CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA. — On a night where NC State picked up a huge ACC road win against Virginia, it did so without the presence of redshirt freshman Manny Bates or graduate forward Pat Andree.
Overall, it was a great performance from NC State which built an 11-point lead, but had to hold on at the end against a surging Virginia team. Down the stretch, it was the defense that came up clutch, as NC State missed the front end of two 1-and-1s that could have sealed the win much earlier.
The game proved NC State is a legitimate contender with the upper half of the ACC and makes Pack fans wonder what a fully healthy NC State team looks like when it plays its best. There were expectations of at least competing in the conference coming into the 2019-20 season, and injuries have at least postponed that possibility.
“I’ve decided this year not to look at the NET [ranking],” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “The other thing I’ll say about the ACC: All the talking heads are talking about how the ACC is down. I don’t agree with that; I think the ACC is just balanced.”
Against Virginia’s big men, Jay Huff and Mamadi Diakite, NC State really could have used Bates inside, especially when redshirt junior D.J. Funderburk fouled out with seven minutes left. This likely would have been a game for the duo to be on the floor, with how big the UVa lineup was.
“When [Funderburk] fouled out, I started looking at my assistant coaches to see if I could get them in the game, and I knew neither one of those guys had eligibility,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “It was tough, because we go from the seven guys we were playing down to six.”
Graduate forward Danny Dixon took the spot of Bates on the floor and did a fairly good job, but the blocking presence Bates brings is unmatched. Dixon played 14 minutes and collected two points and five rebounds.
“With D.J. Funderburk playing at such a high level and us being shorthanded at the big position with Manny Bates out, Danny did a great job of coming off the bench, helping us out,” said senior guard C.J. Bryce.
The Pack also shot 5 for 16 from deep and was 0 for 7 in the first half. Although it’s not easy to score against a Virginia defense, any 3-point help Andree could’ve provided would be a game-changer. Bryce was 2 for 5, but senior guard Markell Johnson was 1 for 4, and sophomore forward Jericole Hellems was 1 for 5.
The Pack escaped with a shorthanded win, but without injuries, maybe this game wouldn’t have been so close. In fact, NC State has had somebody out in all but two ACC games so far this year. With an injury bug like that, it’s practically impossible to win, let alone get into a grove. And it hasn’t been just one or two people; almost everyone has missed time in some capacity.
Most fans already know, but just to name a few, Bryce, Johnson, Hellems, Bates and Andree have missed ACC time due to injury, not to mention Funderburk missed the opener against Georgia Tech.
Despite the losses, NC State holds a 14-5 record overall and is 5-3 in the ACC. It’s obviously difficult to predict if the Pack will ever really be fully healthy, but with some of the big dogs in the ACC having down years, like North Carolina and Virginia, a healthy lineup could be the difference in finishing fourth in the ACC and just inside the top 10.
