NC State coach Kevin Keatts answered a few questions after the game on the Wolfpack Radio Network:
How exciting was the win?
“I’ll give Louisville credit, we came out in the first half at the start of the game, and played so well. We developed a lead and got a little cushion. At halftime, they kind of reversed it and did some good things. [UL coach] Kenny [Payne] has these guys playing hard. They were just coming off a great road win against Miami. We knew it was going to be a better crowd today and that they’d put two [wins] together.
“Give our guys credit. D.J. Horne was tremendous coming off the bench. He did a great job. I’m excited about it. We finished down the stretch and got the ball to D.J. [Burns], and he made some plays down the stretch. He found teammates and made shots himself. We kind of finished the game that way. I’m proud of our guys, and another great road win for us.”
What was your thinking starting Michael O’Connell for Horne?
“It was not a thinking. We have accountability in this program. D.J. Horne was 30 seconds late to film. Thirty seconds, I want you to know that. Everybody is held to a higher standard. He responded. He could have pouted, but he came out and played really well.”
Did Burns put on a clinic in the second half on post play?
“I thought he was great in the second half, and we just fed him, and he did good things. We went through him and he had five assists. Michael O’Connell did a great job and had six assists. I thought Mo [Diarra] came in and really gave us a presence as a bigger body (seven points and 11 rebounds) in there.”
NC State committed 24 fouls. What did you think of the defense?
“We wanted to defend and I thought in the second half, we didn’t do such a great job. There were a couple — we wanted to defend and wanted to rebound the basketball. We won the rebound battle. It was a little uncharacteristic for us and I think people jinxed us in turning the ball over 15 times. We don’t normally do that. We did a good job and it was a good team win for us.”
Sometimes depth can affect a game in different ways, but how important was it today with the foul trouble?
“It was good. I thought Kam [Woods] was good in the first half. I thought Mo did a good job in the first half. We have so many pieces. I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] came in and did a good job too. I think our depth is one of our strengths. As we continue to develop those guys, we’ll only continue to get better.”
How key were making the free throws down the stretch?
“They were huge and he [Horne] never flinched. He stepped up and knocked them down. I’m so proud of him and proud of our team. I said this, in any Division I program, road wins are so hard. We have put ourselves in a situation where we have three really good ones.”
Are you worried about having too much ice cream for road wins?
“No, we would eat ice cream all we can. I’m proud of these guys and a good win.”
How exciting was the win?
“I’ll give Louisville credit, we came out in the first half at the start of the game, and played so well. We developed a lead and got a little cushion. At halftime, they kind of reversed it and did some good things. [UL coach] Kenny [Payne] has these guys playing hard. They were just coming off a great road win against Miami. We knew it was going to be a better crowd today and that they’d put two [wins] together.
“Give our guys credit. D.J. Horne was tremendous coming off the bench. He did a great job. I’m excited about it. We finished down the stretch and got the ball to D.J. [Burns], and he made some plays down the stretch. He found teammates and made shots himself. We kind of finished the game that way. I’m proud of our guys, and another great road win for us.”
What was your thinking starting Michael O’Connell for Horne?
“It was not a thinking. We have accountability in this program. D.J. Horne was 30 seconds late to film. Thirty seconds, I want you to know that. Everybody is held to a higher standard. He responded. He could have pouted, but he came out and played really well.”
Did Burns put on a clinic in the second half on post play?
“I thought he was great in the second half, and we just fed him, and he did good things. We went through him and he had five assists. Michael O’Connell did a great job and had six assists. I thought Mo [Diarra] came in and really gave us a presence as a bigger body (seven points and 11 rebounds) in there.”
NC State committed 24 fouls. What did you think of the defense?
“We wanted to defend and I thought in the second half, we didn’t do such a great job. There were a couple — we wanted to defend and wanted to rebound the basketball. We won the rebound battle. It was a little uncharacteristic for us and I think people jinxed us in turning the ball over 15 times. We don’t normally do that. We did a good job and it was a good team win for us.”
Sometimes depth can affect a game in different ways, but how important was it today with the foul trouble?
“It was good. I thought Kam [Woods] was good in the first half. I thought Mo did a good job in the first half. We have so many pieces. I thought Ben [Middlebrooks] came in and did a good job too. I think our depth is one of our strengths. As we continue to develop those guys, we’ll only continue to get better.”
How key were making the free throws down the stretch?
“They were huge and he [Horne] never flinched. He stepped up and knocked them down. I’m so proud of him and proud of our team. I said this, in any Division I program, road wins are so hard. We have put ourselves in a situation where we have three really good ones.”
Are you worried about having too much ice cream for road wins?
“No, we would eat ice cream all we can. I’m proud of these guys and a good win.”
