RALEIGH—Sometimes you just get a bad feeling.
Carolina led NC State, 54-48, on Sunday afternoon. There were ten minutes left in the game and a crowd that had sprinted through the PNC Arena aisles to secure the most coveted midcourt seats was largely staggered. The Tar Heels had survived the expected early-game surge of emotion that included a student yelling the de rigueur, "Go to hell Carolina!" on the arena video board.
They'd done it with solid but unspectacular play that included limiting their second half turnovers after their first half miscues had essentially kept State in the game (the Pack shot 5-for-8 off UNC turnovers in the first half and 7-for-32 otherwise).