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Final Thoughts: On NC State’s 72-68 win over Pitt

Published

8 years ago

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    • This was a huge win. I know it’s Pitt and I know it wasn’t the prettiest, but this was big for so many reasons. For one, this puts State at 4-4 in the ACC and right in the thick of things. This finished off that 3-game stretch we talked about, and NC State came out 2-1. That means, going forward, NC State needs to win half of their remaining games to get to 9 wins in the conference and 19 wins overall. With an early round win in the ACC Tournament, the Pack would almost certainly be dancing. The other reason this was big is that it was on the road. Winning an ACC road game is tough, and even though it’s Pitt, this was no exception. This was State’s most winnable road game, so they really needed to take care of this one or they’d have been looking back at it with regret. Lastly, this game proved once again, that this team is mentally tough. NC State loses this game over the past 15 years. No doubt about it. They fall behind, they have no energy and they give up. Not this team. Not on Keatts’ watch. Very impressive seeing them end it on a 15-2 run, basically willing themselves to win. They believed, the executed when they needed to and they have a W to show for it.
    • Refs were inconsistent. I didn’t like how this game was reffed one bit and honestly, I’m so sick and tired of ACC refs changing from game to game. When NC State played at Virginia, it was an anything-goes physical battle with very few stoppages. In this one, they were calling the slightest bump a foul. This put the Pack in a bad situation, sending Yurt to the bench early after he was showing his dominance early on. In fact, Pitt was in the bonus with over 10 mins left to play in the first half. C’mon now people, I know blaming the refs is a cop out, but it’s ridiculous how we have to trust the conference to police them and do so with little to no transparency.
    • NC State struggles vs the zone. This team doesn’t have a Scott Wood, a Ralston Turner or a Mav Rowan. Beating the zone is tough for these guys because they just aren’t great shooters. Sure, Beverly and Hunt are ok from deep, but they’re not good enough to warrant 26 attempts between the two of them. The Pack needs to figure this out and do so fast or teams are just going to sit back and let them fire it up. State shot 26% in this one and is shooting 32% for the year. Their best 3pt shooters are Omer Yurtseven and Markell Johnson, and those two combined to attempt one 3 all game (which Markell Johnson made.) If teams are going to dare you to shoot, maybe let your best shooters get a few more attempts.
    • Markell Johnson has to score. Hate to say it, because I love watching this kid dish out assists (he has 26 over the past 2 games!!), but he’s a capable scorer and a decent shooter. Right now that is what State lacks. He’s getting his guys open shots, but they just can’t knock them down. I’m not saying Markell needs to turn into a volume shooters, but I’m saying that maybe a line of 12 pts, 8 assists would be a little more along the lines of what this team needs.
    • Torin Dorn has become a big-time shot maker. Dorn had a bad first half, but that didn’t stop him from keeping that motor running. He finished up with 12 points and 9 boards thanks to 6pt flurry in the final couple minutes, including a jumper that put NC State up 4 with 17 seconds left. NC State now has 4 conference wins and in 3 of those, Torin Dorn has made huge shots. Against Duke he buried two 3s (one was an ‘and-1’) to seal the deal, then against Wake, he made some huge plays down the stretch, and then the jumper in this one. Dorn has been huge for this team. He is now 3rd on the team in scoring and is leading NC State in rebounding.
    • Never give up. The only real difference between this team and the teams we’ve seen over the past 15 years is that this group believes they can win. They feel they deserve to win and they feel that way because they are putting in the work. They reeled off an 11-0 run to finish the game against Wake Forest last week, and they capped off Pitt with a 15-2 run. This is a group that is conditioned to finish games and one that is refusing to lose. According to ESPN’s game flow predictor, there was a 90% chance Pitt was going to win this basketball game with 5:45 left in the 2nd half. That means NC State had just a 10% chance of pulling off what they eventually did. Keatts has them playing with a chip on their shoulder, and when you do that, you can throw the odds out the window.

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