Aloft, a rare celestial event, a total lunar eclipse, caused the moon to appear tinted red where it peeked between the clouds. But down on the ground, inside the RBC Center, it was red that sank deep into shadow.

Sidney Lowe greeted the occasion of North Carolina’s visit to Raleigh by donning his red sports jacket, employed just once previously this season. Lowe wore the coat when N.C. State visited Chapel Hill to face the Tar Heels in January.

Raising the colors didn’t help on either occasion; the result was just as bad the second time as the first.

The Wolfpack fell behind by 30 points at halftime at the Smith Center in their ACC opener. They never recovered that day and, one might argue, have yet to regain their bearings for any extended period since. N.C. State remains prone to breakdowns, to wandering concentration and uneven effort, to spells when its defense is ineffectual, its offense uncertain.

These are not winning traits against anyone, particularly North Carolina, a powerful unit that continues to improve, if sometimes by fits and starts.

So it was that N.C. State came unglued on Wednesday night after building its biggest advantage, 31-25, on Courtney Fells’ flying dunk with 4:51 remaining in the first half. The Tar Heels ratcheted up the defensive pressure and finished the period with nine unanswered points. The second half was more of the same, as UNC pounded N.C. State into submission by continuing what proved a 31-7 run.

Following that burst, yielding an 18-point lead, the outcome was as predictable as the lunar eclipse outside. A dispirited hush occasionally fell over the proceedings as the final, anticlimactic 13 minutes and 50 seconds ticked away, allowing spectators to clearly discern the squeak and pop of red and white balloons wielded by students behind the baskets.

Lowe admitted a bit of uncertainty about how to guard against his team’s propensity to deflate like a punctured balloon when challenged. He also conceded frustration at the ease with which it happened.

“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up,” he lamented after the decisive 84-70 loss. “And, right now, we’re not getting up.”

Unfortunately for the Pack, which fell to 15-11, with only four ACC wins in a dozen tries, they may soon be out for the count, at least as far as NCAA participation is concerned.

Tyler Hansbrough delivered the primary blows for the Tar Heels. The relentless big man -- given a backhanded salute as the object of several derogatory signs held by N.C. State students -- had 32 points and 12 rebounds. Sophomore guard Wayne Ellington, now as accurate a shooter in ACC play as overall, chipped in 21 points.

Hansbrough has scored in double figures in every game this season. Ellington has hit for 10 or more points in all but four outings.

Led by that pair, UNC, playing its fifth consecutive game without electrifying playmaker Ty Lawson, went to 25-2, 10-2 in the ACC. Coupled with Duke’s subsequent loss at Miami, the victory allowed the Heels to tie for first in the conference with four games to go in the regular season.

The Heels, too, have seen their focus waver periodically throughout the year. That was particularly evident when executing Williams’ tempo-setting traps, which require everyone to know their assignments and to rotate just so in order to make the defense work. But, as they demonstrated against N.C. State, they’re learning.

“At this point in the season, we’re starting to really get a grip on how important it’s going to be for this team to be the best defensive team in the nation (in order) to win a championship,” said UNC junior Marcus Ginyard. “Everybody I think is starting to get to the point where they’re understanding that, and they’re giving more thought to what we’re doing defensively.”

That the defense has improved without Lawson, its quickest player, and the offense functions smoothly without his accustomed hand at the helm, bodes well for the future. So does the fact that Quentin Thomas, Lawson’s backup, is playing with increasing confidence and élan. He scored 10 points against N.C. State and added 7 assists against 2 turnovers.

In fact, the Heels are playing so well, Lowe was disinclined to express sympathy for their injury problems. He explained by reviewing a mental checklist of UNC’s strengths.

“They’ve got one of the best players in the country in Tyler,” he said, referring to Hansbrough, the certain ACC player of the year. “They’ve got one of the best wings in the country in Ellington. They’ve got one of the best sixth men, if you want to call him sixth, he’s really a starter, in (Danny) Green. They have talent. They have talent.

“And they play hard, they play smart, they play the right way. Obviously they’re coached extremely well. So, there’s no mystery that they’re still going to be good.”

Lawson’s return from his ankle injury, surely not far off, should make North Carolina even better. Yet, as bitter experience taught while Williams served as an assistant to head coach Dean Smith, reassimilation cannot be taken for granted.

Starting UNC playmaker Kenny “The Jet” Smith broke his left wrist and missed eight games during the 1984 season. Led by national player of the year Michael Jordan, UNC learned to play without Smith, remained top-ranked most of the year, and finished undefeated in ACC competition.

When Smith returned, team chemistry was disrupted. The Heels' devastating fast break, which enabled them to pace the conference in scoring, was less effective. Individually, Smith’s jumpshot proved rusty.

Never quite regaining its previously overpowering stride, North Carolina lost to unproven Duke in the ACC Tournament semifinals. Then it fell to Indiana two games into NCAA tournament competition, ending Jordan's collegiate career.