OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME: Wake Forest

Here are some thoughts and observations from No. 17 NC State's 71-67 road loss at Wake Forest.

THREE STARS

None.

KEY STRETCH

NC State tied the game at 58 at the 7:46 mark in the second half on a Devon Daniels runner.  The Wolfpack would miss the next eight shots, allowing Wake Forest to extend the lead back out to six before Torin Dorn’s three-point play with 3:51 remaining.  

HIGHLIGHTS

Generating Additional Shots
Kevin Keatts has frequently referenced how one of the major stats for NC State is shot differential.  He wants his team to always attempt more shots than the competition because if you do so your chances of winning the game increase.

NC State did that against Wake Forest, attempting 21 more shots than the Deacs... mind-boggling that the Wolfpack still lost.

Second-Half Defense
NC State really struggled defensively in the first half (more on that later), but clamped down the final 20 minutes.  Wake shot 8-of-25 from the field (32 percent) and 1-of-6 from 3-point range (16.7 percent).

What saved the Deacs was the 15-point halftime advantage and 12-of-15 shooting from the free throw line (80 percent) in the second half.

Second-Half Run
Early in the second half it looked like NC State was about to be ran out the building.  The halftime deficit had ballooned to 22 points with just under 18 minutes remaining.

However, NC State didn’t quit.  The Wolfpack continued to battle and used a 15-0 run the get back in the game.  By the 8:48 mark, NC State trailed by just two points.

Second Chance Points
NC State 19, Wake Forest 12

A common theme for NC State, the Wolfpack turned an offensive rebounding advantage into a +7 second-chance points total. 

LOWLIGHTS

First Half Play
Brutal.

Chalk it up to not having Markell Johnson or a lethargic road effort, but NC State struggled to start the game.  The Wolfpack couldn’t make open shots, forced passes that led to transition points for the Deacs, and couldn’t keep Wake Forest out of the paint.

The Deacs shot 56% from the field to just 30% for State... leading to a 15-point halftime advantage.

Fouling
NC State just can’t stop fouling teams.  

It has become a disturbing trend in league play and led to this bad, bad loss.  Wake Forest shot 19 more free throws than NC State, which led to a +16 advantage in free throw scoring.

Frankly, that’s the ballgame.

NC State has to defend without fouling.  If they can’t solve this problem then more bad losses are likely to happen because you can’t overcome that against better teams (we saw it earlier against North Carolina). 

Three-Point Shooting
When playing against a zone you’re often going to get some open three-point looks.  Those shots you have to hit, and NC State couldn’t for much of the game.

The Wolfpack shot 1-of-14 from three-point range in the first half with several of those being open looks.  That allowed Wake Forest to remain in zone, something they don’t often play but were willing to do in order to cut off NC State’s dribble penetration.

Braxton Beverly knocked down three 3s in the second half which took Wake out the zone, but by that point it was probably too late; the damage had been done.

NC State is going to see more zone going forward.  State doesn’t have to be a great 3-point shooting team, but they do have to hit the open shots.

Transition Game
NC State was supposed to be the team that was going to turn defense into offense and thrive in transition on Tuesday night.

Well, it was actually Wake Forest.

The Deacs cashed in on some live-ball turnovers, building an 11-0 halftime advantage in transition points over NC State. That’s right, NC State had zero fastbreak points at the half.

NC State did score 10 to just six for Wake in the second half, but to be -7 in the transition game has to be disappointing for Kevin Keatts given the makeup of the two teams.

Hero Ball
When NC State moves the ball and plays off each other they are really, really good offensively. When the ball sticks and individual players try to do too much, they can struggle.

That happened far too much against Wake Forest.

Hesitation three-pointers... contested drives into traffic... tough shots over multiple defenders.  Those can’t happen.  Look for that to be addressed this week in practice.

PLUS/MINUS

+/- is the points scored by a team minus the points allowed by a team while a certain player is on the floor.

STAT OF THE GAME
 

QUOTE OF THE GAME

"We put so much energy in getting back in the game, but I thought some individual guys at times took some shots once we got back in the game that hurt us.

When we got back in the game we shared the basketball... we had some guys make some shots and we fed off each other.

I thought once we tied it up I thought a couple of guys played hero basketball." -- NC State Head Coach Kevin Keatts