Wolfpack’s balance fails at wrong time in Final Four power outage vs. Purdue

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GLENDALE, Ariz. (AP) — North Carolina State’s miraculous late-season run to the Atlantic Coast Conference title and an even more improbable Final Four trip had been the product of a blending of talent, balance and cohesion when the pressure peaked.

One first-half tumble appeared to change everything — and the magic all came undone in the second half against Purdue in the national semifinals.

The offense that had consistently produced double-figure scorers to support DJ Burns Jr. inside and DJ Horne on the perimeter just never got into a flow. Layups rolled off the rim. Outside shots clanged away harmlessly. And no one outside of Horne found any consistent success as the team struggled to adjust after point guard Michael O’Connell suffered an early hamstring injury that derailed his night.

It ended with the Wolfpack shooting just 28.6% while scoring 21 points after halftime to fall to the Boilermakers 63-50 on Saturday night.

“One hundred percent, we were definitely out of sync, we couldn’t get in a rhythm,” starting wing Casey Morsell said softly, his hoodie pulled up over his head after a scoreless night. “It was tough to kind of get going.”

The Wolfpack’s ride had become the stuff of legend at a school where there’s history with the miraculous. This was the first Final Four since the “Cardiac Pack” made a run to win the national title under late coach Jim Valvano, and this year’s group had offered shades of ’83 with an 11th-seeded bunch playing nothing-to-lose basketball as the calendar pushed into March with no postseason destination assured.

They became the first team to go 5-for-5 and win the ACC Tournament, then followed with four NCAA wins in a row to get back to the sport’s biggest stage. Along the way, there had been a formula: three or four double-digit scorers, players ready to feed Burns inside and then capitalize on kickouts, and finding that confident rhythm.

It just never happened Saturday on the sport’s biggest stage.

Horne finished with 20 points…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/wolfpacks-balance-fails-wrong-time-003632519.html

Author : Associated Press

Publish date : 2024-04-07 00:36:32

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