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North Carolina, Jalen Washington immediately taunt NC State following massive block to win

Wade-Peeryby: Wade Peery01/11/25
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© Matt Cashore-Imagn Images

Jalen Washington endeared himself to the hearts of the North Carolina fan base forever on Saturday. Not only did he have a massive game-winning block against NC State. But he did it on the road, and as he did it in the final seconds of the game, Washington made sure to go over to the NC State bench and taunt them with the pups down sign.

Check it out as North Carolina pulled out the 63-61 thriller in Raleigh.

North Carolina star freshman Ian Jackson continues to impress. He poured in 21 points for the Tar Heels on 8 of 15 shooting from the field. In his last six games, he has poured in 21 points, 18 points, 27 points, 23 points, 26 points, and 24 points. He’s one of the best players in the country and the gifted freshman has the stat lines to prove it. He’ll be a highly coveted commodity in the upcoming 2025 NBA Draft and Jackson will likely have a decision to make on whether or not to go pro or stay in college.

Jackson drilled five of his eight shots from beyond-the-arc on Saturday. And he delivered the goods when his team needed him to against their in-state rivals. This one was a big one for North Carolina. Make no mistake about it. Washington tallied the first double-double of his UNC career with 11 points and 12 rebounds. The best play of the game was of course, his block of Jayden Taylor’s potential game-tying layup (above).

North Carolina shot 43.3 percent (26 of 60) overall. After starting the game rough from three-point range, the Tar Heels finished 7 of 19 from deep. UNC moved into third place in the ACC and they now sit at 4-1 in conference. They’ll get ready for the California Golden Bears next on Wednesday.

NC State dropped to 9-7 overall and 2-3 in the ACC. Coming up next, they’ll face off against the Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg, Va. That one is set for 7:00 PM EST on Jan. 15th (Wednesday) and it will be nationally televised on ESPNU.