What they're saying about NC State basketball's win at Wake Forest
Here are some the thoughts from those who covered NC State Wolfpack basketball's 80-62 win at Wake Forest on Saturday afternoon.
• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Quick hits from NC State's win at Wake Forest
This is the first time that NC State has won three straight ACC games on the road in the same season since the 2001-02 Wolfpack squad did it. That team went 23-11 overall and broke NC State's lengthy NCAA Tournament drought by making it to the second round of the Big Dance before losing a thriller to second-seeded Connecticut.
The star of that squad was the late Anthony Grundy and a promising freshman named Julius Hodge.
The 2002-03 squad won its final two ACC road games before the following season NC State won its conference road opener, which is technically the last time the Wolfpack had won three straight league away contests.
Four previous times under head coach Kevin Keatts the Wolfpack had won two straight on the road but failed in an attempt for a third consecutive victory.
The Wolfpack outscored Wake Forest 28-5 off of turnovers and 19-1 in fastbreak situations.
NC State also outrebounded the Deacs 33-32 and outscored them 10-9 on second-chance opportunities.
“We can talk until we’re blue in the face about scheme, but when the other team scores 28 points on turnovers, and you score five, they score 10 on offensive rebounds and outscore you 19-1 on fastbreaks, I don’t think you’re got a good chance to win,” Wake Forest head coach Steve Forbes said. “Those things are effort and communication and toughness, and I thought they had all that today and we didn’t.”
Saturday marked the third-straight road win for the Wolfpack in the month of February.
Until this weekend, NC State hadn’t won three consecutive ACC games on the road since the last two away games of the 2002-03 season, and the first of the 2003-04 campaign.
It also marked the first time since 2001-02 that the Pack won three straight conference games on the road in the same season.
How good a day did N.C. State have offensively? Senior forward D.J. Funderburk missed his first six shot attempts and still finished in double figures.
It was just one of those games where everything clicked. The Wolfpack put together one of its best offensive games to win its second straight in an 80-62 win over Wake Forest.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts told the media afterwards. “I thought it was the best team basketball we’ve played.”
The Wolfpack finished with five players in double figures and resembled the team that jumped out to a 6-1 start to the season. State scored 50 points in the first half, the most they’ve had in ACC play in the opening half, and never trailed after going up 17-14 on a three from freshman Cam Hayes in the first half.
Hayes, who played high school hoops nearby at Greensboro Day, was one of the stars of the day for the Wolfpack (10-9, 6-8 ACC). In his eighth start, the 6-3 guard got it going early, knocking down consecutive 3s in the first half to spark the team. He finished the game with 11. Hayes didn’t have to worry about carrying the scoring load on a day when everyone who touched the ball appeared to be on their A game.
Senior guard Braxton Beverly knocked down two straight 3s in the first half to push the lead to 13. That came moments after senior forward D.J. Funderburk (11 points) threw down back-to-back dunks in transition. Beverly (10) and Funderburk’s spurt almost made the strong performances by freshman Dereon Seabron (14) and junior Jericole Hellems (14) fly under the radar.
“I just think we played together on the defensive end,” Hellems said when asked what led to the balanced attack, “and stayed rolling with the punches that Wake Forest gave throughout the game.”
The end of the season has arrived, quietly, like fog in the night. At times, as teams go on COVID pauses and postponed games evaporate into the ether, it has felt endless. Then again, so few games have been played compared to what we’re all used to that at other times it feels like things are still getting started.
The finish line has come near enough to see clearly, and if anyone’s going to get pointed in the right direction before it’s too late, now is the time.
Saturday was the day the Triangle teams, each in its own way, finally turned a corner.
N.C. State, in a blowout win over Wake Forest, looked like it has.
North Carolina, in a blowout win over COVID-slowed Louisville, looked like it has.
Duke, which upended Virginia as a rare Cameron underdog, looked like it has.
And not a moment too soon. After Saturday, N.C. State and Duke will each have four games left while North Carolina has three ACC games to go -- assuming all of that proceeds as planned, which it rarely has this season. Everyone will be encamped in Greensboro again before you know it, maybe even before new ACC commissioner Jim Phillips is.
The Wolfpack passed through Greensboro on Saturday on its way back from a comfortable 80-62 win at Wake Forest, its third straight ACC win on the road. The last time N.C. State did that, Julius Hodge was a freshman.
The first of the three this time around was the blowout of Boston College’s COVID-ravaged junior varsity team two weeks ago, an aberration bordering on farce even by the standards of this season. But hanging on at Pittsburgh on Wednesday in the wake of the dismal Duke debacle was a potentially season-defining moment for the Wolfpack, and N.C. State followed that up not with regression but progression, taking it to the Demon Deacons from the start and never letting up.
It’s almost impossible to quantify how far N.C. State has come in a week. Some of that is the natural evolution of young players, placed in roles for which they’re far from ready, learning how to handle the workload. But some of that, to echo the word Kevin Keatts would use, boils down to simple pride.
• Ethan Joyce, Winston-Salem Journal — In a week's time, Wake Forest follows a high with two lows
But for the second straight game, the Deacons saw a team pull away in the first half. And Forbes circled back to issues he’s circled since he got with the team and started ironing out its identity.
His team struggles in transition defense, the coach said, it’s never handled the battles for 50-50 balls well. Forbes mentioned effort when talking about both. And that effort lacked in these last pair of games. Against Duke on Wednesday, an 84-60 loss, Forbes got ejected for double technical fouls and afterward, said his defense didn’t establish a presence. He mentioned the same on Saturday, and that was reflected by his players.
“A lot of the games that we played in, even if we had lost, you could see our effort was there,” Isaiah Mucius said. “We gave it our all and we fought and we made them earn that win. These last couple games defensively, we didn’t make them earn it.”
Compare the two games against State, for example. Wake Forest still had the same issues of possessing the ball — it was one of two games the Deacons’ set their season high of 20. But still, there was Wake Forest, tightening the game up in the end. It still turned into a loss, but the 72-67 result could be stomached.
The last two games, they haven’t been to Forbes.
““Every team has to play a certain way to be successful,” Forbes said. “And our way is our way, and it’s a very small margin of error.”
All season long, the Wolfpack (10-9, 6-8 ACC) has gone as far as its guard play does with that theme recurring this afternoon with impressive efforts from freshman Cam Hayes, redshirt freshman Dereon Seabron and senior Braxton Beverly, all turning in strong outings. Propelled by the fact that five players finished in double figures, NC State won its third straight ACC road game in a single season for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
“I’m so proud of these guys,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “I thought it was the best basketball, best team game that we’ve played. [We had] five guys in double figures...Give Dereon Seabron credit. I thought he played well. I thought he was energetic. He did a great job. Everybody that we put in the game affected the game in a positive way. I thought we took another big step towards maturing...I’m excited we were able to get 28 points off turnovers. A lot of good things. A lot of good things that we can build on.”
Seabron had easily his best performance as a member of the Wolfpack, finishing with a career-high and team-leading 14 points, scoring 10 points and adding six rebounds before the end of the first half. The redshirt freshman was an active force all day, finishing with career highs in rebounds with nine and steals with four while tying his career high in assists, with three.
“One thing I did to grow was make sure I was in the gym, keep working on my game, keep getting better and getting more reps up,” Seabron said. “And yeah I think it was a big confidence thing like me being out there, getting more playing time, I just got in the flow of the game more, and I just got comfortable.”
Joining Seabron as an active force was Hayes, who continued his stellar play after erupting against Pitt. Hayes finished with 11 points, five assists, four rebounds and three steals while shooting 60% from deep.
“When he’s making shots he becomes a really good point guard for us,” Keatts said. “Because now he can drive the lane and he can make plays. He’s able to step behind the 3-point line and make shots. He’s got great size as a point guard. He’s what you want in a point guard in the ACC. I think his confidence is starting to grow in those areas.”
• Joe Giglio, WRALSportsFan.com — NC State rolls Wake Forest for third straight ACC road win
The unusually loud fake crowd noise at Joel Coliseum couldn't slow NC State. Neither could Wake Forest.
Jericole Hellems led a balanced scoring effort for the Wolfpack in an 80-62 road win over the Demon Deacons on Saturday.
Hellems finished with 14 points for the Wolfpack (10-9, 6-8 ACC), who improved to 7-1 against Wake under coach Kevin Keatts.
Dereon Seabron (14 points) and Braxton Beverly (10 points) helped the Wolfpack win its third straight ACC road game for the first time since the 2001-02 season.
"I thought it was the best team game that we’ve played," Keatts said.
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