NC State coach Kevin Keatts after loss to SMU: ‘I just wish we were shooting it better as a group’

NC State coach Kevin Keatts walked into the postgame press conference after his team’s 63-57 loss to SMU, dressed in a suit for the first time this season inside the Lenovo Center, and rattled off what the Wolfpack did well. 

Most turnovers forced (15) against ACC competition. Check. Most steals (9) in league play. Check. More shot attempts than SMU (65 to 53). Check. 16 fast-break points. Check. 

But what was missing? NC State’s ability to hit shots. That’s what it distilled down to in the Wolfpack’s fourth straight loss on Saturday afternoon, and Keatts was blunt about it.

“We’re not shooting the ball well at all,” Keatts said. “I thought we had some really good looks, and for whatever reason, we’re not making those.”

The Pack, which forced 15 turnovers with nine steals, limited the Mustangs well below their season average of 84.2 points. But NC State couldn’t muster enough points of its own to take advantage of that. 

That’s where Keatts was befuddled. He wants to take the positives from the defensive end, while the team is still looking to grow offensively. 

“Our guys are fighting their butts off defensively,” Keatts said. “Defense is really keeping us in every game that we have. When you hold a team to 63 points, you have a chance to win. The unfortunate thing is we scored 57. … The message to the guys is keep on fighting, don’t let your defense suffer.”

Where did NC State’s offense go wrong? The Pack, which had a multitude of open looks throughout the game, shot just 29.2% from the field, including 16.7% from 3-point distance. 

Keatts noted he liked his team’s shot selection, but the Wolfpack wasn’t able to capitalize on that. He did believe that the consistent missed shots against SMU, which included a more than 16-minute stretch without a made 2-point basket, snowballed into the sub-30% shooting performance.

And maybe tired legs from consistent pressure on the defensive end also played a role, the Wolfpack’s eighth-year coach pondered. 

“You get a little tighter when you start missing shots,” Keatts said. “And then you start pressing. There’s so much pressure on the defense to perform, and it’s hard because you’re playing so hard on the defensive end, and then offensively you’re a little worn down and not able to make shots.”

While the defensive play might be playing into the Pack’s offensive issues, Keatts is looking to continue holding teams under their season average. NC State did just that against North Carolina (a 63-61 loss), and it did the same to SMU, who entered the game with the ACC’s best scoring offense. 

The Wolfpack’s effort and intensity on the defensive end is what he wants to see continue moving forward — the offense will come in due time, Keatts thought. 

“The positives are you’re getting everything you want out of your defense,” Keatts said. “You gotta stay the course. Everybody in the program is frustrated, but the great thing about it is it’s not a frustration because we’re not playing hard, that’s a different issue. Our issue is we’re not scoring enough points to win these games.”

Defense it is. That’s where NC State is looking to win games, despite riding a four-game losing streak before it plays at No. 2 Duke on Monday night.

“I feel like we have to get stops and hang our hats on our defense,” senior guard Jayden Taylor said. “Right now, offensively, our shots aren’t falling. Defense is where we’re going to have to hang our hats as a team.”

While defense is keeping the Wolfpack in the games, its offense has struggled to take advantage. That’s the next part of the growth process NC State is looking to improve. And it’s not just confined to one player, but the entire team needs to take that step forward, Keatts thought. 

“I just think we’ve gotta see the ball go in the hole. We gotta make shots. In college basketball, you have to be able to make shots. … I love our guys, they’re working their ass off. There’s not one person that I can point to and say, ‘I wish he was shooting it better.’ I just wish we were shooting it better as a group.”