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NC State believes West Coast road trip is a good thing as it looks to snap 6-game skid

image_6483441 (3)by:Noah Fleischman•about 9 hours•

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Kevin Keatts
© Jaylynn Nash-Imagn Images

The NC State locker room has had a similar mood after a game over the past three weeks. Each of the last six games has taken a similar storyline — the Pack is right in the thick of things up until the waning minutes, where the game gets away from it. 

That familiar feeling has led to six straight losses, including four by 5 points or less. The Wolfpack feels as though it is close to figuring it out, it just hasn’t gotten over the hump in tight games. 

But this week, NC State (9-12, 2-8 ACC) hopes for a different result as it travels to the west coast for a pair of ACC bouts for the first time in program history. The Pack will visit Cal on Wednesday (11 p.m. ET, ACC Network) before it makes the 42 mile drive to Stanford for a showdown on Saturday (7 p.m. ET., ACC Network). 

For NC State coach Kevin Keatts, this more than 2,000 mile trip out west can be looked at as a positive as the Wolfpack looks to snap its six-game skid.

“I think it’s a great time,” Keatts said. “And I mean that in a good way. I want us to get away and get back to hanging as a team. We’re going to play two really good teams on their home floor, but it’s not so much about that. It’s, ‘Hey, let’s get away and clear our minds, see if we can figure it out and move forward.’”

While NC State is approaching this two-game stretch as a chance to reset, it won’t be the easiest combination of battles on the hardwood. Cal, who beat the Pack 65-62 in Raleigh on Jan. 18, is 9-4 inside Haas Pavilion, including 4-3 against East Coast squads. And Stanford? The Cardinal is 12-1 at Maples Pavilion, including 6-0 when hosting teams that made a cross-country trek to Palo Alto. 

NC State’s next two opponents have fared well against its East Coast counterparts, but that isn’t the only challenge the Wolfpack will face this week. The Pack has had illness run through the team over the course of the last week, including keeping senior guards Dontrez Styles and Breon Pass limited in practice, at times. 

Getting on a cross-country flight isn’t ideal when dealing with that, but that’s what the schedule presented for NC State. 

“We’ll manage it,” Keatts said. “It’s part of the game. It’s part of what every program has to go through. We’re just going to try to manage it the best we can and hopefully everybody, in the next couple of days, starts feeling a little bit better.”

NC State left for California on Monday evening to prepare for its Wednesday night bout with Cal. Once the Pack plays the Golden Bears, it will move to Stanford for the Saturday night contest. After that, NC State will head to the airport for a red-eye flight home to arrive back in Raleigh on Sunday morning. 

The Wolfpack’s players are also viewing this trip as a positive. It’s an opportunity for the roster to leave the Triangle and refocus on what’s ahead. 

“I think it’s time to get away,” senior guard Jayden Taylor said. “Go get some wins, come back and regroup, and get closer with my brothers.” 

Senior guard Marcus Hill, who has scored a team-best 12.5 points a game, agreed.

“I think it’s good to get away, and grow as a team,” Hill said. “We’ll figure some things out. That’s going to be the biggest thing.”

NC State is looking to turn the tide sooner than later. The Wolfpack sits in a tie for 16th, currently on the outside looking in on making the ACC Tournament. Only the top 15 teams in the league standings will be invited to Charlotte in March. And the defending champions do not want to be among the first three squads to miss the league tournament for the first time in ACC history. 

The only way to change that? Start stacking wins. And it all starts with Cal in Berkeley in an ACC after dark clash.

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