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NC State’s Kevin Keatts Talks Before Rivalry Game vs. UNC

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NC State head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with the media yesterday prior to tonight’s matchup against rival UNC. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

  • You know, I have no idea (On what he will be wearing tonight). It’s a game-time decision. Roy (Williams) has got some nice jackets. I don’t think I’m a trendsetter. I just like clothes, shoes and love my school colors.
  • UNC is a really good basketball team. Better than they were last year. They are tremendous in scoring in transition. One of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country. They are shooting the ball well from three at certain positions. You have to do a tremendous job getting back on those guys or they’ll score easy baskets all night long. We’ve got to find a way to keep them off the glass.
  • Luke (Maye) played two tremendous games against us last year, and he’s having a very good season this year. I’ve got a lot of respect for him, because he’s a guy who came in as a walk-on, and has established himself as a really good ACC player. We respect his game, and hopefully our guys are up for the challenge.
  • It takes a team to rebound well. I’ve got a bunch of guys who are 6’4″, 6’5″, and 6’6″ who we have to rebound as a team. Give them a lot of credit. They’ve done a tremendous job, led by Torin Dorn. He’s one of the better rebounders in the country for his size, but Devon Daniels has rebounded the ball, CJ Bryce, DJ Funderburk, and we’re starting to get it from Wyatt. What he did last game was very encouraging, with 8 offensive rebounds. It’s more of a collective effort, because we don’t have that one guy that can average 10 rebounds a game.
  • If you’re going to be a great shooting team, you have to be a great passing team. We’ve done a great job of making sure that we pass the ball to the shooters in the right spots.
  • I don’t think the expectations have changed at all (just because it’s a ranked matchup). Every game we go into, we are expecting to win, and we’d love to win. It doesn’t change for me or the team at all.
  • I think every coach in the country plays the guys they feel comfortable with. When you look at our 10 guys, I don’t think it’s a lot of separation from the five guys that I start and the five guys that I bring off the bench. Each one of those guys have done something in practice that has made me feel good about playing them.
  • Blake Harris will be back and ready to go hopefully for tomorrow (tonight’s game) and we should go back to our 10-man rotation.
  • When I built the roster, I thought we had 9 or 10 guys that were capable of playing. Obviously, we lost 1 to transfer and then didn’t know Manny Bates would be out for the year at that time, but I knew we could play 10 and possibly 11.
  • Markell Johnson’s maturing as a point guard. When you have the experience of playing three years in the ACC, you should be a better player. I’ve challenged Markell in many ways because we need his leadership. He’s a different player than last year. Last year he led the ACC in assists. We don’t necessarily need him to do that. With this particular team, we need him to score. I need him to run our team, but I need him to score at times, and he’s had some big moments early in our season where he took over the game, and we need him to be that guy.
  • I’m not into the storming of the courts. I think if you win the game, be excited and act like you’ve been there before. I can’t control what the students do, but I want these guys to get where they are used to winning games.
  • We are going to play the way we play. We won’t change. We’ve been successful doing that (pressing), and we’re going to play our game.
  • (On why it’s hard to find leaders) I think it’s a different age. I think young men now are more consumed about themselves, or scoring.  A lot of guys determine how they play by how they score. When I played, you had to do what you had to do to get on the floor, even if that was being scrappy, playing defense, and/or being a leader.

Matthew is Co-Owner of Pack Insider. He writes for all sports, with a focus on football and recruiting, and is in charge of business strategy. He is an NC State alum who majored in business. Matthew is also the lead pastor of The Point Church in Cary, NC.

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NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:

It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.

It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.

1982-83 – 26-10 

1973-74 – 30-1 

1972-73 – 27-0 

1954-55 – 28-4 

1953-54 – 26-7

1952-53 – 26-6 

1950-51 – 30-7 

1949-50 – 27-6 

1948-49 – 25-8 

1947-48 – 29-3

1946-47- 26-5

It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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