We all were hoping for a big win against #3 Kansas, but no one can be mad with the product the Wolfpack put on the floor today.

Sure, NC State lost by 6, but we learned that the Pack can compete with the nation’s best. Here is ‘Our Take’ on the close loss.

NC State showed that they are going to be competitors
The game being this close the whole way through was no fluke. This wasn’t a game where State was red hot, making everything they put up. This wasn’t a game where Terquavion Smith was pouring in crazy 3s all day long. State shot just 38% from the floor. This is a team that you can expect to shoot in the mid-40s to low-50s from the floor on most nights. So what you got was a little below-average offensive output from the Pack.

And defensively NC State looked very, very good. There were very few missed assignments. They were swarming everywhere. The help and recover was great, and Kansas really had to work for their points. The x-factor ended up being Grady Dick, the 6’8 freshman sharpshooter. There were a few times when they lost him, but for the most part all of his 3s were pretty well contested. It just so happened he went 6-12 from 3-point range.

Casey Morsell is becoming a star
Morsell was seen by most as a glue guy coming into the season. Someone who was going to defend well, give you a little offense, but mostly just be that do-it-all jack of all trades that gives you positive output across the board. Well, he’s been that, but he’s been so much more. Morsell is an absolute smothering defender on the ball, and he’s always in the right spot on help-side. And suddenly, he’s found his shot. He is now hitting 62% of the 3s on the season after going 5-8 in this one.

Oh, and he also filled up the stat line. He was 2nd on the team with 8 boards, had 2 assists and 2 steals. He finished with a team-high 21 points.

Give credit to Smith for adjusting at the half
This wasn’t the Terquavion Smith we were hoping for, at least not early on. He came out of the game gunning as you would expect in a nationally televised game. And no one should fault him for that, but the kid was off. He was forcing the issues and in previous years it would be a game where he just disappeared. However, Smith adjusted at halftime. He came out and didn’t shoot a single 3 in the second half. Instead, he let Morsell and Joiner take a little more control, and when he did attack, he did that off the bounce, getting to the rim and scoring or drawing contact. He also played a lot better on defense, especially on the help side. Oh and he finished with 19 points on the game, despite going 5-15 from the floor.

The bigs held their own
There were some positives and negatives from the NC State bigs. This was a tough matchup for them, with Adams being so mobile, but they did fine against him. They both defended the screen and roll pretty well, and they didn’t get out physicalled at any point of the game.

What we would have loved to see is a little more offense. They had the size advantage, but struggled to get it going offensively. I think both are getting their taste of high level college basketball. Lots of bodying and bumping is allowed in the post, so when you go up to score, you have to be ready for that. I think this is bothering Burns a little more than it’s bothering Mahorcic, but both need to be able to play through the contact and give NC State a few points from the block. That said, Mahorcic scored 4 points and snatched up a team high 9 boards, and Burns scored 8 and grabbed 5 rebounds.

NC State’s depth is in question
One thing that was clear. When State had to sub at any position other than center, there was a big drop off in production. Pass struggled once again and is battling some confidence issues it seems. Meanwhile, Ross isn’t putting himself in a position to make much of a difference offensively and seems to be getting pushed around a bit defensively. We didn’t see Greg Gantt or LJ Thomas, but both could start seeing some minutes if Pass and Ross don’t start showing some improvement with their minutes.

Because of this, it seemed as if NC State really wore down, down the stretch. They fought so hard, but they pressed a lot, played full-court defense, and had to really work on offense to get good shots. I’m worried about the type of energy they’ll have against Dayton/Wisconsin, tomorrow at 4 pm.

Overall, a great showing for Keatts and Company
Keatts was on his deathbed after last season. With his job in jeopardy this year, he only had Morsell surely coming back. Smith and Seabron were thought to be going pro and he had a bunch of transfers right after the year ended. What we saw on the floor today was a well-built team that is going to contend. With Smith back, Joiner in the mix and Morsell greatly improved, this team has one of the best backcourts in the ACC. Add in some flexibility at center, and you have a pretty good team.

Now, Keatts needs to choose his moments for technical fouls a little better, but aside from that, I think most fans really liked what they saw in this game and I’ll hold to my prediction that this team is either in the Top 25 or flirting with it at some point this season.