Lowe was revered for his role as starting point guard on the "Cardiac Pack" team that won the 1983 NCAA championship. He returned to Raleigh in 2006 to replace Herb Sendek as coach, but the Wolfpack struggled to sustain any momentum in Lowe's five seasons. Although he made the NIT twice, he never made the NCAA tournament as a coach, and never finished higher than ninth place in the ACC. He went 86–78, including just 25–55 in ACC play. Lowe was 3–16 record against rivals Duke and North Carolina, with two of those wins coming in his first year.