Dean Smith's first trip to Raleigh in 1962. That's how far back you have to go to find a loss as bad as the one North Carolina just took to NC State, 82-58, in Lenovo Center.
Many people will put an asterisk on this outing for Carolina strictly because for the second straight game they were without both Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar. That makes sense and I think it no question affected how this game would turn out.
However, that should not equal getting absolutely embarrassed by 24. You could see the way this game was going to go within the first few minutes and throughout the first half. NC State was playing with the chip on its shoulder that Will Wade has been building since his opening press conference when being hired. Lenovo Center was loud.
UNC got their soul snatched early and never really found it again. Sure, there were a couple of moments UNC got a little spark going, but nothing sustained.
One of the most shocking things about the night is it felt like UNC's depth was really exposed. Offensively they felt stagnant. Nobody was moving around.
We saw on Saturday against Pitt how Carolina was going to have to play to win without Caleb Wilson and Henri Veesaar and that's by shooting the ball at a high level. They did not achieve in the slightest against the Wolfpack.
What's most alarming about that is that is that the Wolfpack are second-last in the conference in 3-point defense (37.1%) and it's been a glaring issue for them all year long. Something Will Wade has called his team out for in numerous postgame press conferences.
In spite of that, UNC shot a measly 15 percent from three. 15 percent. Couple that with the fact that NC State shot 45 percent on the other side of the ball and that was just one of the many issues that the Tar Heels experienced.
It's going to be an ugly film review, maybe the worst of the year for the Tar Heels. Again, playing without your two best players is one thing, but getting embarrassed like makes it seem like if they were healthy they lose by maybe five instead of 24.