NC State advanced to 8-7 overall and 4-6 in ACC play after an 81-65 road win over Boston College Saturday.

Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts answered questions from media members following the game.

Here is the full transcript from Keatts following the win:

"It was a good win for us. The great thing about it is our big three, our interior guys, Manny Bates, Jericole Hellems and DJ [Funderburk], have been playing really good basketball. They've been special for us ever since Devon was gone, and I've been trying to get some guards to play better with them.

"I thought our guards played a really good game today. Shakeel Moore had a career-high. He did a tremendous job. I thought Cam [Hayes] played a good floor game. It was a great game because we needed to win, especially because I wanted these guys to be able to feel good about themselves.

"It was great because we got a big lead, and I was able to get some of those younger guys some playing time at the end. Those guys haven't had the opportunity to play many games because of no non-conference, but I'm excited about it. We'll take it, we'll get back, we'll go to work and continue to get better."

Obviously, Shakeel Moore had a strong game with a career-high 19 points. Can you talk about his play first off? Secondly, he passed up a transition look late in the first half when you guys seemed to be settling for jumpers. Do smart decisions like that give you more trust in your freshman guards?

"It's trying to get those guys to grow up really fast. I know people say, 'Gollee, it's February, you're trying to get them to grow up?' But any freshman in the country, unless you have been playing 25-30 minutes a game... they haven't had game experience. They haven't been able to go through what we've been through in the past with non-conference.

"I think the two guys who have taken a huge step and who had two really good practices was Shakeel Moore and Cam Hayes. Both of those guys are big-time competitors, both of those guys are working hard.

"Shak did a tremendous job. I asked him today to be a paint-touch guy. We lost our guy who could get to the rim in Devon Daniels. Really, the next guy in line who can really get into the lane and make something happen is Shakeel Moore. He went out there and he tried to execute what I wanted him to do."

You talked about after the Virginia game how your identity has changed after losing Devon Daniels for the season. For your team to be so dominant on the glass and in the paint today, how much confidence does that give you moving forward to lean on your frontcourt the rest of the way?

"Since Devon has been out, this is our third game, but we played well enough to be able to win at Syracuse and against No. 14 UVA. We just needed other guys to be able to step up and help these guys. They've been tremendous.

"Jericole obviously didn't have the hot hand, but I thought Manny and DJ were tremendous inside. Our game plan was to throw the ball inside, and our guards executed that."

What does it mean to come out of this game with a win after the tough stretch in January after Devon Daniels tore his ACL?

"It's important that we get better. We knew coming into this season it was going to be a challenge. What we didn't know is that we were going to lose our leading scorer, and obviously one of our best leaders and our best guard. We had to adapt on the fly.

"We're no different than most teams in the country. If you take the best player off of any team, they're going to struggle. I didn't know how this team would respond after losing Devon Daniels. We're 1-2 since he's gone, but we played against two unique defenses and two really good teams. One of them on their home floor, and then against the No. 14 team in the country, which we had a chance towards the end.

"Our identity has changed because the older guys, which are post guys, have embraced the opportunity."

Thomas Allen, Cam Hayes and Braxton Beverly didn’t have monster offensive numbers, but how valuable was it for them to feed the post like they did today?

"They will get better. We need them to play better. I've asked those guys I need on every given night, I need a guard to have a good night. Especially if our bigs continue to play that way. Us losing is not on our guards, it's just we need somebody else to step up.

"When you look at the numbers from the couple losses, those guys were five and six points a game, and we need better guard play meaning, I need somebody to be able to score. We've worked a lot with those guys over the last couple of days to get better.

"Tonight, our game plan was to get the ball inside the paint and play inside-out. Some of those shots that they missed, they'll make next time."

This game played out much differently than the first meeting in December. Is that more so a reflection of your team’s progression or Boston College’s struggles coming off of a three-week break?

"I can't tell you. I think we're playing a little bit better. I'm sure those guys being on a pause and missing some guys, obviously, it's tough. We went through the same thing. It's always tough when you're going through a pandemic. But I can't say what's the difference in us being able to win by a bigger margin here than we did at home.

"I know our guys are getting better. I know our guys are starting to believe in one another. We're sharing the ball more, we're doing a good job getting out in transition, and we're becoming a better defensive team. I can only talk about our end of it. I'm sure BC has got a lot of struggles right now."

Shakeel Moore really hasn’t had an offensive game like this since the first meeting with Boston College. What was the difference today for him to get back into that rhythm?

"I think the biggest thing for those who have followed him from high school days, the kid’s probably the best paint-touch guy that I've seen in a long time. He's a gritty, hard-nosed defender.

"Honestly, when you pull up his stats, he was taking a lot of threes. He had fallen in love with the three-point line. Our conversation the other day, actually it was yesterday, was, 'Man, I need you. You're the only guy really that I can consistently get into the paint.' Braxton's a three-point shooter, Thomas is a three-point shooter, Seabron does it a little bit different, so I needed him to be able to get into the paint and make plays.

"We're a good basketball a team when we have somebody that can get paint touches from our guard spot. That's why he played more minutes, and if he continues to get better, he'll play more minutes. Him and Cam Hayes, out of the younger guys, had the best couple of days of practice leading into this."

How impressive is what Moore is doing considering he was just thrown into the fire of ACC play this season?

"It's refreshing. Our backcourt of young kids will be really, really good. It's unfair to them. It's unfair to everybody what's going on, so I want to make sure that I'm not just saying NC State. But it's unfair to them, the situation that we've all been put in.

"That being said, they're getting so much valuable experience playing right now. The kid's talented. A lot of times when you're a young guy, you have to give them more instructions about what you need from them as opposed to just letting them go out there and play. I've learned with those guys to give them instructions of what we expect from them."

With BC coming out of a pause, was it tough preparing for them? Also, was it more about building from what worked in the UVA game?

"I think it was both. We had no idea who was going to play. Obviously, at any point, anybody could have played. We don't know anybody's situation, I just hope that nobody is seriously sick and hope they make it back. But it was about us building on the last couple of games. It was about us trying to figure out how we can capitalize on the things that we've done well and to limit the mental mistakes, to get better.

"If we would erase a few of the mistakes... When you think about that at the Virginia game. I went back and we looked at deflections, we only had 23, and we're still in the game. That's just not who we are. We are a deflection team that will pressure you or turn you over. So I wanted to come into this game, regardless of how many played for BC, it was a great game for us because we were able to get away from Raleigh, we were on the road, and I just wanted those guys to focus on getting better. I thought we did."

Today is the first road win of the season. How does the post-road win ice cream work during a pandemic?

"I pay a couple of guys a lot of money to try to figure that out. Chris Zupko, who is one of my directors, we were going into the Clemson. I'll give you guys this. Y'all can print this too, this is why we lost the Clemson game. Not because they scored more points than us, we lost it because we were walking into Clemson, I was walking beside him, and he's like, 'Coach, I'm going to take the bus, and I'm going to go see where we can get ice cream.' I was like aw man, that's the kiss of death. You can't do that before the game. If you do that, don't tell me. I hate that because I'm so superstitious.

[Zoom connection breaks up]

"You know what, we are going to get ice cream. We are going to get ice cream, even if it's got to be delivered to us, but we will have ice cream today."

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