Ines Debroise’s free throws with six seconds remaining sealed the deal. Even if Zam Jones hadn’t misfired on a prayer of a 3-pointer, the result seemed inevitable.
Rhode Island marched into Raleigh’s Reynolds Coliseum on Sunday afternoon and left with an upset victory over No. 16 N.C. State, 68-63. It marked the first time ever that the Rams had beaten an AP-ranked opponent from a Power 4 conference, and just the second time they had defeated an AP-ranked team period.
Four Rams scored in double-figures, with Vanessa Harris leading the charge with 15 points off the bench. Palmire Mbu chipped in 14 points, six rebounds and three assists. It’s a signature victory for seventh-year head coach Tammi Reiss, as the former Virginia guard won at one of the Tobacco Road arenas for the first time in her coaching career.
The loss for N.C. State stings in multiple ways and caps off a disastrous week for the ACC.
For starters, the defeat marked the first time since Dec. 13, 2015 that the Wolfpack lost to a mid-major opponent in Reynolds Coliseum. Back then, in coach Wes Moore’s third season at the helm, N.C. State fell by three points to Elon. The loss also marks the third of the season already for the Wolfpack, which was picked to finish second in the ACC this season in the conference’s preseason poll.
Moreover, according to documents obtained by SB Nation in a public records request, N.C. State paid Rhode Island $25,000 to show up for this game, plus covered the cost of 12 hotel rooms for the Rams. Reiss’ team got paid, secured a crucial victory, and enjoyed a free stay in Raleigh.
A month ago, a lot of folks projected the Wolfpack and one of their Tobacco Road rivals — the Duke Blue Devils — as the top teams in the ACC and among the conference’s best bets to host opening weekend games in the NCAA Tournament. Both were ranked inside the top 10 of the AP Top 25 preseason poll.
N.C. State started the season strong with a win over Tennessee in Greensboro, but then lost a nail-biter to USC in Charlotte — a game in which the Wolfpack led by double-digits early in the fourth quarter — and then were also upended at home by TCU. This loss to Rhode Island will likely boot the Wolfpack out of the latest AP Poll.
Duke was kicked out of the AP Top 25 last week after it completely collapsed against West Virginia, losing to a team that played with just five available players in the second half. The Blue Devils — the reigning ACC champs — followed that up by losing by 13 points at South Florida this past Thursday.
The Blue Devils seem to be lacking consistency, toughness and an offensive punch. N.C. State is searching for a true bus-driver after graduating a pair of first-round WNBA Draft picks. Both are running out of time to figure out their problems.
More underwhelming defeats have plagued the ACC this season. SMU lost to Grand Canyon by double figures and then to North Texas by three points. Pitt was beaten by a Division III team. UMBC won at Virginia (seriously, the Cavaliers need to stay away from the Retrievers). Boston College has already endured losses to four New England rivals: Holy Cross, Harvard, Providence and UMass. Georgia Tech lost at home to Jacksonville. James Madison beat Virginia Tech. Florida State fell to a Florida team that lost to Navy.
Aside from N.C. State’s season-opening victory over Tennessee, the only other win over an AP-ranked opponent that an ACC team owns through three weeks of the season is Notre Dame’s narrow victory against No. 11 USC — which came after the Irish were blown out by 39 points in a loss to Michigan.
Outside of those two ranked wins, it’s hard to locate the most impressive victory so far for an ACC program. It might be North Carolina’s victory over Fairfield, Syracuse’s triumph of Utah, or Miami’s win over Davidson — all of which happened on neutral courts.
Quickly approaching for the ACC are more Feast Week MTEs, and then the ACC-SEC Challenge. Those are two opportunities where the league needs to pile up some impressive non-conference wins.
Because right now, it’s hard to imagine any teams outside of North Carolina, Notre Dame and 7-0 Stanford securing top 16 seeds in the NCAA Tournament.
