Sometimes it is better to be lucky than good. Other times, it is better to catch an opponent on an off-night than to be lucky or good.

The Ohio State men’s basketball team improved to 3-0 with a 64-50 win over NC State (5-1) last night. In a game in which OSU admitted afterwards they didn’t play up to their capabilities, the Wolfpack just couldn’t hit any shots.

“You could pull five guys off the street to shoot 4 of 27,” said NC State coach Herb Sendek, referring to his team’s horrific numbers from behind the arc.

OSU players were certainly thankful for the poor shooting night by the Pack.

“NC State helped us a lot by missing all the shots they missed,” said OSU guard Brian Brown.

The game was part of the third annual ACC-Big Ten Challenge, a series of nine games that pits matchups of teams from the two conferences. The ACC has had the upper hand the past two years, winning 5-4 each time.

OSU coach Jim O’Brien admitted the game last night wasn’t exactly what he had hoped for, even though the Bucks came out on top.

“We went into the locker room at halftime shaking our heads in disbelief that we actually had the lead,” he said.

The lead he was referring to was a slim 26-24 margin, one that the Buckeyes had to scrap to get.

They came out sluggish for the second game in a row, scoring only one field goal in the first eight minutes. Add that to 3-of-8 shooting from the charity stripe to open the game, and there was reason for concern on the OSU sideline. At one point NC State led 15-7.

“We didn’t play very well,” O’Brien said. “Certainly NC State had something to do with that, but there are a lot of things that we need to improve upon.

“One bright spot for us is that our kids played hard and they really did compete … we sort of willed ourselves to win this game.”

Another bright spot for the Buckeyes was the play of their two main guards – Brown and junior Brent Darby.

“They dominated the game tonight,” Sendek said. “Those two guys combined for 40 of their 64 points, they handled the ball well in the press. I thought they were terrific.”

Darby led OSU in scoring with 22 points. Brown chipped in with 18 of his own.

“I’m just trying to remain more consistent this year,” Darby said after the victory. Last year he lost his starting job for a couple of games in the middle of the Big Ten season because of his inconsistency.

The only other Buckeye to reach double figures was senior center Will Dudley, who had 12 points in his 19 minutes. Much of his time was spent on the bench due to picking up his fourth foul less than four minutes into the second half.

NC State was led by guards Julius Hodge and Anthony Grundy, each of whom scored 13 in the game. Hodge was one of the most highly-touted recruits coming out of high school last year, but he was never able to get completely on track against the Buckeyes, finishing only 3 of 9 from the field.

One thing that surprised some Buckeye players was the physical nature of the game.

Forty-four personal fouls were called and there was a great deal of pushing and shoving underneath the hoop.

“I was surprised because watching the ACC, it seems to be more of a up-tempo, fast-break game,” said forward Tim Martin. “Tonight they were banging with us, it was real surprising.”

The Buckeyes will head back to action on Sunday when they take on UNC-Wilmington (1-2) at 5 p.m. in the Schottenstein Center.