NC State’s 24-point performance made all sorts of hilarious history

It was an afternoon to forget for the Wolfpack.

There might wind up being more significant final scores in college basketball this weekend, but there won’t be one that stands out as the following:

No. 12 Virginia Tech 47, No. 23 NC State 24.

That’s right. Playing a home game in the middle of the conference season, a ranked team from the ACC managed to score just 24 points in a regulation 40-minute college basketball game. There was no rain delay, no “game called because of sudden plague outbreak inside PNC Arena,” Kevin Keatts didn’t decide to play just one player at a time as some form of protest. NC State, a team which entered Saturday averaging 84.4 points per game, tried its best for two hours and managed to amass only 24 points.

As a team, the Wolfpack shot 9-of-54 from the field (16.7 percent) and just 2-of-28 from three (7.1 percent). No NC State player shot 50 percent or better, and sophomore sharpshooter Braxton Beverly was 0-for-12 from the field and 0-for-9 from three.

Instead of beating around the bush, let’s just dive straight into all the reasons why NC State’s Saturday performance was both historic and absurd.

—The Wolfpack’s 24 points are the lowest output by a ranked team in the shot clock era, which started in 1985-86.

—The 24 points by NC State are the Pack’s fewest in a game since beating Duke 12-10 in the 1968 ACC tournament, which is still the lowest total of any ACC game in history.

—The point total is also the lowest of any Division-I team in a conference game since 2008.

—Adding to the ridiculousness of NC State’s total is the fact that the team doing the defending was Virginia Tech and not, say, Virginia. The Hokies entered Saturday ranking 10th in the 15-team ACC in adjusted defensive efficiency. This same Virginia Tech team gave up 103 points in a 21-point loss to North Carolina just 12 days ago.

—Buzz Williams’ high-scoring Hokies scored 15 points points fewer than their previous offensive low of the season ... and still won a road game against a ranked conference opponent by 23 points.

—The NC State football team was held to fewer than 24 points in just three of its 13 games this past season.

—NC State scored just 10 points in the second half, meaning they averaged 1 point every two minutes.

—The Pack scored just one point more than their national ranking in the current AP top 25 poll (No. 23).

—A ranked team playing at home in early February scored the lowest point total of any Division-I team this decade.

—The over/under for this game in Vegas was 152. The teams combined to score 71 points.

—Oh, and finally, Virginia Tech was playing without second-leading scorer Justin Robinson, who injured his foot in the team’s win over Miami earlier this week.