VIDEO: Kevin Keatts Press Conference After NC State Lost at FSU 78-73

Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts spoke with the media in his postgame press conference after NC State lost to Florida State 78-73 down in Tallahassee yesterday. The video is ABOVE, and a bulleted breakdown is BELOW.

• Have to give Florida State credit. They did a great job taking care of home court advantage.
• We had our chances, especially late in the second half.
• We cut the lead, and it seemed like every time we cut the lead they did a great job making a big play, whether it was an offensive rebound or getting a steal.
• The second half was the big difference in the game.
  • They got to the free throw line a lot more than we did in the second half.
  • 50/50 plays.
• It’s different for us (on dressing 9), not too much on the offensive end, but defensively because we like to rotate guys in.
  • Typically, we have the 5 guys that start the game. Like to have a backup in each position. One man short.

• I thought they fouled and we didn’t know, and I had to go back and look at it (On expecting Florida State to foul on the last three-point lead (76-73))
  • We got a stop on DJ Funderburk’s 5th foul.
    • I don’t know what happened there.
    • On the late whistle I thought we were going to the other end, but he ran in and called a foul.
    • I haven’t watched the tape yet.
• DJ Funderburk has gotten better.
  • Needed that for this team.
  • Can certainly score inside, but also outside.
  • Rebounding was great.
  • Giving us 18 points.
  • I think that will be big for us moving forward.
• I thought Torin (Dorn), Markell (Johnson) and Braxton (Beverly) were very aggressive in the 2nd half.
  • At halftime all 3 of those guys had a combined 5 points, and I thought they played up.
• He’s (Trent Forrest) tough because he gets in the paint.
  • Give Trent a lot of credit, he knows who he is.
  • He doesn’t try to do anything outside of his game.
  • When you have a point guard whose content with running the offense and then scoring when he has to, you have a good thing going.
• I thought we drove because we were able to get paint touches.
  • They do a great job denying wings, and a lot of the time you have 1-on-1 drives.
  • I thought in the 1st half we didn’t do a great job of finishing.
  • We made certain shots, where we talked about guys going off two feet making strong moves.
• I think the biggest challenge when preparing for Florida State is they play 11 guys. You have to concentrate on personnel opposed to a team.
• Other than Kabengele, you don’t have a lot of guys scoring points.
  • So a team like this is tough.
  • On any given night, you don’t know who can lead in scoring.
• I told my guards you have to adjust to the way they call it.
• Sometimes it depends. Some games they allow you to play a little bit more.
• I heard Florida State fans say, “let us play a little bit.” I was for that.