After 16 games in the volatile 2020-21 campaign, NC State is 8-8 overall and 4-7 in conference play.

With the exception of the Miami contest in January and the home loss to Syracuse Tuesday night, the Wolfpack has won every matchup it’s been favored in. The same is true for losing games in which the Pack has been the underdog, minus the 79-76 home win over then-ranked No. 17 North Carolina in December.

Those results don’t reflect the excruciating fashion of how they’ve been produced, however. Of those eight losses, NC State led at halftime in four of them. The Pack either held a lead or forced a tie at some point in the second half of two others.

Other than the road losses at Florida State and North Carolina, the Wolfpack had chances to win every game on its schedule so far. All teams go through missed opportunities in some form or fashion every year, but the Pack has had more than its fair share this season.

Fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk summed it up perfectly in his postgame availability following the 77-68 loss to Syracuse Tuesday night.

“We just shoot ourselves in the foot every time we come out with a loss,” Funderburk said. “Either we get the lead, and we shoot ourselves in the foot in the second half or from the get-go they punch us in the mouth. We're always in a dogfight throughout the game. We never seem to come out on top when it comes down to those possession games, those key moments in the game that let them get their lead.”

In January, I wrote about NC State’s issues in the second half. At that point in the season, it was simply a troubling sign for a bubble team that could still correct the issue.

One month later, the Pack’s second-half woes look like the cause of death on an autopsy report.

Through 16 games, the Wolfpack is +82 in the first half, but -14 in the second half.

Dig a little deeper, and the trend becomes even more troubling.