With a chance to win its first road game of the season, the men’s basketball team fell flat on its face as it was beat by Florida State on Saturday 84-71 in Tallahassee. After upsetting Duke on Wednesday there was a thought that FSU may come out a bit sluggish following the big win but that was not the case.

The Seminoles never trailed in the game and easily coasted to their third ACC win of the season, 13-5 overall, while the Pack dropped to 11-6(1-2 in ACC).

Senior forward Tracy Smith led the Pack in scoring with 19 points and freshman point guard Ryan Harrow, starting for the first time in his career, chipped in with 17 points and three assists.

But it was not on the offensive end that led to the Pack’s demise, rather a poor defensive approach. N.C. State allowed the Noles to shot a dazzling 54.5 percent from the field and allowed all five of the FSU starters to reach double digits.

Forward Bernard James led FSU with 16 points, shooting a perfect 8-8 from the field.

The Pack hung with FSU early in the first half as the two teams were tied at 16. But a 12-0 run by the Noles helped build a big lead heading into the half. Shooting woes hurt State in the first half as it shot a measly 26.7 percent from the field.

And it only got worse for the Pack in the second half as the Noles went almost nine full minutes without missing a shot to start the second half, building up a 20-point lead and allowing them to coast to an easy victory. State played better in the second half scoring 52 points compared to 56 from FSU, but the first half deficit was to much to overcome.

Sophomore sharpshooter Scott Wood who tore up FSU last year, averaging 31 in the two matchups last season, was held relatively quite as he was limited to only 10 points on 3-7 shooting. 

For the Pack, the team will need to refocus quickly if it hopes to have any NCAA Tournament aspirations and that will start Wednesday when it takes on Duke at the RBC Center at 7 p.m.