NC State head coach Kevin Keatts and the Wolfpack rallied from 10 points down to top Miami 87-82 on Thursday in Coral Gables, Fla.
Here is what Keatts had to say following the win on the Wolfpack Radio Network:
When NC State was trailing by 10 points midway through the second half, what were you thinking?
“Just like I told the guys at halftime, if we would just concentrate on our defense, I thought we would win the game. There was never a panic because I thought we could score enough points to win. I just thought we gave up too many easy transition baskets. We gave up too many easy threes.
“When you look, there was a seven-minute stretch in the second half where they didn’t score. That is because our guys decided we were going to defend.”
When Miami went on a 17-2 run to end the first half, that was one of the few times this year the offense got fragmented. Was moving the ball better a big part of what was needed in the second half?
“We completely did not follow the scouting report in the first half. As a matter of fact, we did it the opposite. If we said drive to the hole and kick it, we didn’t. We had a bunch of turnovers because we didn’t share the basketball. If we said to defend the three-point line, we didn’t. I have to figure out the next game how to switch it up and tell them something different and they’ll play the other way.
“In the second half, we talked about following the scouting report and doing all the right things. I’m proud of these guys. You can tell it’s ACC time. The level of play is high for both teams. This was a very good road win for us.”
Markell Johnson started out slow and didn’t play a lot in the first half. In the second half he was a totally different player. What was your message to him at halftime?
“I needed leadership. I wanted Markell to mature for our first true road game [at Wisconsin] and to finish the game. I thought he did. Down the stretch, he made one play where we’ll talk about where he whipped the ball across with one hand and turned it over. He got to the free-throw line. He made his free throws. He controlled tempo. We were pushing the ball on makes and misses. He made some very timely baskets for us.”
Do you learn a lot about a team to fight through the adversity and still find a way to win on the road?
“I found out a lot about my team where I had some guys who were not scoring the ball. I thought early on in the game in the first half, when they were not scoring, it affected them on all parts of the court, defensively and offensively. We finally talked about ‘Stop worrying about who scores and play defense, and at the end of the night NC State will win the game.’”
How do you think the depth helped NC State down the stretch?
“I thought it was great. It’s hard to say another team is out of shape because you don’t know them. I thought we did a great job of finishing the game. Jim [Larranaga] has a great team and he has shooters, but he’s a little short-handed [seven scholarship players]. We wanted to use our depth a little bit more.”
Miami missed 11 of 12 shots during a stretch in the second half. Did you think that was your opportunity?
“You could say tired or I thought our guys challenged all the shots. I told them to make every shot tough. Even when teams get tired, we still had a couple of break downs, where Chris [Lykes] got all the way to the rim and finished. We didn’t make a couple of wide-open shots.
“We talked about if our conditioning is going to kick in, you have to make shots tough and then it will kick in. You can’t give up easy layups. The tiniest guy in the game can make a layup.”
Can anybody guard Lykes one-on-one in the ACC?
“He’s tough. He’s quick and what makes him really special is that he has the ability to get to the hole and really finish. At his size, he can stop behind ball screens and hit threes. He’s a good player.”
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