NC State coach Kevin Keatts took some questions from the Wolfpack Radio Network after the 90-83 loss to Florida State on Tuesday.
How did NC State come up short tonight?
“Let’s talk about, you can’t give up 90 points. We gave up 90 points and I don’t know if in ACC play, we’ve given up 90 points. We did a poor job of understanding the defensive scouting report — no middle drives, paint-touch team and not a very good three-point shooting team. We hold those guys to five [three-pointers], which is right around their average, so 15 points from there. And only 11 made free throws.
“We did a poor job of ball-screen coverage and also giving up paint touches. When you look at the game, 46 points in the paint. When you score 83 points, you should come out here with a win. We didn’t do a good job. Our defense didn’t travel and that is the tough part about today. Our defense has been pretty good on the road thus far and tonight didn’t do it.”
Did you feel FSU was able to get out after made baskets?
“We didn’t do a good job of matching up. The one thing we obviously talked about was sprinting back and stopping the basketball. We were in a lot of scramble mode. Give Florida State credit. When we scored, even then on made baskets, they got it out as quick as they could and pushed it at us.
“Our keys on the defensive end is no middle penetration, get back in transition, which I didn’t think we did well. We just didn’t guard.
“This has been a good guarding team. It is one of those games where we tried to out-score a team instead of defending. This team has been able to hold their own on defensive end and do a very good job. Tonight, we weren’t very good defensively.”
Was NC State good enough on offense to win most games?
“I thought we did some good things. Once we settled in, but early in the first half we kind of rushed some things.
“Their pressure sped us up a little bit. We didn’t do a good job, but once we settled in, we made shots. We got out in transition, we adapted, so 83 points was good enough. We just didn’t do a good job. When you are on the road, you can’t out-score people. We tried to out-score them.”
Did playing in front of a small crowd of 4,700-plus fans affect things?
“It’s one of those deals where you have to block it out. I look at it as probably a plus for us. There was no crowd that could get them going. When you get out on the road, you know this, it’s tough to win on the road. When your defense doesn’t travel, it doesn’t help you.
“A late night game, and I talk about this all the time, the team who is ready to play at 12 p.m. or 9 p.m., comes out ready to play typically come out on top. We didn’t do a good job of that.”
The last time senior center D.J. Burns went scoreless was with Winthrop against UNC-Asheville on Jan. 28, 2021. What were they doing to take him away?
“I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] and Mo [Diarra] obviously gave us more tonight. I don’t think it was a great game for him. They scratched typically everything they do and went to ball screens. It was a tough situation for him to be able to score. We just decided to go with the other guys.”
How did NC State come up short tonight?
“Let’s talk about, you can’t give up 90 points. We gave up 90 points and I don’t know if in ACC play, we’ve given up 90 points. We did a poor job of understanding the defensive scouting report — no middle drives, paint-touch team and not a very good three-point shooting team. We hold those guys to five [three-pointers], which is right around their average, so 15 points from there. And only 11 made free throws.
“We did a poor job of ball-screen coverage and also giving up paint touches. When you look at the game, 46 points in the paint. When you score 83 points, you should come out here with a win. We didn’t do a good job. Our defense didn’t travel and that is the tough part about today. Our defense has been pretty good on the road thus far and tonight didn’t do it.”
Did you feel FSU was able to get out after made baskets?
“We didn’t do a good job of matching up. The one thing we obviously talked about was sprinting back and stopping the basketball. We were in a lot of scramble mode. Give Florida State credit. When we scored, even then on made baskets, they got it out as quick as they could and pushed it at us.
“Our keys on the defensive end is no middle penetration, get back in transition, which I didn’t think we did well. We just didn’t guard.
“This has been a good guarding team. It is one of those games where we tried to out-score a team instead of defending. This team has been able to hold their own on defensive end and do a very good job. Tonight, we weren’t very good defensively.”
Was NC State good enough on offense to win most games?
“I thought we did some good things. Once we settled in, but early in the first half we kind of rushed some things.
“Their pressure sped us up a little bit. We didn’t do a good job, but once we settled in, we made shots. We got out in transition, we adapted, so 83 points was good enough. We just didn’t do a good job. When you are on the road, you can’t out-score people. We tried to out-score them.”
Did playing in front of a small crowd of 4,700-plus fans affect things?
“It’s one of those deals where you have to block it out. I look at it as probably a plus for us. There was no crowd that could get them going. When you get out on the road, you know this, it’s tough to win on the road. When your defense doesn’t travel, it doesn’t help you.
“A late night game, and I talk about this all the time, the team who is ready to play at 12 p.m. or 9 p.m., comes out ready to play typically come out on top. We didn’t do a good job of that.”
The last time senior center D.J. Burns went scoreless was with Winthrop against UNC-Asheville on Jan. 28, 2021. What were they doing to take him away?
“I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] and Mo [Diarra] obviously gave us more tonight. I don’t think it was a great game for him. They scratched typically everything they do and went to ball screens. It was a tough situation for him to be able to score. We just decided to go with the other guys.”
