Where Kevin Keatts says NC State basketball must improve vs Texas in ACC/SEC Challenge

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There was a common problem in N.C. State basketball’s two losses at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.

The Wolfpack (5-2) saw one of its weaknesses exploited in back-to-back defeats to No. 8 Purdue (7-1) and BYU (6-1) during Thanksgiving week. It’s a weakness N.C. State will have to improve if it hopes to take down Texas (6-1) at the Lenovo Center on Wednesday (9:15 p.m., ESPN2) in the ACC/SEC Challenge.

“I think the biggest thing that stood out for us is we didn’t do a good job of finishing possessions with defensive rebounding, which I thought really cost us at getting out in transition,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said Tuesday during a 15-minute Zoom press conference.

“For the entire weekend, we gave up 28 offensive rebounds. … I thought we got hurt in those situations.”

Defensively, N.C. State allowed an average of 71.5 points on 42.5% shooting against the Boilermakers and Cougars. But an inability to snag defensive rebounds limited the Wolfpack’s ability to lean into one of its strengths.

N.C. State is second in the nation in fast-break points, averaging 22.1 per game, trailing only Kentucky (23 ppg). The Pack combined for 13 fast-break points against Purdue and BYU.

State was outrebounded by 10 and gave up 13 offensive rebounds to the Boilermakers. BYU was plus-13 in the rebounding margin and grabbed 15 offensive boards. Through seven games, the Wolfpack is 234th in defensive rebounds per game (24.7) and 285th in defensive rebounding percentage (33.2%), according to KenPom.com.

Defensive rebounding was an issue across Keatts’ first five seasons in Raleigh, but N.C. State was better in that category during back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. During its nine-game winning streak that led to an ACC Tournament championship and Final Four berth, the Wolfpack was even or won the rebounding margin in six of those games.

The absence of Mo Diarra, who had double-digit rebounds in seven of the postseason games, is a factor in State taking a…

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/where-kevin-keatts-says-nc-174316605.html

Author : The Fayetteville Observer

Publish date : 2024-12-03 17:43:00

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