N.C. State rallied from 14 points down in the second half at Virginia but were unable to complete the comeback, falling in overtime, 59-53. It was another missed opportunity to pick up a Quad 1 win for the Pack, and one that they can certainly look in the mirror for the main reason why they lost.
Generally, I’m a fan of coach Kevin Keatts. But it’s late January and he hasn’t figured out that his best lineup is to feature two of their three big men at the same time. Both at the beginning of the game and the beginning of overtime, Keatts played a smaller lineup and it simply failed. Virginia scored the first six points in overtime to clinch the victory.
It was a typically ugly Virginia game. Their deliberate style, combined with their typically good defense, State’s bad lineups and poor shooting resulted in the Pack scoring just 15 points in the first half. It was like watching a game played before the shot clock and before the 3-point line.
But the second half featured a generous helping of Mo Diarra and Ben Middlebrooks playing together and that’s when the comeback started. They were simply getting killed on the boards when Keatts insisted playing DJ Burns, who’s not a good rebounder, along with 6’6 Dennis Parker Jr. and 6’3 Casey Morsell up front. State was outrebounded in the game, 54-32. UVA pulled down 20 offensive rebounds. Burns played 27 minutes and grabbed three rebounds. Diarra snagged eight rebounds in 20 minutes
In addition to playing two bigs at all times, State needs to play Michael O’Connell more, too. As a true point guard, he does a better job running the offense than the combo guards that Keatts uses most often. It’s always important and even more so in a game played primarily in the half court like this one. O’Connell also outscored both members of the starting backcourt, as he finished with 10 points in 28 minutes, compared to nine for DJ Horne in 30 minutes and four for Jayden Taylor in 40 minutes.
Morsell scored a bunch of points in the first half but didn’t contribute much offensively after that. He generally played good defense but when they needed him most, he didn’t deliver. In overtime, Morsell was 0-3 and committed three fouls. Keatts is loyal to his players and it’s unlikely he’ll cut Morsell’s minutes. But he absolutely cannot play him at one forward when he plays Parker at the other forward. That’s fine against the cupcakes in the beginning of the year but once they start playing quality opponents, it just doesn’t work.
Speaking of things that don’t work, it’s time to stop playing Kam Woods. He’s shown zero offensively in the rare times he gets in the game and tonight somehow he managed a -10 in plus/minus in his five minutes on the court.
This was the 21st consecutive home win for the Cavaliers, the longest streak in the nation. Virginia is not a very good team but they play hard and they play smart and are a well-coached team. State plays hard, too. But they don’t always play smart and right now their coach isn’t doing what he should to maximize the team’s talent.
Previously, that’s been one of Keatts’ strengths, that his teams play better as the season progresses, as he figures out what needs to be done. There’s still time for that to be the case here in the 2023-24 season. But it’s frustrating that what seems painfully obvious from my office chair, doesn’t happen often enough in the games.