NC State’s five ACC losses have been by a combined 29 points, and that includes a 18-point loss to Wake Forest on the road.
Having four losses by 11 points — with the lone ACC win coming in overtime — has hammered home the fact that each possession is important.
NC State coach Kevin Keatts said a lot of the close games have come down to about 10 players each game. It could be a 50-50 ball, bad luck or mental mistakes, but those points matter.
“it's about 10 possessions in every game that I think that really decide a game,” Keatts said. “I know a lot of people say, ‘Man, it's the one or two.’ We just got to get back to winning the hustle plays. Our guys are playing really hard, but 50-50 balls here. A bad foul here. A bad shot here. No communication a little bit on in defensive transition, and you lose a one-point game.”
NC State returns to action to host SMU at 12 p.m. on Saturday. The Mustangs have won four of their five ACC games by at least 12 points. The lone close victory was 54-52 at Virginia on Jan. 15. SMU crushed Miami (Fla.) 117-74 on Saturday.
“I don't know that anybody else in the country has had, six or seven one-possession games,” Keatts said. “Some of it is we just didn't finish the game the way we needed to. Some of it was the other team made a few more plays than we did.
“Obviously, I think we need to get a little bit sharper offensively. Offensively, I think we need to get back to a little bit more ball and player movement. We really have taken care of the basketball.”
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