What we learned about NC State men’s basketball in loss vs Oklahoma State
At some point it was bound to happen.
With N.C. State’s best big man in street clothes for the year, a team was bound to take advantage of its post presence. Oklahoma State did just that against the Wolfpack and then some.
The Cowboys struggled to score early, but once they found something to work for them, they went back to it over and over, enough to knock off N.C. State, 74-68, in the Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase.
With the bigger bodies and deeper bench, Oklahoma State outscored the Pack 42-24 in the paint and had 56 bench points. The Cowboys had an overall 44-39 rebounding advantage over N.C. State (3-1), which was outrebounded for the first time this season.
“We’ve got to continue to get better,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought some of our young guys, or our new guys, didn’t play well under the circumstances. This was similiar to what we will get in an ACC game, so it’s a good opportunity for us to learn, especially early in our season.”
Now that he’s seen it live, Keatts can anticipate what kind of looks he’ll expect from opponents and how they should try and counter.
“Our young bigs, they are going to get better,” Keatts said. “We’ve got to do a tremendous job, our guards, by helping them. Those guys will get better, I promise you. They’ve already improved the last three weeks.”
The Wolfpack controlled most of the first half, but Oklahoma State closed the first half on a 12-0 run. The Cowboys led by as many as 14, but N.C. State scrapped its way back, pulling to within eight after a pair of free throws by Cam Hayes. The Wolfpack defense, its bread and butter in the first half, gave up a dunk to Tyreek Smith on the other end, pushing the lead back to 10 with 7:46 remaining.
The Cowboys (4-1) weren’t exactly an offensive juggernaut and it showed early. Oklahoma State started the game 1 of 10 from the floor, but its ability to force turnovers allowed it to battle back in the game and eventually take the lead.
Once the Cowboys committed to attacking the glass, it made life difficult for the Pack. At one time N.C. State had four offensive rebounds and OSU had none. In the blink of an eye, the Cowboys had a 9-5 advantage on the offensive boards.
What we’ve got to do is get to where guys have to throw their bodies in. We’re not a big team as far as a rebounding team, so we have to do a better job of hitting people. WI want us to become more physically and mentality tougher.”
That eventually became a 16-15 advantage that led to 13 second-chance points for Oklahoma State. N.C. State had a season-high 17 turnovers.
Both teams went 10 deep, the biggest difference being nine of the 10 of the Cowboys scored. The Wolfpack got just five points off the bench.
Jericole Hellems and Jaylon Gibson hit four free throws that shrunk a big OSU lead to five, but another N.C. State turnover led to a one-and-one with 1:16 remaining. Rondel Walker hit both from the line for the Cowboys.
Here’s what we learned:
POINTS OFF TURNOVERS WEREN’T THERE
N.C. State came into the game averaging 18.3 points off opponents’ turnovers. They were slightly below that average against the Cowboys, with just 11. The Pack came into the game on a 10-game winning streak when it outscored its opponents in points off of turnovers.
SEABRON CONTINUES TO LEAD
Dereon Seabron didn’t keep increasing his career high in points, but he did score in double-digits for the fourth straight game.
In the first three games of the year, Seabron kept setting new career highs. He scored 19 on Wednesday. Seabron had his third double-double in four games this season.
BIG THREE
N.C. State’s big three of Seabron, Jericole Hellems and Cam Hayes can’t have off nights. The trio had a good night, combining for 53 points on 13-of-38 shooting, but Hayes and Hellems got off to a slow start. Hayes, who was battling dehydration the previous game, got off to a slow start after early foul trouble. He only had two points at halftime. Hellems got back in double figures after scoring just four points in the previous two games.
“I thought he (Hellems) played well because he got a chance to stay on the floor,” Keatts said about the senior forward. “I thought he played like a veteran guy, I thought he played like a senior, he played like a guy who wanted to win.”
WOLFPACK DEFENSE
Early in the game, N.C. State showed its defense is good enough to slow teams down. The Wolfpack came out with great energy and forced Oklahoma State to play faster than it liked. It helped N.C. State jump out to a nine-point lead in the first half.
FOUL LINE FOR STATE
A stopped clock and free throws became N.C. State’s best friend late in the game. After falling behind by double digits, the Wolfpack made it a two-point game with less than 30 seconds remaining thanks to clutch foul shooting. N.C. State went 29 of 35 from the foul line.
“We played well today when we got to the free throw line and made some plays,” Keatts said. “I thought we were very aggressive, I thought we did a lot of good stuff.”
This story was originally published November 17, 2021 at 11:03 PM with the headline "What we learned about NC State men’s basketball in loss vs Oklahoma State."
