NC State coach Kevin Keatts answered a few questions on the Wolfpack Radio Network following the 79-76 loss at Virginia Tech.
What were the factors for NC State unable to finish this game with a win?
“Well, I'm very disappointed for our team. I mean, when you fight and play as hard as we did, and played as well as we did, not to come out with a win, that's very disappointing. We gave up a big three, towards the end of the game, and then, obviously, there were a couple 50-50 opportunities to get rebounds — one on our end, and then on the other end. I thought they got those 50-50, then obviously there's a call, a foul, and I thought both guys were going for the basketball.
“It's disappointing. We're fighting our butts off. These guys have grit all the time. It’s tough when you come away with a loss after the way, how hard you played tonight. That's the message that we gotta get. We got to finish games. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way.”
Was there a turning point after senior center Ben Middlebrooks picked up his fourth foul?
“Obviously, when Ben's not in the game and then you don't have Brandon [Huntley-Hatfield due to injury], and we get to Ismael [Diouf], certainly that was one of the things. I thought they made some runs, but we still had enough. We scored 76 points. We still scored on the offensive end. I just thought we gave up 45 points in the second half. A lot of those, we did a better job defending the three-point line, but obviously, Schutt hit a big three at the top of the key. We did a poor job. We knew not to go under that screen. He raised up and made a tough shot for them.”
Does it feel like one of those games where you're one loose ball away from probably winning?
“You look at our team and they're fighting their asses off, and we're right there. It’s a loose ball here, It’s a missed shot here. It’s a turnover here. It’s a free throw right there. That's five games now, that's been one possession games, and they could go either way. Three of those went against us, and two of them went in our favor.
“This one stings because we had to win and we could see the win. Obviously, they made some shots down the stretch.”
Junior reserve post player Ismael Diouf had seven points with Middlebrooks in foul trouble. You played 11 guys off the bench, and how was that?
“I thought our entire team played well. I'm happy that those guys got a chance to play, but we played good enough to win the game. Towards the end, we didn't make plays. With seven minutes to go, we didn't make plays, and we had opportunities to make plays. I thought they made more plays than us down the stretch.”
What were the factors for NC State unable to finish this game with a win?
“Well, I'm very disappointed for our team. I mean, when you fight and play as hard as we did, and played as well as we did, not to come out with a win, that's very disappointing. We gave up a big three, towards the end of the game, and then, obviously, there were a couple 50-50 opportunities to get rebounds — one on our end, and then on the other end. I thought they got those 50-50, then obviously there's a call, a foul, and I thought both guys were going for the basketball.
“It's disappointing. We're fighting our butts off. These guys have grit all the time. It’s tough when you come away with a loss after the way, how hard you played tonight. That's the message that we gotta get. We got to finish games. Unfortunately, it didn't go our way.”
Was there a turning point after senior center Ben Middlebrooks picked up his fourth foul?
“Obviously, when Ben's not in the game and then you don't have Brandon [Huntley-Hatfield due to injury], and we get to Ismael [Diouf], certainly that was one of the things. I thought they made some runs, but we still had enough. We scored 76 points. We still scored on the offensive end. I just thought we gave up 45 points in the second half. A lot of those, we did a better job defending the three-point line, but obviously, Schutt hit a big three at the top of the key. We did a poor job. We knew not to go under that screen. He raised up and made a tough shot for them.”
Does it feel like one of those games where you're one loose ball away from probably winning?
“You look at our team and they're fighting their asses off, and we're right there. It’s a loose ball here, It’s a missed shot here. It’s a turnover here. It’s a free throw right there. That's five games now, that's been one possession games, and they could go either way. Three of those went against us, and two of them went in our favor.
“This one stings because we had to win and we could see the win. Obviously, they made some shots down the stretch.”
Junior reserve post player Ismael Diouf had seven points with Middlebrooks in foul trouble. You played 11 guys off the bench, and how was that?
“I thought our entire team played well. I'm happy that those guys got a chance to play, but we played good enough to win the game. Towards the end, we didn't make plays. With seven minutes to go, we didn't make plays, and we had opportunities to make plays. I thought they made more plays than us down the stretch.”
