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NC State Upsets No. 6 Virginia, 90-80
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Feb. 7, 2001
By DAVID DROSCHAK
AP Sports Writer
RALEIGH, N.C. – North Carolina State played five highly ranked teamsclose the last month with nothing to show for it. The Wolfpack did somethingabout it Wednesday night against No. 6 Virginia.
Kenny Inge scored a career-high 29 points as N.C. State ruined theCavaliers’ highest ranking in 18 years with a 90-80 victory.
N.C. State (11-10, 3-6 Atlantic Coast Conference) had lost to Virginia,Duke, North Carolina, Wake Forest and Syracuse by a combined 27 points beforebeating the Cavaliers to break a 10-game losing skid against ranked teams.
Inge was 8-for-11 from the field, 13-for-19 from the foul line and addednine rebounds. His previous best was 28 points against Georgia Tech on Jan. 2,1999.
The Cavaliers (16-5, 5-5) committed 22 turnovers and couldn’t handle theWolfpack’s inside game. Center Travis Watson, who leads the ACC with 10double-doubles, battled foul trouble all night and finished with a season-lowfive points before fouling out with 7:58 left.
Donald Hand led the Cavaliers with 29 points, but most came late whenVirginia was trailing by double digits.
Virginia, with its highest ranking since March 1983, had a first half toforget. The Cavaliers shot 33 percent, turned the ball over 15 times andcommitted 15 fouls to fall behind 36-24 at halftime.
The Cavaliers closed within eight points with 16 minutes left after a15-minute delay at the start of the second half to correct a crooked basket atVirginia’s end.
But N.C. State then broke the game open as Inge had a dunk, two free throws,a layup and follow shot in a span of 3:10 as the Wolfpack took a 58-40 leadwith 11:42 remaining.
Virginia closed within 10 eight times during the final 5:20, but could getno closer as Damien Wilkins finished with 21 points, including nine in thefinal 3:15.
The Wolfpack led by as many as 13 in the first half, going on a 20-5 run asthe Cavaliers played their worst half of basketball since trailing Duke 53-20on Jan. 13.
N.C. State’s defense drew five charging fouls as Virginia, which hadaveraged 90 points in its last five games, couldn’t muster anything on theoffensive end.
The Wolfpack went six minutes without a basket near the end of the period,but still managed to take a double-digit lead into the break for the secondstraight game against a highly ranked team. N.C. State led No. 9 Syracuse by 11at halftime on Saturday before losing 54-53.