OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME: Seton Hall
Here is a look back and some of the highs and lows from NC State's 94-83 loss to Seton Hall in the NCA Tournament.
The first season of Kevin Keatts’ tenure at NC State came to a close Thursday as the Wolfpack fell to Seton Hall, 94-83, inside Intrust Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.
With the loss, NC State concludes its season 21-12 overall.
The Wolfpack never led although they managed to hang around and, at times, ask questions of Seton Hall. The Pirates, however, always seemed to have the answer when it mattered most.
After Seton Hall opened up a double-digit lead in the first half NC State cut the deficit to one point at 31-30 but the Pirates quickly went on a 7-0 run to create separation.
There was several instances in the second half where the Pack narrowed the gap but Seton Hall never seemed flustered and always responded. The score was 69-66 in favor of the Pirates with over eight minutes remaining -- a one possession contest.
Yet Seton Hall closed it out.
The Pirates scored the next eight points of the game and that is essentially the how things went the entire afternoon for NC State. While the Pack technically was within a short rally from taking the advantage, there never seemed to be an instance where State looked like it would leapfrog Seton Hall on the scoreboard.
HIGHLIGHTS
Allerik Freeman left it all on the court.
He transferred from Baylor to NC State nad was not implicit when asked why he made the move. Freeman wanted to go to a major school where he could get extensive playing time.
His season was an interesting journey but Freeman never wavered or seemed impacted by the ups and downs or the criticism, some of the hardest of which came from the team’s fan base.
Freeman scored a career-best 36 points and retrieved seven rebounds in his final college game. He went for 22 points in the second half in a valiant attempt to help NC State find a way to win.
* All teams have a X-factor and with NC State a strong case can be made that Torin Dorn Jr. is that player.
Dorn finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for the Wolfpack. Like Freeman, his work kept the game competitive and was much needed, as Seton Hall is a strong interior team that rebounds well.
He finished with over a third of NC State’s total rebounds (34).
* Lennard Freeman also laid it on the line in his final college game. He came off the bench to core 13 points and pull down six rebounds. It was needed as NC State did not get its typical production from Omer Yurtseven.
* NC State’s 2017-18 season can be considered a highlight, with the depth of it to be determined in the coming years.
If Keatts can build a consistent winner and competes for or wins titles, this first season at NC State for him will be looked upon as the genesis of the Pack’s resurgence.
If State struggles, languishes or hovers around the outskirts of the NCAA Tournament -- reaching the big dance but not making serious noise -- then this past season will be the outlier.
All signs point to this being different. The Wolfpack overachieved in 2017-18. The process will continue but Keatts is poised to do great things.
LOWLIGHTS
* Omer Yurtseven struggled. He scored only two points before fouling out in what many feel will also be his final college game.
The Pirates are a physical team and the contest did not mesh well with Yurtseven’s typically finesse approach. He suffered foul woes, most of the players in the game did as well, and he did not get involved to the extent that he could be counted on. Subsequently, he played only four minutes in the second half.
* Braxton Beverly also fouled out. He finished with no points, missing all five shot attempts from the floor.
* Abdul-Malik Abu’s college career ended with a NCAA Tournament game but unfortunately for him he did not score as well. Abu had an uneven senior campaign, a contrast to the double-double threat he was the previous two seasons.
NC State was 16-of-27 from the free throw line (59.3 percent). Sometimes it was the Wolfpack clanging shots from the charity stripe that prevent the team from climbing all the way back from its deficit.
PACK +/-
+/- is the points scored by a team minus the points allowed by a team while a certain player is on the floor.
| Wolfpack Player | Plus/Minus |
| Lennard Freeman | +1 |
| Lavar Batts Jr. | -3 |
| Braxton Beverly | -5 |
| Sam Hunt | -5 |
| Abdul-Malik Abu | -8 |
| Omer Yurtseven | -8 |
| Torin Dorn Jr. | -9 |
| Markell Johnson | -9 |
| Allerik Freeman | -11 |
STAT OF THE GAME
Allerik and Lennard Freeman: 16-of-23 field goals made (69.6 percent)
Rest of NC State team: 12-of-38 field goals made (31.6 percent)
QUOTE OF THE GAME
"I'd like to say that I'm so proud of my team. When I took the job, I didn't want to just have a team. I wanted to build a program. And I thought these guys, when you look at every guy in our locker room, they did a tremendous job.
"A lot of these guys came to play for me before they even knew how I was going to play. And the guys in the program stood by us, and I'm proud of them.
"When you think about a first-year program, and we went 21 games and we go 11-7 in the ACC and finish third. I'm proud of them." -- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts