Tobacco Road Report

With Engin Atsur missing the game due to injury and short on players, NC State ran out of gas down the stretch, falling to West Virginia 71-60.

This game was tied at half 28-28, and it looked like Sidney Lowe's squad may have enough to pull this game out. However, West Virginia (6-1) did an excellent job down the stretch of running a high UCLA-style weave to burn time and control the pace, while still generating good looks as the shot clock wound down. NC State (5-2, 0-1 ACC) simply didn't have the depth and energy to play pressure defense and cause enough turnovers to cut into the West Virginia lead.

West Virginia would finish the game 13-28 from behind the arc and only committed 7 turnovers. Every time the Wolfpack needed a bucket offensively, it seemed like a turnover or poor shot selection got in the way. Had Atsur been healthy, perhaps the Wolfpack could have limited their own turnovers (17) to keep the game close.

Just how bad is it right now for the Wolfpack? Costner, Grant, McCauley, and Fells each logged 40 minutes and Horner logged 32. These guys are going to have dead legs come February...it could be a very long season for the Wolfpack if Atsur is out for an extended period.