As it nears the midway point of the conference season, the NC State men’s basketball team stands with a 9-9 overall record and a 2-5 conference record. If the season were to end today, the Pack would not be one of the 68 teams in the NCAA Tournament, which is why now is the time for the Pack to get hot and make a run at the big dance.
After a stretch from the beginning of December until the start of the new year in which the Pack lost six of seven games, the team has been playing better recently, getting its first two ACC wins on the road against Virginia Tech and Louisville.
The good news for NC State is that it does not have to play No. 6 Duke or Miami again, and they are arguably the two best teams in the ACC. Every game on the rest of the schedule is winnable, and the Pack needs to stick to its winning formula to get hot and have a chance at the postseason.
That winning formula starts with the play of the big three: redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron, freshman guard Terquavion Smith and senior forward Jericole Hellems.
Seabron has been the team’s best and most consistent player this season, averaging 19.6 points per game and 9.7 rebounds. He can’t do it all on his own, however, and he needs some help, which should come in the form of Smith and Hellems.
Smith has shown lots of promise in his freshman season, averaging 14.7 points per game, and he has shown that he is a significant threat from beyond the arc, shooting 35.6% from 3-point range, which is good enough for second in the ACC. He needs to continue to be a scorer and shot-maker to alleviate some of the defensive concentration on Seabron.
Lastly is Hellems, who has been the least consistent of the bunch in conference play, having alternated the last six games scoring in double and single figures. As the guy who came into the season as arguably the team’s best returning player, Hellems needs to be more consistent if the Pack wants to get on a roll. If Seabron, Smith and Hellems can all produce on a night-to-night basis, the team will be in good shape.
On the other side of the ball, the Pack needs to lock up on defense. The team is currently giving up an ACC-high 74.9 points per game and also allowing opponents to shoot an ACC-high 45.8% from the field. That’s just not going to get it done.
Obviously, the weak area on defense is down low as the Pack has a young and inexperienced frontcourt, but if head coach Kevin Keatts is somehow able to pull something out of his guys that gives them a spark on defense, that would go a long way in giving the Pack a better chance to win games.
It sounds simple enough: get consistent production out of the big three and tighten up on defense.
Even with its less-than-stellar record, NC State has been in almost every conference game this season, losing all but one by single digits. The Pack proved with its win over Louisville that it can beat good teams. The Pack also had an eight-point second half lead at Miami, who recently won at Duke and beat the tar out of UNC, and the Pack also went to the wire against Florida State, who just beat Duke.
NC State is not far off. It’s just a matter of getting consistent production out of its stars, playing defense and finishing games. Every game the rest of the way is winnable, and the team needs to get hot now in order to have any chance at the postseason. It’s now or never.
