Kevin Keatts: "Win or Lose, We Have a Lot of Fight in Us"

NC State head coach Kevin Keatts met with the media following the Wolfpack's 74-68 win over Miami Tuesday evening.

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

Opening Statement

I want to personally thank our students and everyone who attended the game tonight. Tuesday, nine o’clock game, we had dropped a couple on the road. There were a few excuses to maybe not see this team. I was glad for everybody who showed up. I really appreciate that. That means a lot to our guys because, obviously at the end, it got really loud, and they got involved in the game. What a great defensive performance I thought we had. I think this was Miami’s lowest field goal percentage the entire year. Also from the three-point line, I thought the guys did a good job. We put Michael O’Connell in the starting lineup, and I thought he really ran our team, really facilitated, and allowed D.J. Horne to get off the ball and score the ball. It was really good to have Casey Morsell back. Good win for us, it was a really good win. This is a good Miami team, and it was good to get back home and take care of business.

On the sense of urgency...

We went on the road, lost to two teams that are 21-1 at their place, and you can’t let that define you. In this league, anyone can beat you, and you have to have short-term memory. You have to try as much as possible to take care of home court and I thought we did. I thought we played desperate basketball like we had to have it. I was proud to see that out of this bunch.

On the growth and fight of this team...

I will tell you that, win or lose, we have a lot of fight in us. We’ve been in a deficit at halftime the last three or four games and we’ve had to climb back. We just wanted to stay the course and drive the ball when the shot is not going in. I thought we really shot the basketball well tonight and D.J. Horne made some huge free throws for us down the stretch.

On the four-guard lineup...

The rebounding was the product of the smaller line-up. Because of the fact that they play four guards and they shoot a lot of threes we thought we could play them better in that situation.