With an opportunity to pick up a quality win, NC State men’s basketball fell flat on its face in a 72-61 loss to BYU. With the loss, NC State suffered a two-game sweep at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
From the jump, the Cougars (5-1) outplayed the Wolfpack (5-2). All game long, BYU stifled the red-and-white’s offense with its zone defense.
The Cougar’s defense locked down the paint, forcing NC State to lean on jump shots. Without a consistent threat on the perimeter, the Wolfpack quickly fell behind by double digits and never mounted a successful comeback.
NC State’s frontcourt struggled, especially with the zone. Starting senior forwards Dontrez Styles and Brandon Huntley-Hatfield combined for just six points while shooting 3-13 from the field. Senior forward Ben Middlebrooks also floundered with just four points.
BYU didn’t just give NC State’s offense trouble on the scoreboard — it also hammered the Pack on the glass. The Cougars finished with 13 more rebounds than the red-and-white, including 15 offensive boards. Outside of Huntley-Hatfield, no player totaled more than five rebounds.
If NC State’s scoring and rebounding woes weren’t enough to seal the game for BYU, the inability to start the breakout certainly doomed the Pack. The Wolfpack relies on getting out and running in transition to score. However, the red-and-white only forced three steals, leading to just five fast break points — a recipe for a loss.
Without its fastball, the Wolfpack struggled to establish its offense in the half-court. While NC State is historically best in transition under head coach Kevin Keatts, it appears extra reliant on the fast break this season. After two seasons of depending on DJ Burns or one of several stars to create shots in the half-court, the Pack is missing a strong scorer there. Finding and establishing a go-to scorer in that area will be crucial moving forward.
Keatts attempted to create a spark in the Pack’s lineup, awarding freshman guard Trey Parker his first career start. The freshman started slow, finishing the first half with zero points and assists. However, Parker eventually found his footing and scored nine points in the second half.
Graduate guard Michael O’Connell was one of the few bright spots all game for NC State. Leading the team with 36 minutes, O’Connell fought all game to keep the Wolfpack’s hopes alive. By the end of the game, O’Connell recorded 16 points on 6-11 shooting.
Senior guard Jayden Taylor also did his part in the scoring department, picking up 16 points of his own. Despite his struggles from 3 this season, Taylor led NC State with four triples against the Cougars. A consistent shot would be a welcome sight to Taylor’s progression.
After two key non-conference games, the Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament resume is still missing a signature, non-ACC win. While the road will only get harder, the Pack has multiple opportunities ahead against Texas and Kansas before diving fully into ACC play.
Next up, NC State will host Texas as part of the ACC-SEC challenge. The Wolfpack and the Longhorns will tip off Wednesday, Dec. 4 in Lenovo Center at 9:15 p.m.
