Aidan Jensen, Tar Heels WireWed, February 18, 2026 at 3:33 AM UTC·2 min readWhile UNC-Duke takes the cake in terms of ACC basketball rivalries, UNC-NC State is a pretty close second. Depending on which North Carolina fan you ask, Tar Heels-Wolfpack isn't a rivalry, due to the historic one-sidedness.
Tuesday night's game was extremely one-sided, too. with NC State handling the Tar Heels in an 82-58 obliteration. The Wolfpack (19-8, 10-4 ACC) outshot, out-hustled and out-executed North Carolina (20-6, 8-5 ACC) in virtually every aspect, with the lone exception rebounding (40-38 UNC).
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Tar Heels lead NC State all-time, 168-82, but Tuesday night is a piece of history they'll want to quickly erase. UNC's 24-point loss to the Wolfpack is its largest since 1962, when they lost by 28.
North Carolina made just five of its 33 perimeter attempts, amounting to an ice-cold 15 percent. The Tar Heels took poor care of the basketball, turning it over 12 times.
On a night where UNC needed significant contributions from everyone, only Zayden High and Jarin Stevenson (13 points each) scored in double-figures.
Oddly enough, North Carolina won't match up with State again this season. There's a possibility for an ACC Tournament clash, which every college basketball fan wants to see for the sheer fireworks alone, but the Pack otherwise have bragging rights for a whole year.
AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementThe Tar Heels won both matchups a season ago: 97-73 in Chapel Hill, preceded by a 63-61 victory in Raleigh. With State now heading in the right direction under new head coach Will Wade, expect to see future matchups turn into a heated rivalry.
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This article originally appeared on Tar Heels Wire: UNC's Tuesday loss to NC State its worst since 28-point defeat in 1962
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