NC State ‘played young’ against Wright St, drops third game in a row with 84-70 loss
The N.C. State basketball program was on a high 24 hours ago.
One of the best days in recent years off the court was followed by one of the lowest moments on it.
Wright State, out of the Horizon League, rolled into Raleigh with just three wins. Its best win was against Purdue Fort Wayne on Dec. 2. The key word there is was. Its best now is a 84-70 road win over N.C. State.
A day earlier, the Pack found out it wouldn’t get a postseason ban from the NCAA, giving them hope for a postseason this year. It’s now hard to see that happening with this young team.
“The obvious is we didn’t play well tonight,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “We did not play well on either end. We just, for whatever reason, we got five guys who have been leading us. Everyone didn’t play well tonight and when that happens I have to figure out as a coach how to get a win. I’m a little disappointed we weren’t able to put it together.”
It seems the best way for a team to get a little confidence going is to play this young Wolfpack team. By the time the game ended the Raiders felt like they owned PNC Arena. At the 4:52 mark, with Wright State up double figures, fans started heading for the exits.
There wasn’t much left to see. Wright State was full of confidence, celebrating each big basket, and there were a lot, on the bench. N.C. State struggled to get anything going. Two games removed from taking then-No. 1 Purdue to overtime, the Pack played from behind against a team Purdue beat by 44.
Wright State is No. 196 in the KenPom rankings. The only school State has played ranked lower was Bethune-Cookman (350). The Raiders might as well be in the top five. They looked like world beaters against the Pack, especially in the post.
Raiders center Grant Basile led the team with 23 points and 14 rebounds. When he wasn’t dominating the paint, A.J. Braun was just as tough, finishing with 13 and 8.
The loss overshadowed another impressive performance by rookie guard Terquavion Smith, who scored a career-high 27 points. Unfortunately for most of the first half, Smith appeared to be the only player interested in being there. He started the game 6 of 10 from the field, but the rest of the team was 3 of 15 in that same span.
State led by one at the break, but Wright State started the second half on a 9-2 run and never looked back. The Pack’s last lead was 40-39 at the 18:39 mark. N.C. State got as close as six in the second half, but went cold as the Raiders heated up.
Wright State shot 53 percent for the game, while the ice-cold Pack made 37 percent of its shots.
“Hopefully this is a one-off,” Keatts said. “Getting ready to go home for Christmas, young team not mentally focused, locked in enough. Hopefully, that’s what it is. I don’t know that, but I hope that’s the case.”
Keatts won’t know until the team takes the floor again, which will be next week at Miami. Will there be any changes in the preparation or approach leading up to that contest?
“The funny thing is I thought we had two really good days of practice,” Keatts said. “Once again, you can’t predict when you got so many new guys. This is the first time I felt like we played like we were young. From the start to the finish, I thought we played young.”
Here’s what we learned:
BIGS HAVE BIG SUCCESS
Stop if you’ve heard this before, but an opposing big man had a big day against N.C. State. That’s a recurring theme this season and will probably continue to be the case. It’s to be expected against teams like Purdue and when State gets into league play, but Wright State?
The Raiders did a copy and paste of what every other team has done against the Pack all year — throw the ball inside and get easy buckets. The formula has worked all season. Wright State scored 46 points in the paint against N.C. State.
In the previous three games, opponents outscored the Pack 130-92 in the paint.
“We did a poor job defending the paint,” Keatts said. “We gave up 46 points in the paint, that’s never a great formula to win.”
SMITH HOT, REST OF TEAM NOT
If writing about State’s lack of post presence seems repetitive, then so will this next part — Terquavion Smith is getting better each game. Smith has stepped his game up this month.
“I feel like I bring a lot of energy, that’s just how I play,” Smith said. “I try to spread my energy to my teammates and get us down whenever we need it.”
Unfortunately against Wright State he didn’t get much help, at least early in the game.
Smith scored the first eight points for N.C. State before his teammates got into the scoring act. It didn’t help that back-court mates Cam Hayes and Dereon Seabron got off to slow starts. Hayes started the game 0 of 6 from the floor. The duo finished a combined 6-24 from the floor. Jericole Hellems finished with 14, but scored 12 in the first half.
“Seabron, who’s been great for us, he didn’t have it tonight,” Keatts said. “We have to figure out, he’s not going to have a double-double every night, how to get better and how someone else can step up.”
IT DOESN’T GET ANY EASIER
After breaking for the holidays N.C. State has ACC play the rest of the way. The Pack already played one ACC opponent — Louisville on Dec. 4 — and was two late 3-pointers away from winning. Four days after Christmas, N.C. State travels to Miami. It follows that up with a home game against Florida State on Jan. 1.
This story was originally published December 21, 2021 at 8:56 PM.
