No. 1 Purdue on NC State’s radar after ‘statement’ win gets Wolfpack ‘back on track’
N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts has no control over the order of the schedule. He just knows which teams his team is supposed to play, and the order falls however it falls.
It just worked out that the Wolfpack got Bethune-Cookman at home days before they head to Brooklyn to play No. 1 Purdue.
That game on paper seems like David vs. Goliath, but after losing to Louisville last weekend at PNC Arena, Keatts wanted his guys to get that taste out of their mouths. It wasn’t pretty, but the Wildcats were just what the doctor ordered: N.C. State won 65-48 over BCU. The game wasn’t one sided, as the final score indicates. But it was a win, getting back on track before the most important game to date coming up.
“Good game for us,” Keatts said after the win. “I’m just glad we got a game and we won a game before (playing Purdue). In this program we talk about when you lose a game you’re sick and we wanted to get well.”
The Pack (7-2, 0-1) got well thanks to a much better second half performance. N.C. State only led by five at the break, not giving the crowd much to cheer for in a return to Reynolds. In the second half the Pack played better on defense, shared the ball and hit their free throws (72 percent in the second half).
Joe French, Bethune-Cookman’s wing, was a problem in the first half, scoring 12 points. N.C. State held him to just two in the second half, slowing down the Wildcats’ attack. Without French giving BCU momentum, the Wolfpack picked up the pace, led by reigning ACC Player of the Week, Dereon Seabron, who had his sixth double-double (16 points, 14 rebounds).
Seabron, by Keatts’ account, didn’t play his best, but was still the team’s leading scorer. That just goes to show the kind of season he’s having. His 10 points in the second half were the offensive spark the team needed. Senior Jericole Hellems started the game hot, nine points in the first half, then gave way to Seabron to take over late.
“The first thing is to get back on track because we just dropped one last week against Louisville, so we wanted to get back in the win column,” Seabron said. “Just come out and make a statement against teams we’re supposed to beat.”
If Seabron was Batman, freshman Terquavion Smith was Robin, scoring 14 points in his first game in Reynolds since winning a high school state title here two years ago. When all else failed, those players came up big offensively. Until they got in a rhythm, Keatts got them to buy in on the defensive end.
“When we’re not in a rhythm I want us to defend,” Keatts said. “We talk about it all the time, if you’re going to win a championship you have to win all types of games. You have to win the ugly games, you have to win when you’re up 20, down 20, when things are not going well. Don’t let the game get away from you when you’re not scoring.”
N.C. State forced 15 turnovers and improved to 50-15 when forcing opponents into 15 or more turnovers. The Wolfpack scored 10 points off those turnovers and needed every one of those buckets on a night when they shot 39 percent from the floor.
“First half we were a little sloppy,” Seabron said. “The second half we picked it up and we finished the game out well. It was really just our defense and we weren’t really settling (for jump shots) on the offensive end.”
The Wolfpack still chunked a lot of 3s (7-23), but in the second half they attacked the basket and got to the line 11 times, as opposed to five in the first. They not only did a better job on French, but also the only other player who was helping him. Dylan Robertson had six points in the first half and just four in the second. He and French were the main threats, and once they were neutralized, N.C. State rolled, outscoring the Wildcats 31-19 in the second half.
Keatts knew Bethune-Cookam would be scrappy, choosing to ignore their one-win record coming into the night. All he knew was they led Seton Hall at the half, and even referenced Texas Southern, a team N.C. State beat a few weeks ago, upsetting Florida.
The Boilermakers were upset by Rutgers Thursday night, which means they’ll be fired up on Sunday in Brooklyn. Keatts liked the fight his team showed against BCU. Add a win on top of that, he loves heading to New York back in the win column with some confidence.
“In today’s college basketball,” Keatts said. “If you’re not mentally and physically ready to play each game, it looks like anybody can beat you on any given night.”
This story was originally published December 10, 2021 at 6:00 AM.
