NC State falls flat at last-place Clemson
You can’t put “N.C. State” and “should” in the same sentence.
N.C. State should beat a last-place Clemson team with a ragtag roster and one that was winless in the ACC. Even on the road and even without C.J. Bryce, the Wolfpack’s leading scorer.
But “should” and N.C. State (10-4, 1-2 ACC) don’t go together. The Tigers got 17 points from forward Aamir Simms to pick up an 81-70 ACC home win on Saturday afternoon.
Clemson (7-7, 1-3) made eight 3-pointers in the first half and N.C. State dug an early hole in which it couldn’t get out.
“I feel like we didn’t come out focused enough,” junior guard Devon Daniels said. “We didn’t come out with the level of competitiveness that we needed.”
Clemson entered shooting just 28.2 percent (22 of 78) from the 3-point line in ACC play. The Tigers made five of their first 11 and seven of 14 to build a 34-20 lead.
The Tigers reverted back to their season form in the second half (1 of 10) but N.C. State was never able to wrestle the lead away. Curran Scott’s clutch 3-pointer from the left corner with 4:56 left made it 66-58 and effectively put the game away.
Scott, a grad transfer from Tulsa, finished with 14 points and four assists. He averaged 6.3 points in his first three ACC game.
N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts expected to get Clemson’s best effort.
“Anybody in this league can beat you at any point, especially at home,” Keatts said.
Bryce’s absence didn’t help but also didn’t explain the lack of urgency in the first half or the defensive lapses.
Bryce missed his second straight game with a concussion. The Wolfpack was able to beat Appalachian State without him. That game was at home and others picked up the scoring slack.
That wasn’t the case on Saturday. Junior forward D.J. Funderburk led the Wolfpack with 14 points but senior guard Markell Johnson (11 points, six turnovers) struggled.
Johnson had one shot and no points through the first 12 minutes. He didn’t score his first basket until the 5:07 mark of the first half. He didn’t make his first 3-pointer until the final minute of the game.
As a team, N.C. State was just 5 of 21 from the 3-point line. Johnson and guard Braxton Beverly finished a combined 2 of 8 from 3.
After the game, Keatts met with the players in the locker room before his post-game press conference and asked those two veteran guards for more leadership.
Keatts tried to take the disappointment of Saturday’s loss, and really a 1-2 ACC record after three winnable league games, in stride.
“It’s one game,” Keatts said. “This is a marathon. We know we have 17 more of these.”
The third-year Wolfpack coach said it was also important not to overreact to the loss.
“This league is unforgiving,” Keatts said. “If you put your head down, one loss will lead to two or three. We have to move on.”
And one
N.C. State hasn’t needed much on the offensive end from freshman forward Manny Bates this season but he had six points in the first half — including two on a nice follow-up dunk — and his hustle and energy really were the only positives for the Wolfpack for long stretches.
Lane violation
It’s 2020 and everyone has the “green light” from the 3-point line butFunderburk took two ill-advised 3s in the first half. For the first time in a long time, Clemson coach Brad Brownell doesn’t have a shot-blocker like Elijah Thomas or Landry Nnoko, Funderburk and Funderburk should have been attacking the rim.
ICYMI
Clemson guard Clyde Trapp tore the ACL in his right knee in June but was back in the Tigers’ lineup on Dec. 20. He only scored one point but he had three assists in 32 minutes.
Making sense of the numbers
0-3 Keatts’ record at Littlejohn Coliseum: 0-2 with N.C. State and 0-1 with UNCW.
34.6 Johnson’s free-throw percentage in the past four games. He has gone 9 of 26 from the free-throw line since a win at UNCG on Dec. 15.
This story was originally published January 4, 2020 at 2:06 PM.
