NC State Basketball
Clemson 81 NC State 70: OUR TAKE
NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts said that his team didn’t “play great” against Clemson this afternoon, in their 81-70 loss to the Tigers.
That was an understatement.
Sometimes I wish a coach would come out and say the truth
The Wolfpack played terrible down in South Carolina.
Clemson outshot NC State in every category.
FG/3PT/FT
Clemson – 46.9/32.1/83.9
NC State – 44.1/23.8/68.4
The Tigers out rebounded the Wolfpack by 4. They had more second chance points (+2) and more points off turnovers (+6).
Clemson shot 12 more free throws.
They shared the ball better, netting 5 more assists.
The stats weren’t in their favor to walk away with the victory, but maybe what was most disappointing was the overall lack of effort.
Senior Markell Johnson still hasn’t figured out how to play consistent basketball, in production or effort, and we are half way through year 4.
The coaches ability to adjust has to be called into question after today’s performance. Clemson abused the Wolfpack with backdoor cuts and slipping screens for 40 straight minutes. Also, I’m all for aggressive defense, but failing to put the hand in the face of wide open three-point shooters is inexcusable.
NC State was without Redshirt Senior Guard C.J. Bryce, who leads the team in scoring and rebounding. Obviously, his presence was missed, and the game could have been different with him on the court.
This loss doesn’t ruin a season, and obviously the team can rebound from it, but the deja vu of losses like these become exhausting.
I think it comes down to a lack of focus, plain and simple. The mental errors committed on the floor are inexcusable. MK needs to, as a senior play smarter, and I wonder if it is as simple as that. Maybe if he plays smarter, the team plays smarter. We are not playing smart and we are not playing focused, and then you can add to that, that we are not playing disciplined. With good focus more shots will fall, less turnovers will be committed and better defense will be played.
Thank you for your honest assessment of our (lack of) play against Clemson. Nothing against Coach KK, but I do not like how his team is playing this year. Last year’s team was better than this one. Something is not right and it’s KK’s responsibility to fix it. If not soon, it will be too late to save this season. It’s not who’s not playing; it’s how the ones that are playing are playing so poorly.