Carolina stands tall in Backyard Brawl

The Wolfpack did what I thought they were going to do last night.  They lost to #19 Carolina at the RBC Center.  The Backyard Brawl was actually a dogfight until the last 4 minutes of the second half when Carolina shut the door with a 10-2 run including 2 putback jams by preseason All-American Harrison Barnes.  It was a tough game to watch for Wolfpack fans as the pack watched a 10 point lead dwindle to a 2 point deficit at the half.  Along with a four minute stretch where the pack could not find the bucket when the game hung in the balance,  Sidney Lowe's game plan of forcing the ball into Tracy Smith only works when he's one on one.  It's ineffective against a zone with the league's leading shotblocker John Henson and 7 footer Tyler Zeller, especially when Smith is only 6'8".  The Wolfpack could have used Smith as a decoy.  They could have thrown it down to Smith then have Scottie Wood on the backside wing waiting for Smith to kick it out for the wide open three.  It also didn't help the Wolfpack's cause when freshman Ryan Harrow had a 3 on 1 break with CJ Leslie streaking down the middle of the floor but instead turned the ball over to Kendall Marshall of the Heels with a little over 2 minutes left and the Wolfpack down by 5.  These are the little things that determine the wins and losses and more often than not this season the Wolfpack has been on the losing end.