Here are some the thoughts from those who covered NC State Wolfpack basketball's 72-67 win over Wake Forest on Wednesday afternoon.
• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Quick hits from NC State's win over Wake Forest
Wake Forest made 24 of 58 shots from the field for 41.4 percent overall, and that included WFU closing the game strong and making five of its final seven shot attempts.
It is easily the lowest shooting percentage allowed in a game this year versus ACC competition thus far for the Wolfpack. The previous low was 44.3 percent by UNC when the Wolfpack defeated the Tar Heels in Raleigh on Dec. 22.
NC State's defense also forced 20 turnovers, the most in an ACC game this season.
A seemingly good night for a Pack team desperate to claim its first win in 2021 turned sour when fifth-year senior guard Devon Daniels fell to the ground with an apparent left leg injury at the 9:03 mark of the second half.
Daniels, who is the Pack’s leading scorer this season, remained on the floor for several minutes before eventually being helped off the court straight to the locker room by two trainers without applying pressure to his left leg. He was seen moments later on crutches in the tunnel but never returned to the game, or even the bench.
“We're going to pray for Devon and make sure everything's okay,” NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I don't have an update for you guys. Hopefully I'll get something in the next 24-to-48 hours. We're going to enjoy as much as we can, our win. We're going to try to build on it.
“Our guys in the locker room are extremely happy. It's been a long couple of weeks for us when you think about what we've had to go through as far as COVID, then not having Manny Bates, Braxton Beverly not being able to practice, it's taken a toll on us.”
N.C. State has had COVID-19 issues. The Wolfpack has had injuries to Manny Bates and Braxton Beverly. It has been a season of adversity, of unpredictability.
Now there is more.
Having lost four consecutive ACC games, the Pack badly needed a victory Wednesday against Wake Forest at PNC Arena. The Pack got the win 72-67, but had senior Devon Daniels leave the game with a leg injury.
Moments after pushing his point total to 20 for the game, Daniels had to be helped to the locker room. He made a twisting drive into the lane and lost the ball as he fell to the court, grabbing his left leg. He was not able to put any weight on his leg as he left the court with 9:03 left in the second half.
NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said after the game that he had not received an update on the injury. Keatts said it was a “shock” to see Daniels go down but liked the way his team regained its composure and finished out the game.
“I’ve learned in this league that wins are golden,” Keatts said. “We’re going to pray for Devon and hope everything is OK. We’re going to enjoy, as much as we can, our win and we’re going to try and build on it.”
N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said Wednesday night it might take 24 to 48 hours before he would know the severity of Devon Daniels’ injury.
Talk about a tense 24 to 48 hours for the Wolfpack.
The sight of Daniels down on the court at PNC Arena on Wednesday, grabbing his left leg, was a collective jolt to the system for the Wolfpack. The senior, who had scored 20 points against Wake Forest, who had been the best player on the floor, was looking for more, making a driving move into the lane against the Deacons’ Jalen Johnson.
Down Daniels went. The ball bounced out of bounds. The question now is where the Pack’s season will go should the injury be serious and N.C. State be without its leading scorer.
For a college basketball team running out of time to get back on track, NC State needed a win in the worst way on Wednesday night.
Despite a scary second-half moment, the Wolfpack took a step in the right direction with a 72-67 win against Wake Forest to earn its first victory in 2021.
“Well, it’s good to get back on the right track,” said NC State coach Kevin Keatts, whose squad snapped a four-game losing streak in its first game at PNC Arena in nearly three weeks.
“I thought our guys played extremely hard. We’ve had two really good practices and what made it special was, for the first time, I’ve had everybody in practice and everybody was healthy. The competition in practice was really good.”
In a game that featured 40 combined turnovers, the Wolfpack (7-5, 3-4 ACC) forced a few more than the Demon Deacons (4-7, 1-7) to prevail in what ended up being a two-possession contest in the closing minutes.
The NC State men’s basketball team has lost four of its last five games, leaving much to be desired. However, the play of freshmen point guards Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore gives the indication that big things are on the way for the Pack.
“Yeah, you know Cam [Hayes] and Shak[eel Moore], they’re both really competitive,” said redshirt senior guard Devon Daniels in November. “Cam [Hayes] has like a smooth, never-get-too-frantic pace to his game. He’s really a well-rounded guard. [Moore], he’s athletic, very tenacious on defense. And both of them bring a lot to our team.”
The offense as a whole often looks stagnant, as if it’s stuck in mud, and a huge reason for that is the sheer lack of playmakers on the roster. Markell Johnson wasn’t a perfect point guard, but he offered poise and skill, as well as a steady veteran presence when the team needed it last season. Johnson finished his senior season averaging 6.8 assists. The current leader for the Pack, Daniels, averages 3.2.
NC State went from being in the middle of the pack in assists per game to dead last in the ACC. Much of that can be attributed to the workload that Moore and Hayes have had to endure early in their careers.
“Our young guys have had moments where they were really good,” said head coach Kevin Keatts in November. “But because they’re young guys, that keeps them from being consistent. And it’s not their fault, they just haven’t been able to go through college practices for this long and know how to be consistent every day.”
• Joe Giglio, WRALSportsFan.com — NC State breaks out of slump with win over Wake Forest
Daniels led the Wolfpack with an efficient 7-of-10 shooting effort but left the game midway through the second half with an apparent knee injury.
"It was good to get back on the right track," NC State coach Kevin Keatts, who improved to 4-0 at home against Wake. "It was good for our guys to be happy in the locker room."
When asked for an injury update on Daniels, Keatts said he didn't have one yet.
"We’re going to pray for Devon and make sure everything is OK," Keatts said.
Wake Forest was able to capitalize on Daniels' extended absence. Jahcobi Neath capped an 8-0 run with a 3-pointer at 3:30 to cut NC State's lead down to 58-52.
Jericole Hellems (17 points) hit a jumper to end the Wake run and give the Wolfpack some breathing room.
As a team, NC State went 7 of 14 from the 3-point line but had its own turnover problems with 19.
Wake was coming off of its first ACC win of the season (76-75 over Pittsburgh this past Saturday) but had trouble taking care of the ball. The Deacs turned the ball over 21 times and struggled against NC State’s pressure defense.
"It's impossible to win a basketball game when you turn the ball over 21 times," Wake coach Steve Forbes said. "I don't care who you're playing."
Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Until the late push, turnovers served as the dominate trait for the offense.
The Deacons had 21 of them, setting a new season high. Wake Forest had 20 last week in a loss to UNC.
Wake Forest has battled with the turnovers all season — in six of the Deacons previous 11 games, they’ve registered at least 15 of them — and faced the problem immediately against N.C. State. The Deacons did find some steadiness in the second half. The team authored a near six-minute stretch of turnover-less basketball, which ended shorting after Daniels left the game.
"This is the most disappointed I've been as the head coach of Wake Forest since I've taken the job," coach Steve Forbes said. "Not that we lost, but the way we lost.
"We just didn't play well. I give credit to N.C. State, they came out in the beginning of the game and we looked lost against full-court pressure, like we hadn't even worked on it."
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