Kevin Keatts Presser After UVA Victory: BULLETED

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media for his postgame press conference after his Wolfpack squad pulled off a big victory at Virginia last night, winning 53-51. You can watch the presser here, or check out a bulleted breakdown below.

• 2nd game in a row our guys stepped up and won the game on the defensive end.
• Knew coming in this is a tough place to play. Virginia is so great on the defensive end.
• I thought our guys did a tremendous job.
• This is as tough a game as we’re going to play, especially after playing on Saturday with a short turnaround.
  • To prepare for Virginia with their offense and defense, and add in the fact that we were without Manny Bates and Pat Andree, it made it look tougher.
• Markell Johnson made some great decisions. He played the entire game without having a turnover.
• C.J. Bryce is really good. He was tremendous at the end. What a play he made.
• Give Danny Dixon a lot of credit.
  • Hasn’t played a lot of basketball.
  • Hurt for awhile
  • Stepped in and played well.
• When we were up 3, I decided to foul because all of the momentum was going towards those guys, and I didn’t want them to come down and make a 3.
  • I thought if they made a 3 in this building, it would be tough for us to win in overtime.
• I’ve decided this year not to look at the NET.
• Everybody is saying that the ACC is down. I don’t agree with that.
  • I think the ACC is just balanced. I think we’re still one of the top conferences in the country.
  • We just don’t have the superstars.
• I’ve got tremendous respect for what Tony Bennett has done here. Because I am from Virginia, I do respect the fact of what he’s done here and what he’s built here.
• We’re excited because it’s a road win, not just because it’s in Virginia.
• I don’t know how long Manny Bates will be out.
  • When I saw him get hit, I thought he had something like whiplash.
  • He is in the concussion protocol.
  • I texted him this morning and asked how he was feeling, and he said he was doing ok.
  • He was actually in the training room.
• Pat Andree has sprained that ankle probably 20 times in his career, so hopefully he’ll be fine also.