NC State shocks No. 2 Arizona, 90-84, in Bahamas tourney

It took Kevin Keatts only five games at N.C. State to get a signature performance out of his new team.

It just wasn’t a win. It was the biggest upset of the college basketball season so far.

Displaying the kind of effort, tenacity and defensive intensity Keatts promised to bring to the Wolfpack, 5-0 N.C. State knocked off No. 2 Arizona 90-84 Wednesday night in its opening game at the Battle 4 Atlantis behind 24 points from Al Freeman and 20 from freshman Braxton Beverly.

This was not according to script: Arizona (3-1), featuring Bahamas native DeAndre Ayton, a stellar freshman center and the potential No. 1 pick in next spring’s NBA draft, was both the statistical and sentimental favorite here.

But with Abdul-Malik Abu (eight points, eight rebounds) making his season debut after missing the first four games with a knee injury and Beverly looking like an impact player, the Wolfpack led by as many as nine early and again in the second half before Arizona came back to take a 75-73 lead late. From there, N.C. State went on a 13-1 run to take control.

N.C. State will play Northern Iowa Thursday at 3 p.m., but whatever happens over the next two days – whatever happens over the next few months – this win will be hard to top.

This story was originally published November 22, 2017 at 9:16 PM with the headline "NC State shocks No. 2 Arizona, 90-84, in Bahamas tourney."