Delayed flight west left NC State men’s basketball “zombies.” Yet No. 13 Purdue awaits
Getting to San Diego proved to be more of a challenge than N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack expected early Wednesday morning.
Now in Southern California for the Rady’s Children’s Invitational tournament, the Wolfpack faces on-court challenges it has yet to see this season.
Originally scheduled to depart on a charter flight around 7 p.m. Tuesday night, N.C. State’s traveling party waited five hours before finally departing from RDU airport at 12:23 a.m. Wednesday. After the five-hour cross-country trip, the team landed at 3:01 a.m Pacific Time.
Less than six hours later, Keatts spoke with reporters from the team’s hotel to discuss Thursday’s game with No. 13 Purdue (5-1), the first ranked team the reigning ACC champion Wolfpack (5-0) will play this season.
“We’re probably going to be zombies,” Keatts said. “You know, hopefully we can get adjusted before we play tomorrow. But today, I don’t know what to expect.”
Of course, Purdue brings an extra level of emotion for N.C. State. The teams met last April in the Final Four semifinals at Glendale, Arizona, with the Boilermakers winning, 63-50.
That ended the magical nine-game winning streak that had carried the Wolfpack to the program’s first ACC championship since 1987 and its first Final Four appearance since 1983.
With few exceptions, Purdue and N.C. State are far different teams just seven months later. Zach Edey, the 7-foot-4 center, is no longer manning the middle for the Boilermakers. Neither is 6-9 DJ Burns for the Wolfpack.
“This is completely different,” Keatts said. “I mean, you talk about last year’s teams we had two really good post players. I have a lot of respect for the guys that we have now and the guys that Purdue has. But, at the end of the day, you have two guys that you’re probably not going to see in college basketball again in DJ Burns and then Zach Edey.
The Wolfpack started this season with five home games against teams from lower-rated conferences. None of the five teams N.C. State has defeated are rated better than No. 199 nationally, according to KenPom.com.
Purdue is the first of four consecutive games against teams from power conferences like the Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and ACC.
After facing the Boilermakers on Thursday at LionTree Arena in San Diego, California, the Wolfpack will play either No. 23 Mississippi (5-0) or Brigham Young (5-0) on Friday at the same venue.
Upon returning home, N.C. State has home games at the Lenovo Center against Texas (5-1) on Dec. 4 and Florida State (7-1) on Dec. 7.
Plus, a game at No. 1 Kansas (6-0) looms on Dec. 14.
“With the step up in competition, I think our guys know that it’s our sixth game, and they’re excited about playing another opponent,” Keatts said. “They don’t kind of look at it the way we do. These guys lock in and what I try to do with them is prepare for the next team. And yes, it’s a very good Purdue team, and it’s a great step up from some of the teams that we played. But I think our guys just look at it and say here’s another opportunity.”