NC State dropped to 7-7 overall and 3-6 in ACC play after a 64-57 loss to No. 14 Virginia Wednesday night.

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

Here is the full transcript from Keatts following the loss:

"I'm proud of these guys for their fight. This is the second game in a row that our guys have battled. This one's a little different, obviously, you got the number one team in the conference and No. 14 in the country who's in your building.

"I thought we did some good stuff. What we got to find out and figure out is, I've got to get a little bit more scoring from our guard position. For the second game in a row, basically, our bigs have been carrying us. Our team has shifted as far as who we are.

"When you look at the way Jericole Hellems is playing, you look at Manny [Bates], then DJ [Funderburk] being able to come in and contribute today. We've got to get a little bit better scoring, we got to get some more scoring from our guard position because we lost so much from Devon Daniels.

"We talked about getting better. I think this team has learned a lot about themselves in the last couple of games because we didn't know how we were going to react. Going to Syracuse without Devon for the first time, and DJ in that game, then playing the University of Virginia today."

DJ Funderburk struggled in the first half but seemed to get it going in the second half. What was the reasoning for him not playing basically the last 6:30 of the game?

"They hired me, I'm the coach.

"I felt like Manny was going to be the guy that was going to play. We wanted Manny in there. Obviously, DJ had scored, but I also wanted a guy that could be able to stop them from scoring. We needed to get stops to even get the ball back.

"I don't feel like I answer questions why so-and-so plays or not. Manny Bates has been playing tremendous for us. That was my decision, and my decision only."

How much have you seen the mentality of Jericole Hellems shift in the absence of Devon Daniels?

"He's playing well. He's doing everything that we asked him do. He's playing like a junior, he's playing like a guy who's been in the program for three years. He's gotten better, he works at it. He's a hard worker. The kid's done everything that we've asked him to do, and you've seen his game get better since he was a freshman."

Felt like the free throw line was big tonight. How frustrating was it to see such a disparity at the line?

"I thought the play that completely changed the game was I thought Huff walked and he got an and-one. I think that changed the game, it was 52-48, and I think about four minutes left in the game. That was a complete game-changer for us. Give Virginia credit, they got the calls, they got there."

Braxton was going over the long list of things you’ve dealt with this year. How frustrating is it that all of these external things that you have no control over has prevented you from gaining any momentum?

"It's frustrating. I'll be the first to tell you, the kids are frustrated. I'm glad you asked Braxton because typically I've stayed away from asking those guys how they feel.

"It's tough, but it's something that everybody's going to go through. This is an unusual year. We're going to go through ups and downs. We still got a lot of basketball to play, and we're still going to have some situations.

"Injuries are going to happen every year, but with COVID, anything can happen to you. We just got to figure out how to capitalize on our situation. I'm blessed that our guys are able to play games.

"We're getting better, but I got some young guards that need experience and once they get experience and continue to play, they're going to be really good basketball players. We're hoping that it happens sooner than later. That's just the reality of what we're dealing with this year. We're in a national pandemic."

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