It’s been nearly five years since NC State basketball last played in Atlantis. The last time the red-and-white took a trip to the Bahamas was in 2017 when the Pack took on Arizona, the then-No. 2 team in the country. In this game NC State defeated the Wildcats 90-84, shocking the college basketball world.
Now on Wednesday, Nov. 23, the Pack will travel back to Atlantis to take on No. 6 Kansas, trying to do it all over again. So ahead of NC State’s highly anticipated matchup with the Jayhawks, let’s look back at the legendary win over Arizona on the same court.
Win over Arizona
2017 was Kevin Keatts’ first season in charge of the NC State men’s basketball team after his tenure at UNC-Wilmington. The Wolfpack entered this game 4-0, but it hadn’t been truly tested to this point. Arizona toted players such as Deandre Ayton and Allonzo Trier and were national championship hopefuls, having the third-best odds to win the NCAA tournament.
NC State got a majority of its production from its newcomers, Baylor transfer Allerik Freeman and Braxton Beverly. Freeman scored 24 points, recorded five assists and grabbed three rebounds and Beverly provided a spark off the bench — scoring 20 points and introducing himself to the Wolfpack faithful. Both played major roles in stunning the Wildcats in Atlantis.
The Pack didn’t find success the rest of the tournament, however, losing to Northern Iowa and Tennessee. Despite this, the 2017-18 season went well for the Wolfpack, as it finished sixth in the ACC, going 11-7 in conference play and 21-12 overall.
Looking ahead to Kansas
Recently, the Jayhawks defeated No. 7 Duke 69-64 in the State Farm Champions Classic on Nov. 15. While this is an impressive win for the Jayhawks, their performance itself wasn’t all that impressive. They turned the ball over 15 times and shot an abysmal 15.8% from the field. However, their defensive performance was memorable, holding Duke to 35.8% from the field, and 14.3% from three.
The Wolfpack has been fairly impressive so far this season as well. NC State has won all three of its games this season by an average margin of 29.3 points. Newcomers graduate guard Jarkel Joiner, graduate guard Jack Clark and graduate forward DJ Burns have played well, and the Pack’s returning players have continued to show improvement as well.
While on paper Kansas is a significantly better team and the reigning national champions, they could fall victim to an underrated NC State squad just like Arizona did. If the red-and-white can find a way to consistently score against the Jayhawks, whether it be in transition or from behind the arc, don’t be surprised if NC State is able to keep it close and just maybe pull off some upset magic like its last match in Atlantis.
