UNC’s Shocking Loss to NC State Marks New Era in Tobacco Road Rivalry
CHAPEL HILL, N.C. — Under the freshly realigned ACC basketball schedule, no one expected the Tar Heels to stumble this early. But on a crisp Saturday evening in February, inside a raucous PNC Arena pulsing with red, NC State delivered a stunner: a 74-69 victory over No. 7 ranked North Carolina.
This wasn’t just a game—it felt like a seismic shift.
The Tar Heels, coming off a five-game win streak, were visibly rattled. The new schedule, which had shifted their usual mid-season rhythm, forced them into a brutal four-games-in-nine-days stretch. Legs looked heavy, and so did expectations.
RJ Davis, Carolina’s veteran guard, managed 21 points, but was hounded all night by NC State’s lightning-quick sophomore, Jalen Blake. Blake, seemingly feeding off the crowd’s frenzy, dropped 24 points, snagged three steals, and drilled a back-breaking step-back three with just 37 seconds left to push the lead to five. That shot — high arc, pure swish — seemed to echo across generations of Wolfpack heartbreak.
“Different year. Different blood,” Blake said postgame, wiping sweat from his brow and grinning through the noise. “We’re not scared of powder blue.”
The Tar Heels weren’t just outplayed. They were out-hustled. Out-muscled. Daron Holmes II, NC State’s transfer center, dominated the paint with 11 boards and five emphatic blocks, one of which sent UNC forward Harrison Ingram tumbling into the stands mid-dunk attempt — a moment that drew a deafening roar and prompted Wolfpack fans to start chanting: “New Kings of the Road!”
Inside the Tar Heels’ locker room, silence.
Coach Hubert Davis took the blame. “We didn’t match their energy, and frankly, the schedule is no excuse. We had chances. We didn’t finish.”
But behind his eyes, there was worry. The new ACC layout — more inter-divisional games, less recovery time, and a greater emphasis on late-season matchups — has shaken traditional powerhouses. And for UNC, accustomed to building momentum by February, this loss could ripple into March.
Meanwhile, NC State students flooded Hillsborough Street. Horns blared, fireworks cracked, and a papier-mâché ram effigy was triumphantly paraded past the Belltower. For the first time in a decade, the rivalry feels real again.
And with the new schedule guaranteeing home-and-away matchups annually, fans might not have to wait long for revenge — or a repeat.
Because if this game proved anything, it’s that the Tobacco Road rivalry just got reignited.
