N.C. State Coughs Up an 'L' to Florida State, Bans Coffee From Locker Room

Lest you miss the reference in the title, coffee is for closers only. So says Alec Baldwin anyway. N.C. State and Sidney Lowe, at the moment, don't know much about the sweet, sweet joys of caffeine.

That's because, following a 78-65 loss to Florida State tonight (a classic "closer-than-the-box-score if there ever was one), State has lost a trio of heartbreaking games on the season. Marquette and Florida were the traditional kind; late buzzer beaters or tough shots by their opponents sunk the Wolfpack's chances.

This, on the other hand, was a total collapse on both ends by Lowe's team in the final five minutes. Courtney Fells' best play was tumbling over the scorer's table, Brandon Costner couldn't hit from outside, Ben McCauley was busy being overmatched on both ends of the floor and Julius Mays, bless his soul, was trying to fill a void that has haunted the Pack for a few years now.

That's not to take away from Florida State -- Solomon Alabi made a couple of huge baskets down the stretch, Toney Douglas balled it up en route to leading the 'Noles with 21, and Leonard Hamilton had his team up at halftime. But State his this game and it was, as it has been all season, one of those games that the Pack just let get away from them.

The awkward thing, if you're a State fan, is that it might almost hurt less to get beat at the last second then it did to full on cough up a "blowout" win by not showing up to play in the last five minutes of the game. But it definitely hurts more to look at your schedule, debate tourney possibilities and realize that half of your next 10 games are against Duke, BC, Wake Forest and North Carolina.