NCAA: NC State 1 of 8 Under-the-Radar Teams to Watch as March Approaches

NCAA.com ran an article today in 8 Under-the-Radar Schools to watch as March approaches, and NC State was one of them. Here’s what they had to say about the Pack.

First, No. 2 Arizona. Then, No. 2 Duke. Last week, No. 10 North Carolina, right there in Chapel Hill. Might as well have been in Roy Williams’ driveway. That makes three top-10 wins this season for the Wolfpack. Also on the resume are back-to-back ACC victories on the road for the first time in 31 years, and a 3-0 record against fellow Tobacco Road colleagues North Carolina, Duke and Wake Forest for the first time since 1975.

So Kevin Keatts’ honeymoon as the new coach who landed from UNCW is going quite nicely, thank you.

Well, most of the time.

NC State is 15-7, including taking some real poundings on the road. There was the 30-point loss at Notre Dame, 17 at Virginia, 16 at Clemson. And there are also unsightly defeats by Northern Iowa and UNC Greensboro.

But still — Arizona, Duke, North Carolina, Clemson in a rematch. Pretty good victims list. Last year, the Wolfpack went to Chapel Hill and lost by 51.

“I tell everybody we have some great wins, but I kind of look at our total year,” Keatts said over the phone this week. “I think you learn so much from your losses. I’ve been excited that even in our losses, we have competed the entire time, even when we didn’t do things right or things weren’t going our way. That’s the biggest plus for me.”

He’s used seven different starting lineups to get things moving, and preached pressure defense from the start. NC State has forced 20-plus turnovers in four games. The Wolfpack had only two of those the past seven seasons combined. The turnover margin is plus-74. Last year, it was minus-67.

So Keatts has finished half his first ACC tour at 5-4. “A complete grind,” he called it, though he said it’s been fun watching the fire all those big wins have lit under the fan base. But he has quickly come to understand how much it takes to survive in a league that demands so much.

“The way you do it is try to build a culture. There is no easy game. As a matter of fact, for a long time NC State has been one of the teams that was the easy game.”

Not anymore, if you’re ranked in the top 10.

(NCAA)