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Amid reports coach Mark Gottfried will likely be fired after the season, NC State got smoked 97-73 by North Carolina at Raleigh, N.C., on Wednesday night, a sixth straight loss which turns up the heat more on an embattled coach.

It wasn’t as bad as the 51-point loss to the Tar Heels on Jan. 8 -- the second most lopsided result in the series history -- but this one might sting more. It was an opportunity missed for Gottfried, who could have used a victory to quiet reports and maybe even make a favorable impression on angered fan base. Instead, the Wolfpack (14-13, 3-11 ACC) suffered another embarrassing loss in front of the home crowd to Carolina (22-5, 10-3). It’s the second 24-point loss in a week’s time and another painful reminder of just how far this team has drifted from preseason expectations.

Picked to finish sixth in a 15-team league, NC State is second to last with a bleak outlook for the remaining regular-season slate. Many projected the Pack as a sleeper pick in the ACC and an NCAA Tournament appearance was hardly in question. Now, it’s all but out of the picture barring a miraculous turnaround in their final four games -- vs. No. 25 Notre Dame (Saturday), at Georgia Tech (Feb. 21) vs. No. 14 Virginia (Feb. 25) and at Clemson (March 1). NC State started its skid after an 84-81 win at Duke on Jan. 23, with only one loss by fewer than double digits. 

Beyond freshman Dennis Smith Jr., who scored 27 points, NC State was uninspired. It shot 44.2 percent, but the defense again was its undoing. North Carolina got to the rim with ease, scoring almost as many points in the paint (60) as NC State did overall. North Carolina -- led by Joel Berry II’s 18 points -- is just better, but the way in which it dominated offensively had to be disturbing, but not surprising, for Wolfpack fans.