The wheels fell off for #1 Seed NC State in the second half today in the ACC Tournament Finals, losing to Duke 62-76. The Wolfpack shot 46.4% in the first half, leading by 7 at the half, but in the second half, they shot 32.3%, which led to a 14-point loss.
It was tough to watch NC State’s lead trickle away. The Wolfpack led for 23:52, and Duke only led for 11:47.
Senior First Team All-ACC Guard Aziaha James, as usual, led NC State in scoring with 18 points, but it wasn’t a good performance. James is easily one of my favorite players ever to play at NC State, but today it seemed as if she was trying to force the issue, playing a version of hero ball, making only 7 of 21 from the field.