Auburn 79, State 73: What did we learn?

It was a familiar story for the Wolfpack, which wasted another chance at strengthening its nonconference resume

John Reed/USAToday sports

The NC State basketball team went to Auburn, had its chances to win against the 12th-ranked Tigers, but couldn't finish the job -- faltering late on the way to a 79-73 loss on Thursday.

So what did we learn?

Not much, really.

The performance, the result and the way it happened were all hauntingly familiar. It did, however, reinforce several things that were already known about this team, the bulk of which is now in its second year together.

Among them are:

◼ The Wolfpack can be very good when Markell Johnson is on the court. Conversely, the Wolfpack aren't very good when Johnson is on the bench and somebody else is running the offense.

There's statistical evidence to bear that out.

Although Thursday's numbers weren't dramatic as they were last Sunday at UNC Greensboro, when State was plus-22 when Johnson was on the court  and no one else on the team was better than plus-3, they still prove the point. Pat Andree was plus-four, D.J. Funderburk was plus-3, Johnson was plus-3. Everyone else that played for the Wolfpack were minus, meaning that Auburn scored more points than State while they were in the game.

Johnson's number might have been higher had he not been relegated to the bench for 10 minutes -- most in the second half -- because of foul trouble. Ten minutes is too long against top competition. 

Kind of makes you miss Blake Harris, doesn't it?

◼ State still hasn't learned how to put close games away.

It happened against Georgia Tech, when the Wolfpack let the Yellow Jackets hang around long enough to make a run at the end and win in overtime. It happened again Thursday at Auburn, this time after State rallied to take a 64-62 lead on a Braxton Beverly drive with just over five minutes remaining.

Instead of putting the hammer down and finishing strong, the Wolfpack went the next four minutes without scoring. The lull allowed the Tigers to run off 10 unanswered points and retake control before State finally remembered to put the ball in the basket again with a minute left.

It was almost as if the Wolfpack got distracted by what it was on the verge of accomplishing. And by the time it snapped back to reality, it was too late to recover. Somehow, this team is going to have to learn how to break that habit and start putting teams away when it has the chance or it's going to find itself in a similar position to last season come Selection Sunday.

◼ The Wolfpack continues to hurt itself with extended lulls.

Whether it's the aforementioned lack of a backup point guard, a loss of concentration or some other factor, this State team is good for at least one extended period per game in which nothing goes right on either end of the court.

It actually happened twice on Thursday.

Midway through the first half, the Wolfpack went three full minutes without scoring, allowing Auburn to score 12 straight points to turn a two-point lead into a 10-point deficit. Although that one didn't end up hurting State, as a disastrous six-minute stretch at around the same time in the game did on Thanksgiving Day against Memphis, the late four-minute drought at the end did.

Understanding that basketball is a game of runs -- as former coach Sidney Lowe always liked to say -- the Wolfpack must somehow learn to be more consistent and prevent the extended droughts that always seem to derail it in games like this.

All that having been said, there were some positives amid the disappointment of a loss that could easily have gone the other way.

Among them was the strong performance of junior big man Funderburk. He finished with 12 points, going 5 of 8 from the floor, with six rebounds and a blocked shot against a good, veteran big man in Austin Wiley. ...

Along those same lines, State had one of its best rebounding performances of the season against the Tigers. The Wolfpack has had its troubles on the glass thus far, coming into the game with a minus-1.1 margin. But against Auburn, which began the night plus-6.7, State actually won the rebounding battle 41-38 overall (12-10 on the offensive end). C.J. Bryce led the way with 11, but it was a team effort. Funderburk, Johnson and Andree all had at least five rebounds in the game.

The Wolfpack has two more games before the end of the year to work its remaining rough edges, Sunday against The Citadel and the following week against Appalachian State, both at home. Then its on to the bulk of the ACC schedule.