Here are some the thoughts from those who covered NC State Wolfpack basketball's 68-61 win at Virginia on Wednesday evening.
• Matt Carter, TheWolfpacker.com — Quick hits from NC State's win at Virginia
This is the Wolfpack's fourth straight ACC road win. That has not happened in the same season since the national title-winning 1974 squad did it. Technically, the last time NC State won four straight ACC away contests was the final two league games of 1980-81 and first two of 1981-82.
This is the first time that the Wolfpack has won a game against a ranked opponent on the road since it upset No. 10 UNC in overtime on Jan. 27, 2018 during head coach Kevin Keatts' first season in Raleigh.
Under Keatts, who is now 9-19 against ranked opponents for NC State and 2-2 this year, the Pack has had a fair share of close calls in road game vs. rated teams. State is 3-10 vs. teams in the top 25 away from home, but six of those losses have been by seven points or less.
Virginia’s pack-line defense is notorious for being tough around the rim, but it was no match for the Pack.
NC State outscored the Cavaliers 30-16 in the paint.
Fifth-year senior forward DJ Funderburk scored 14 points on 5-of-10 shooting and added six rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal.
“That's the strength of our team right now,” Keatts said. “It’s why we're throwing the ball into DJ or Manny Bates or our guys are driving it and getting in the paint. We're playing to our strength. That's the way we practice now, and it was good. We're looking for our bigs, they understand that, and they accepted a bigger role now.”
Redshirt sophomore center Manny Bates also came up big for the Pack. He finished with eight points on 3-of-6 shooting along with three rebounds and one block.
Most notably, he tied his career-high of three assists which he originally set in the road win over Pittsburgh last Wednesday.
Virginia consistently double-teams opposing bigs once they get the ball in the post, but every time they did so to the 6-11 Bates, he had an answer.
“His skill level is getting better,” Keatts said. “The next step, and I know you guys are going to laugh when I say this, but the next step is I'm going to get him shooting threes like Jay Huff. He's put in a lot of work. Now he thinks he's Magic Johnson, and he's not anywhere near that, but he's passing the ball well.”
• Jonas Pope IV, Raleigh News & Observer — NC State upsets Virginia for third consecutive victory
As the shot clock ran down and a 7-footer running his way, Cam Hayes banked in a long 3-pointer.
It was desperation shots like that, shots that fell, a sure sign that little could go wrong for N.C. State. The Wolfpack may have a chance to salvage its season and next month it might look back at its 68-61 win over No. 15 Virginia as the turning point.
N.C. State won its third game in a row. It also won its fourth consecutive ACC game on the road, something it hasn’t done since the 1973-74 season, and is trending in the right direction at the right time. It was the Wolfpack’s second straight win at UVA (15-6, 11-4) and just its second win in John Paul Jones Arena in 10 attempts.
N.C. State has now gone on the road and came away with wins at Boston College, Pittsburgh, Wake Forest and UVA.
The Wolfpack only trailed for 88 seconds, basically controlling the game from the start. N.C. State led by as many as 14 in the first half and was up by double digits midway through the second half after a dunk by D.J. Funderburk.
Hayes led the team in scoring with 16 points, one of three players in double figures for the Pack (11-9, 7-8). It was the third straight game in double digits for Hayes, who is looking more comfortable in his role at point guard.
“I feel like it’s my confidence, just me believing in myself more,” Hayes said. “I can credit my teammates for lifting me up and making sure I keep my head straight.”
Funderburk finished 14 points and Shakeel Moore had 12. Kevin Keatts has led the Wolfpack to 16 ACC road wins during his tenure in Raleigh. UVA was the fourth ranked team N.C. State faced this season and its second win.
“We talked over the last two or three weeks about playing a complete game,” Keatts said. “To say how proud I am of these guys, it’s really unbelievable the fight that we’ve shown over the last three weeks.”
Thankfully for the Pack, the team was able to hold off Virginia’s late-game efforts behind Funderburk’s run, a huge 3-pointer from Hayes with just over three minutes remaining and critical free throws made from the team’s guards.
“Sometimes the greatest thing about freshman guys is that they don’t know what they don’t know,” Keatts said. “They don’t get nervous because they can just step up, never having been in that situation. It was good, honestly, to see our guards step up and make free throws because the weird thing about it is that our best free-throw shooters this year have been our post guys.”
Next up, NC State will return home to take on Pittsburgh at 4 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 28, in a rematch of their last matchup on Feb. 17. After that, the Pack will have an opportunity to finish the season strong with games against Notre Dame and Virginia Tech.
“I think it comes down to buy in,” Keatts said. “I think it comes down to a sense of toughness. It’s a mindset. If you believe that you’re not good, then you’re not good...I’ve asked them to grow up a little quicker than they needed to...Everybody is genuinely happy for one another, and typically you don’t get that from a team...Our guys are completely bought in to what we’re trying to go through.”
Virginia wasn’t panicking after back-to-back road losses at Florida State and Duke. Maybe it’s time to start.
Floundering at both ends of the floor, the No. 15 Cavaliers fell 68-61 to North Carolina State on Wednesday at John Paul Jones Arena, losing their third straight game and falling at home for the first time this college basketball season.
“We’re going to have to figure some things out,” said senior forward Jay Huff. “But it’s not the end of the world.”
Freshman guard Cam Hayes scored 16 points and senior forward D.J. Funderburk added 14 for the Wolfpack (11-9, 7-8 ACC), which won its third straight.
Senior forward Sam Hauser led Virginia with 21 points. Huff added 19 points and 11 rebounds, and junior guard Kihei Clark finished with 11 points and seven assists. Most of that production came during a desperate second half.
Virginia (15-6, 11-4) went to Raleigh on Feb. 3 and beat the Wolfpack 64-57. But that was three weeks ago and this is a very different looking UVA team now, one struggling to defend the paint defensively, and enduring long scoring droughts offensively.
“We need a lot of things with this team to be on and right,” said Virginia coach Tony Bennett. “And it’s a hard way to go to be that sharp mentally and that good physically to beat teams that are playing well. But that’s just this team this year. When it’s a little off or it’s not right, then you can lose.”
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