There was a common problem in N.C. State basketball‘s two losses at the Rady Children’s Invitational in San Diego.
The Wolfpack (5-2) saw one of its weaknesses exploited in back-to-back defeats to No. 8 Purdue (7-1) and BYU (6-1) during Thanksgiving week. It’s a weakness N.C. State will have to improve if it hopes to take down Texas (6-1) at the Lenovo Center on Wednesday (9:15 p.m., ESPN2) in the ACC/SEC Challenge.
“I think the biggest thing that stood out for us is we didn’t do a good job of finishing possessions with defensive rebounding, which I thought really cost us at getting out in transition,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts said Tuesday during a 15-minute Zoom press conference.
“For the entire weekend, we gave up 28 offensive rebounds. … I thought we got hurt in those situations.”
Defensively, N.C. State allowed an average of 71.5 points on 42.5% shooting against the Boilermakers and Cougars. But an inability to snag defensive rebounds limited the Wolfpack’s ability to lean into one of its strengths.
N.C. State is second in the nation in fast-break points, averaging 22.1 per game, trailing only Kentucky (23 ppg). The Pack combined for 13 fast-break points against Purdue and BYU.
State was outrebounded by 10 and gave up 13 offensive rebounds to the Boilermakers. BYU was plus-13 in the rebounding margin and grabbed 15 offensive boards. Through seven games, the Wolfpack is 234th in defensive rebounds per game (24.7) and 285th in defensive rebounding percentage (33.2%), according to KenPom.com.
Defensive rebounding was an issue across Keatts’ first five seasons in Raleigh, but N.C. State was better in that category during back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. During its nine-game winning streak that led to an ACC Tournament championship and Final Four berth, the Wolfpack was even or won the rebounding margin in six of those games.
The absence of Mo Diarra, who had double-digit rebounds in seven of the postseason games, is a factor in State taking a step back. But Brandon Huntley-Hatfield (6.1 rebounds per game), Ben Middlebrooks (4.4 rbg) and Dontrez Styles (4.7 rbg) are capable of filling the void with an improved group effort.
As Keatts tries to figure out his latest group of newcomers, five of whom are averaging double-digit minutes, he’s hopeful the Pack will figure things out sooner rather than later.
“When we play really good basketball together, we’re a really good team … when we’re connected. I’ve said this about this team: We don’t have the DJ Horne that may go off for 20-30 points, but when we play and everybody contributes in a positive way … I think this team has a chance to be really good,” Keatts said.
“I think, defensively, we’ve been really solid. Obviously, we’ve defended the 3-point line very well. I think one thing that we have to get better at is we have to do a better job of rebounding the basketball. We do have guys that can rebound, but a lot of times we’re giving up too many offensive rebounds. That’s an area we have to improve at.”
Rodd Baxley covers Duke, North Carolina and N.C. State for The Fayetteville Observer as part of the USA TODAY Network. Follow his ACC coverage on X/Twitter or Bluesky: @RoddBaxley. Got questions regarding those teams? Send them to rbaxley@fayobserver.com.
This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State basketball vs Texas: Kevin Keatts points to Wolfpack weakness
