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NC State finished the non-conference slate 12-1 overall with a much-needed signature win over then No. 7-ranked Auburn on Dec. 19.

The 97-64 pasting against Loyola (Md.) on Friday was the final tune-up for playing at Miami on Jan. 3. The Hurricanes are off to a 7-4 start, but have been without junior center Dewan Huell, who has been suspended.

“I’m excited for it it,” NCSU sophomore guard Braxton Beverly said. “Last year, the first two games we had were two tough teams. [Fifth-year senior] Torin [Dorn] and I were talking about it, where we played Notre Dame at Notre Dame. They had both star players out and still beat us pretty bad. That just goes to show how deep the talent is in the ACC.”

NCSU head coach Kevin Keatts said he divides the season into three parts — non-conference, ACC regular season and the postseason.

“I just told the team that I thought we did a tremendous job in the non-conference,” Keatts said. “If you had told me we would be 12-1, I probably would have taken it before. We had our chances to be 13-0.”

The veterans know what the ACC will be like, but for freshman forward Jericole Hellems, it will be a new experience. He tied his career high with 16 points against Loyola (Md.).

“i think it will be a great environment, obviously,” Hellems said. “We played Auburn at PNC, and the environment was crazy. I know ACC play is going to be great. I am looking forward to proving a lot of people wrong and just having fun with it.”

NC State junior point guard Markell Johnson didn’t make a field goal against Loyola (Md.), much to the chagrin of Keatts.

Johnson went 0 of 2 for zero points and four assists in 14 minutes played. It was a far cry from his dominating 27-point performance in the win over Auburn on Dec. 19, and the second straight game where he struggled. He also had just four points and three assists in 12 minutes last Saturday in the 98-71 win over South Carolina-Upstate.

Johnson has proven he plays his best when the level of competition is higher. He’s averaging 20 points per game in the four contests against Power Five Conference opponents. Getting more game-in, game-out consistency is a must for Johnson with the start of the ACC schedule on the horizon.

With his penchant for delivering against the top-end teams, odds are in the Wolfpack’s favor. That doesn’t mean that Keatts isn’t going to discuss the past two contests with him.

“Markell was low energy, and when you are low energy, you don’t play for me,” Keatts said. “He didn’t play today because I thought his energy was really low. I got too many guys that work extremely hard.”

Keatts does expect Johnson to bounce back against Miami and he’s lavished praise on his pick and roll maestro in the past.

“I love him and he’s a heck of a player,” Keatts said. “He’ll be very good. I’m not mad at him.”

NC State had 25 turnovers against Auburn, 15 against South Carolina-Upstate and back up to 19 against Loyola (Md.).

Seven different NCSU players had at least two turnovers, so it wasn’t one particular culprit against the Greyhounds. Keatts hopes that will get cleaned up going into the Miami game.

“We have turned the ball over too much,” Keatts said. “I want to get back to taking care of the basketball. When you look at it, we are doing a great job of passing the ball. We have high assist games and our defense is great. We had 13 blocks, which is second-most blocks ever in PNC.”

Dorn knows that changes need to be made on ball security.

“We’ve been turning the ball over a little too much,” Dorn said. “If we cut that down, we’ll be fine.”

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