor also showed his value defensively with seven boards and a pair of steals, leaving everything on the court. 

Outside of Taylor, the Wolfpack showed little juice in its performance. The rest of the team shot a dreadful 4-13 from deep and struggled to take care of the basketball with 10 turnovers. These turnovers allowed Pitt to get in transition and score 14 fastbreak points. Meanwhile, Pitt only committed five turnovers and allowed just one point from those. 

The Wolfpack suffered an early blow in the first as graduate guard DJ Horne suffered an injury and could not return to the court. Without Horne’s dynamic scoring ability, the Pack’s offense was missing the gear it needed. Despite Taylor’s inspired performance, no other player broke the 10-point mark, dooming NC State against the high-flying Panthers. 

When Horne exited the game, the Pack was already trailing. The Panthers then pounced on NC State, entering halftime with a double-digit lead. As Pitt continued to stretch its lead in the second half, the Pack failed to make a run until it was too late. The red-and-white eventually made a rally in the final six minutes, only to collapse when it clawed itself into the game. 

The Pack’s late rally was fueled by Taylor, who aggressively hunted baskets. Taylor scored 12 of NC State’s final 15 points, drilling a trio of 3s and hitting three free throws. Taylor muscled the Pack to within three points, but that was as close as the red-and-white came to pulling off the comeback. Pitt snapped back into form and closed the game with an 11-5 run, delivering the Wolfpack a devastating late-season loss. 

With the loss, NC State must make a miracle run through the ACC Tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament. Given the current four-game skid, it's nearly impossible to envision the Wolfpack winning five straight to secure an automatic bid. 

NC State will travel to Washington D.C. to face Louisville in the first round of the ACC tournament on Tuesday, March 12 at 4:30 p.m. The game will be televised on ACC Network and the winner will face Syracuse the following day.