TRI-PARTISAN: NC State Finding Its Groove At The Right Time

Each week I submit a Tri-Partisan column to WRALSportsFan.com, and here is this week's feature where I take a look at how NC State has won four of five games and could be hitting its stride at just the right time.

What a difference a few weeks can make in college basketball.

Three weeks ago, NC State got throttled at North Carolina, losing to the Heels 113-96 – and that contest was just a few days after scoring a scant 24 points in a 23-point home loss to Virginia Tech. It still doesn't even look right, writing “after scoring 24 points” when talking about an ACC basketball game, but that actually did happen.

Following those two losses, the Wolfpack was sitting at 4-6 in ACC play and had dropped 4-of-5 games. With another road game at Pittsburgh looming, the outlook for the season looked bleak.

However, NC State was able to go on the road and defeat the Panthers, 79-76. It wasn't pretty, but the Pack found a way, and that win ignited the recent surge of four wins in five games that has State back above .500 in the league and making a push up the standings.

What has been equally impressive is that the team has dealt with major adversity throughout the stretch. Transfer forward Sacha Killeya-Jones, who was sitting out this season, is no longer on the team – yielding one less practice body for an already thin roster. It didn't end there as grad transfer guard Eric Lockett, who had been playing well, was suspended from the team after being charged with assault. Finally, sophomore guard Blake Harris missed multiple games while battling the flu, leaving the Pack with a thin rotation which impacted just how much pressure the team could apply defensively.

Kevin Keatts has to be pleased, because it now appears his team is really starting to come together. The starting lineup has been solidified with Markell Johnson, Braxton Beverly, C.J. Bryce, Torin Dorn, and Wyatt Walker locked in. Devon Daniels has settled in as a pivotal piece off the bench with his defensive intensity and improved playmaking. D.J. Funderburk's development as a frontcourt scorer off the bench has been critical as well. Harris is now providing a spark, and Jericole Hellems just had his best game of the season, totaling 14 points in 19 minutes.  READ FULL STORY HERE: LINK