Kevin Keatts: "We Completely Won the Game on the Defensive End"

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 76-60 win over Virginia Saturday afternoon.

NOTE: Click on the video in the player above to watch Keatts’ press conference.

Opening Statement

Good game for us. It was a good game because it was a really tough scout. Typically when you’re scouting a team, you have to scout their offense and figure out how to stop it. UVa is very unique on both ends of the floor. We had to come up with a great offensive game plan as well as a great defensive game plan. Tony Bennett has done a great job there. We were really concerned about them doubling our post. Obviously last year, I thought they were very effective against D.J. Burns when they doubled us in the post. We really worked on it. We had a little bit of a cheat sheet because Notre Dame doubled us the same way, and we were able to find people. I thought we completely won the game on the defensive end. Our guys were locked in. We talked about being a better defensive team this particular night. We found a way. We’re excited, 3-0, first time being 3-0 in the ACC since 2003. We’re excited about where we are right now.

On team depth...

We played nine guys. The three guys that were really good off the bench at Notre Dame were Mo [Diarra], Ben [Middlebrooks], and Michael [O’Connell]. I thought M.J. Rice came in and gave us a lift tonight. I thought Michael and Ben were good again. One of the things we wanted to do after Christmas was help develop our bench. It’s tough. Kam Woods didn’t play tonight, and he’s a good player. We get caught in rotation, and I’m asking guys to buy into roles, play, and take advantage of every minute you’re in the game. I think everybody is buying into that.

On O’Connell’s impact...

The guy that loves Michael O’Connell more than anybody is D.J. Horne because he can now slide over to the two and score the ball. Michael is the closest thing I have had in a long time to a true point guard; even Jarkel Joiner was a combo guard. He allows our other guys to be able to play. He completely understands his role. He would rather leave a game with four or five assists than try to score 12 or 13 points. When you have older guys who are buying into their role, you have a chance to be really good as a team.