NC State Men's basketball coach Kevin Keatts has sung the same song through the early duration of the season which is "gelling together, and taking time" in reference to his 7-4 men's basketball program who have been in but a splunder of recent, losing the last four of six games, with two of those coming against ranked opponents.
Saturday's loss against previously number 1 Kansas revealed several weeknesses the Wolfpack have continued to exhibit against stiff competiton which revolves around ball security, creating shots off the dribble and ball movement. Against the Jayhawks at Allen Fieldhouse Kansas started the game on a 15-0 run forcing the Wolfpack in ill-advised shots. Some of those possessions didn't include a single interior touch, where the Wolfpack flourish.
On the night Ben Middlebrooks and Brandon Hatley-Huntfield combined for 26 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists. That was nearly 50% of the Wolfpack scoring, as the team only combined for 60 points, shooting 36% for the game.
Michael O'Connell has been asked to be more of a distributor on this years ball club that as mentioned before lost over 50% of it's scoring from last years team. Dontrez Styles has the experience and athleticism; Marcus Hill has the grit, and Breon Pass has the shooting, but what is the identity of this team? We will continue to monitor the team's success with ACC play just starting.
The conference as a whole has struggled, including taking a massive defeat to the SEC ( 11 teams losing by double digits), which will make it pivotal for the Wolfpack to show a strong showing during conference play.
Up Next for the Pack is a home contest against Rider on Sunday, December 22nd at 4pm.
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