Has gap between Heels, Pack shrunk at all?

UNC fans didn't go home disappointed Thursday. Ethan Hyman photo.

The gap between North Carolina and N.C. State longtime rivals is still significant. After the disastrous Sidney Lowe era and the promising start under first-year coach Mark Gottfried, it appeared that maybe, possibly, the Wolfpack had closed some of the distance. And yes, last night's 74-55 Tar Heels win was but one game.

Still, it showed that UNC is still far ahead. For the Tar Heels, that’s both good and bad. The good is obvious enough. The bad, though, is that competition breeds success. Years and years – and years – ago, part of the reason why North Carolina became a national power was because Everett Case’s dominant N.C. State teams in the early years of the ACC forced the Tar Heels to raise their game. And the rivalry went back and forth through the 1950s, '60s, '70s and '80s.

Since, of course, it has grown significantly one-sided.

No, the gap between UNC and N.C. State isn’t as wide as it was during the Les Robinson years, or when Javi Gonzalez struggled to bring the ball up the court against Ty Lawson just a few years ago. But it’s still wide and doesn’t appear to be shrinking any time soon.

-- Andrew Carter