Almost one year ago, on Feb. 11, 2017, NC State played at LJVM Coliseum in Winston-Salem, N.C., and proceeded to get trounced by Wake Forest, 88-58. The 30-point loss was on the heels of getting routed at Florida State by 24 just three days before.
A mentally wounded NCSU squad returned home to get spanked by UNC by 24 four days later, and head coach Mark Gottfried was fired the following day.
What a difference a year makes.
“A big difference, as you guys can see,” NC State sophomore guard Markell Johnson added.
On Saturday, NC State controlled the action in leading for the last 33:27 of the game to prevail 90-84. In the process, the Pack improved to 18-9 overall and 8-6 in the ACC. Instead of wondering would NC State avoid finishing last in the conference, NCSU is dreaming of a potential NCAA Tournament bid.
The win over Wake Forest demonstrated a mental toughness that has been building throughout the season.
“I go back, there are certain games I saw toughness, obviously in Bahamas with Arizona, when you look at the ACC our season could go in a different way probably if we don’t win the game Pittsburgh,” first-year head coach Kevin Keatts noted. "We found a way to win.
“Every practice, every situation we try to make it a competitive situation. I took over a bunch that didn’t have a lot of success, and so I wanted to make everything competitive, and they’re playing that way now.”
Whether or not the Pack will return to the Big Dance is too early to say. It still needs probably a couple more wins to feel somewhat safe about its chances, but three of the last four games are at home. The one road contest will be at Georgia Tech on March 1. The Yellow Jackets have lost nine of its last 10 games.
“I think if we continue to win then anything is possible,” Keatts said. “We’ve put ourselves in a great situation. I know you want me to say right now that we’re in the NCAA. I think all of that will take care of itself.
“I will tell you now that we got great wins. We’ve done everything possible that a NCAA team can do: winning on the road, having great wins.”
As Johnson noted, a drastic improvement from a team that won four ACC games all of last season.
“Just trusting each other,” he explained.
Road Warriors
One stat that reflects the difference between last season’s team and this one: this was NC State’s fourth ACC road win, matching the total for overall conference victories a season ago.
The latest two came after a difficult two-game losing streak in which NC State lost 85-75 at Virginia Tech and then fell at home in a spirited 96-89 contest to rival UNC. Needing to bounce back, NCSU responded with a 74-70 win at Syracuse and Saturday’s six-point road triumph.
Thus for the fourth time in ACC play, Keatts is treating his squad to some postgame ice cream.
“We never decide where we are going to eat ice cream before the game because I think it’s bad luck,” Keatts explained.
Fifth-year senior guard Allerik Freeman, whose 24 points and eight rebounds were both team-highs for the Wolfpack, said there is no magic formula however for being successful away from home.
“We just hooping,” he stated. “We are just playing. There’s not really much too it. Just go out there and defend and shoot and the ball goes in. … The game is pretty simple.”
Saturday though may not have felt like a true road game. The announced attendance of 13,641 fans in Winston-Salem included a strong contingent of NC State fans with red pockets visible throughout the arena.
“Beating these teams at their home is hard,” sophomore center Omer Yurtseven, who scored 21 points and blocked five shots, said. “They have the crowd on their side. Today I felt like there were more State fans. I would say 50-50. … Winning on the road is always important because it builds your team’s confidence.”
Free Throw Woes Stalled The Victory
Not everything was positive from Saturday. NC State built a double-digit lead early in the second half after Yurtseven made one of his three three-pointers in the game to put the Pack up 51-40 with 15:50 left. After that, WFU never got closer than eight points until redshirt junior guard Keyshawn Woods made a three to cut the lead to 76-71 with 1:57 remaining.
NCSU responded with four-straight points to build the lead back up to 80-71 with 1:08 left, but it did not put the Deacons securely away until redshirt junior forward Torin Dorn made two free throws with 13.3 seconds left, giving NCSU an 88-82 lead.
NC State finished the game shooting just 19 of 31 at the line overall, or 61.3 percent. Between the 1:08 mark until 2.4 seconds left, NC State made only 8 of 14 free throws. Had Wake junior guard Bryant Crawford, who scored a game-high 29 points, not missed the third of three free throws after getting fouled with on a three-pointer with 15.8 seconds left, it would have been a one possession game. Instead it remained 86-82.
Freshman guard Braxton Beverly, who missed a pair at the line himself during that stretch, ended the game on a high note though by making his final two to provide the final score.
“We all got to practice free throws,” said Johnson, who made 5 of 9 on free throws.
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