NC State Upsets #2 Arizona 90-84 in the Battle 4 Atlantis!

Welcome to the Kevin Keatts Era of basketball ladies and gentlemen.

NC State defeated #2 Arizona 90-84 in the Battle 4 Atlantis down in the Bahamas. The last time NC State beat a Top-5 team was when the Wolfpack defeated #2 ranked Duke on January 11th, 2015.

From the tipoff, to the end of the game, NC State controlled this basketball game. Over the first four games, the Wolfpack won because they forced the other team to commit an obscene amount of turnovers.

That wasn’t the story tonight.

In fact, Arizona only committed 8 turnovers tonight.

What happened?

NC State wasn’t scared of #2 Arizona. Not one bit.

In fact, Arizona out rebounded NC State 39-31, and actually only committed 8 turnovers, compared to the Wolfpack’s 10.

How did this happen?

The Wolfpack wanted it more. They were more consistent. They were more clutch. They had an answer for every Arizona surge. They were poised.

Allerik Freeman looked like a star, posting a stat line of 24 points, 5 assists, and 3 rebounds.

But the hero of the night was none other than Braxton Beverly, who almost wasn’t allowed to play this season, if it wasn’t for the reversal of the NCAA’s decision on his eligibility. Beverly had 20 points, hitting 3 of his 5 shots from 3-point land. It was the ice running through his veins at the end of the game that kept the Wildcats from creeping back. He hit a three-point dagger at the 4:19 mark, and then after that he hit 7 of 8 free throws to put the knife in the steak.

10 points in the final 4:19.

Kevin Keatts team was resilient, and he made these players believe that they belonged on this court. He told the media that they weren’t looking to earn moral victories in the Bahama’s, and his words became prophetic.

They shot 50% from the field, 40% from three, and 80% from the charity stripe against the #2 team in the land.

NC State wasn’t lucky tonight.

They simply were the better team.

And nothing about tonight’s performance looked like a fluke.

The victory didn’t look like an oversized shirt on a little kid. It looked like a tailor made slim fit suit that they were meant to wear.