NC State gets away from the game plan and UNC Greensboro makes the Wolfpack pay

In one sequence during the first half UNC Greensboro had the basketball in front of the N.C. State bench, trailing the Wolfpack 29-17.

As UNCG ran its offense, one of the guards tried to rub off a screen from big man Jordy Kuiper. N.C. State guard Allerik Freeman was chasing his man, who was racing toward Kuiper’s backside. Wolfpack forward Torin Dorn was behind Kuiper. Instead of switching on the screen, Freeman yelled out for Dorn to stay where he was, and the Spartans threw the basketball right into the hands of Dorn.

It led to a pair of free throws on the other end, giving the Wolfpack a 14-point lead, the biggest of the afternoon for the home team. The defensive sequence was a perfect example of communication and knowing what the Spartans were attempting to do. Clearly, N.C. State had done its homework on UNCG and was playing out the scouting report to perfection. That also might have been the last good example of the Wolfpack communicating on defense the entire afternoon.

Shortly after that sequence the Spartans went on a 13-1 run, and trailed by only two, 40-38, at the break. The second half turned out to be a complete breakdown for N.C. State as UNCG dominated the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Wolfpack 43-36, shooting 57.7 percent from the field and 54.5 percent from 3-point range on its way to a 81-76 win. The Spartans got one wide-open look after another from 3-point range, going 6-for-11 in the second half and 12-of-24 for the game. And when they weren’t nailing open looks, that backdoor cut N.C. State scouted so well in the first half, was there whenever UNCG wanted it in the second.

“I think this is the first time in 11 games that we didn’t follow the scouting report,” N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “We went into the game on the defensive end knowing that we had to do a great job taking their 3s away, and we did a poor job.”

The Spartans came into the game shooting 35 percent from behind the arc, good enough for seventh in the Southern Conference, and are third in the SoCon in 3-pointers made with 10.3 per game. Against the Wolfpack, the Spartans knocked down 12 triples, most of them without a hand in their face. Kuiper, a senior who came into the game shooting 33.3 percent from deep, hit 4 of 5, the five 3s the most he has attempted in his career. Kuiper hit two 3s in a two-minute stretch late in the game to ice it for the Spartans after the Wolfpack cut the lead to seven.

The Spartans, who lead their conference in offensive rebounds (12.3 per game), collecting 31 percent of their missed shots, true to form, attacked the offensive glass all game, scoring 10 second-chance points off of 10 offensive rebounds. It was no surprise that’s where they thrive – it was in the scouting report – State just couldn’t stop them. UNCG small forward Marvin Smith led the Spartans with four offensive rebounds and 10 total boards.

“We didn’t do too well in that area,” Keatts said. “We’ve got to get better. One of the things I told the guys is that if we’re going to be a good team we’ve got to understand game plans. Up until this point we had done a great job with that and for whatever reason today we didn’t do a great job. I’ll take that on me as a coach; we’ve got to do a better job getting a message across.”

N.C. State came into the game with a good 3-point defense, holding teams to 29.4 percent from deep. On Saturday, for whatever reason, communication was an issue, Keatts said.

“Our breakdowns didn’t come from UNCG’s offensive plays,” Keatts said. “We just had a lack of communication.”

The Spartans knocked down four of their 12 3s right before the half. Keatts said they were all due to a lack of communication as the Wolfpack defense lost its man in transition. And outside the one defensive stop thanks to communication between Freeman and Dorn in the first half, UNCG made a living around the basket. At one point the Spartans scored on five consecutive layups to get themselves back in the game, cutting the one-time 14-point lead by State down to six. UNCG took its first lead of the game, 35-34, after a layup from Smith. The Spartans’ first six points of the second half came from two 3s, followed by a layup, and two more triples, part of a 13-2 run to start the half.

“The first half we were listening to the scout(ing report),” senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu said. “The coaches put out a good game plan for us, we knew the things that could hurt us out there. The letup is just disappointing for all of us because we feel like this is a game we should have put away in the first half.”

The Wolfpack was without sophomore guard Markell Johnson, who was suspended and is out indefinitely. Johnson is second in the ACC in steals, but Keatts wouldn’t use the absence of Johnson as an excuse.

“Honestly, I don’t think anything was missing from us if you look at us from the offensive end,” Keatts said. “I just feel like we had too many breakdowns defensively. That’s not the team that we are. We had been a very solid defensive team, especially guarding the 3, and I just think it was defensive breakdowns we had.”

Abu, who finished with eight points and just one rebound in just his fifth game of the season, echoed his coach’s thoughts.

‘We just could have done a better job of communicating,” Abu said. “Overall, we just felt like we let ourselves down. We just have to build, learn and get better.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2017 at 4:05 PM with the headline "NC State gets away from the game plan and UNC Greensboro makes the Wolfpack pay."