NC State men’s basketball looks to keep rolling at UNCG
N.C. State’s “revenge” tour is not really a thing.
It could be but it’s not, coach Kevin Keatts said, because that’s not how the players think.
The Wolfpack (7-2) did recently pay back Wisconsin and Wake Forest for losses from the 2018-19 season. In theory, N.C. State owes UNC-Greensboro one, too. The Spartans (8-2) beat the Wolfpack in their last meeting early in the 2017-18 season in Raleigh. The Wolfpack will go to the Greensboro Coliseum on Sunday for the return game.
But most players don’t keep receipts, Keatts said, and revenge isn’t exactly a productive part of the scouting report. Junior guard Braxton Beverly is the only player from N.C. State who was on the court for an 81-76 home loss to UNCG in December 2017.
“I remember how upsetting it was,” Beverly said.
That was Keatts’ first season with N.C. State. His team knocked off Arizona, Duke and North Carolina that season but lost to the Spartans, who went on to win the Southern Conference title and make the NCAA tournament.
But the rest of the current Wolfpack team?
“They don’t know anything about it,” Keatts said. “They don’t remember the game.”
And Keatts is fine with that approach. After a week off to concentrate on exams, what Keatts wants is for the players to remember how well they defended in a 69-54 win over Wisconsin on Dec. 4 and in the first half of a 91-82 win at Wake Forest on Dec. 7.
One potential problem on Sunday is sophomore forward Jericole Hellems might not be in the lineup.
Keatts said on Friday that Hellems had not practiced during the week and suffered a concussion in the win over Wake Forest. Hellems, who has averaged 17.6 points over the past three games, will be a “game-time decision,” Keatts said.
“I’ve got to make sure with our doctors and trainers that he’s fully healthy and able to go,” Keatts said. “He’s got to feel good about it, but I also have to feel good about it.”
Hellems crashed to the floor with two other Wake Forest players at the end of the Wolfpack win over the Demon Deacons. He was taken to the hospital in Winston-Salem and released that night.
Hellems has since passed some initial concussion protocol tests and avoided a serious back injury.
“We were blessed that he didn’t fracture anything in his back,” Keatts said.
If Hellems can’t play, and Keatts wasn’t optimistic on Friday, then forward Danny Dixon might get more minutes. Dixon, a grad transfer from Missouri-Kansas City, has been dealing with a foot injury. He has only played once in the past seven games, but Keatts said Dixon has been able to do more in practice this week.
As big of a role as Hellems has played in the recent surge, the defensive uptick has been the key to N.C. State’s success. Going back to the second half of an 83-78 loss to Memphis on Nov. 28, the Wolfpack has found a defensive groove.
Wake Forest’s Brandon Childress skewed some of the numbers at the end of that game but since falling behind 53-39 at the half to Memphis, N.C. State has allowed 33.2 points per half over the past five halves.
“I think (the Memphis game) kind of opened our eyes to show how good defensively we can be when we want to be,” Beverly said.
And, honestly, that’s the kind of thing Keatts wants his players to be focused on, not old losses.
NC State at UNCG
When: Sunday, 3 p.m.
Where: Greensboro Coliseum
Watch: ESPN+ (online only)
Listen: WRAL-101.5
This story was originally published December 13, 2019 at 2:53 PM.
