NC State men’s basketball started off ACC play with two very close calls against Boston College and Notre Dame, but against Virginia — one of the best defensive teams in the nation — it made things look easy. The Pack bested the Cavaliers 76-60.
In its ACC home opener, the Wolfpack (11-3, 3-0 ACC) shot 49% from the field and committed just six turnovers to take down Virginia (11-4, 2-2 ACC).
“We’re growing defensively,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “When you score 76 points against a really good Virginia defense then you’re doing a good job. We had 14 assists, we moved the ball, the ball didn’t stick. We made the extra pass, and I think that’s what helped us.”
The Pack started 3-0 in ACC play for the first time since the 2012-13 season and rode strong performances from freshman guard Dennis Parker, graduate guard DJ Horne and junior guard Jayden Taylor, who all combined for 44 points.
The Pack also got substantial contributions from its bench — junior forward Ben Middlebrooks, sophomore guard MJ Rice and graduate guard Michael O’Connell combined for all of the team’s 21 bench points.
“I thought MJ Rice came in and gave us a lift,” Keatts said. “I thought Ben and Michael were good again. You’re gonna get some of that. One of the things we wanted to do after Christmas was help develop our bench. I’m asking guys to buy in and take advantage of every minute that you get when you’re in the game. And I think everybody’s buying into that.”
From the jump, it was evident that both teams played hard defensively. Through the first 10 minutes of the game, the teams combined for just 22 points scored, and the red-and-white trailed 13-9.
“Virginia is a really good defensive team,” Taylor said. “We knew we weren’t gonna be able to just dribble through gaps. We knew we had to move the ball and we did that. It was a low-scoring first half. Eventually we got settled in and we started to pick it apart. Shots started to go in and we started getting stops. When we can run, I don’t think anybody can play with us.”
Although Virginia controlled the contest for the majority of the first half, the momentum visibly shifted when Parker nailed a 3-pointer from the logo. Moments later, the Pack gained its first lead of the night and only lost control of it once before the hosts were able to run away with the game.
“One of my best play calls of the year was to get Dennis Parker the ball at half court with 1.4 seconds on the clock,” Keatts said. “I just knew he was gonna drain that.”
The Wolfpack closed the half with a 35-28 lead and never looked back. In the second frame, NC State led by as many as 21 points. Taylor led the way for the Pack on both sides of the ball with 13 second-half points and defended Virginia’s star guard Reece Beekman exceptionally well, holding him to just four points in the period.
“The mere fact that [Taylor] played great defense on Beekman the entire game and ended up with 15 points shows me that he’s becoming a complete player,” Keatts said. “I thought he was really, really good.”
The Pack finished the game shooting 36% from beyond the arc and limited Virginia to just five made 3-pointers. NC State converted nine points off of Virginia’s eight turnovers.
The Wolfpack is set to stay in Raleigh to play in its fourth ACC game of the season against North Carolina at PNC Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 10. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. and the game will broadcast on ESPN.
