Too little, too late: Three takeaways from NC State basketball’s home loss to SMU

N.C. State had been in six single-possession games since ACC play began in December. It added a seventh Saturday.

The Wolfpack has won just two of those matchups — Saturday’s was not one of them. N.C. State fell to SMU, 63-57, at Lenovo Center, suffering its fourth straight loss.

“We’re not shooting the ball well at all,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “We had some really good looks, and for whatever reason, we’re not making those. ... The message to the guys is, ‘Keep on fighting. Don’t let your defense suffer.’ Eventually, as we keep working and putting the work in, we think our offense will catch up.

“Our guys are fighting their butts off defensively. Defense is really keeping us in every game that we have. Obviously, when you hold a team to 63 points, you have a chance to win.”

After a week off, N.C. State (9-10, 2-6 ACC) looked like a renewed team that played with the energy it needed all season. The Pack started on an 8-0 run, its early lead fueled by efficiency on both ends of the floor. At the first media timeout, the Wolfpack recorded a pair of steals and was outrebounding the Mustangs.

On an individual level, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has struggled with providing consistent energy throughout his appearances. That did not seem like a concern on Saturday. Huntley-Hatfield came off the bench after Ben Middlebrooks picked up an early foul. The Louisville transfer recorded a steal, was busy disrupting Yohan Traore in the midcourt and he went tumbling into the SMU bench trying to corral an offensive board — all before the 10-minute mark in the first half.

Despite the Pack’s early effort, the wheels came off late in the first half. The Mustangs (15-5, 6-3 ACC) responded with a few runs, to which N.C. State responded, before a 15-0 run created a double-digit deficit with 20 seconds left before the break.

N.C. State didn’t get out to a great start after intermission, going 1 of 10 from the field. At one point, the Wolfpack was 3 of 15 from the field and didn’t hit back-to-back buckets until 8:59 and 8:12.

Five consecutive free throws from Paul McNeil helped jumpstart the second-half scoring and, once again, N.C. State found energy on defense.

One of the best stretches came with roughly seven minutes remaining. Jayden Taylor poked the ball away and swatted it to Huntley-Hatfield as the guard fell out of bounds. Huntley-Hatfield made the full-court pass to Hill for a layup.

Dennis Parker Jr. added a big block on the following possession, which Hill turned into another basket. Those shots were part of an 8-0 run that the Pack used to cut SMU’s double digit lead to three.

It seemed like everything was coming up Wolfpack as it maintained a one- or two-possession deficit for the last nine minutes. Except its late surges didn’t provide enough offense to pick up a win. Its 57 points is a new season scoring low.

“It’s kinda hard when everybody’s in the gym, everybody’s taking shooting a lot of shots, and, right now, we ain’t getting a good outcome,” Hill said. “But, later on, I feel like it’s gonna fall.”

Hill led the team with 14 points, while Taylor and Dontrez Styles added double figures.

The team shot 19 of 65 (29.2%) from the field and 4 of 24 (16.7%) from 3-point range.

N.C. State’s defense had breakdowns but played well enough to win. SMU leads the league in scoring offense this season, averaging 84.2 points per game and 79 points in ACC games; its total buoyed by 100-point performances against Miami and Boston College, and a 93-spot against Georgia Tech.

However, it has now been held under 75 points in six ACC games and under 70 in five. Wake Forest transfer Boopie Miller was held to five points in his return to the Triangle. Miller entered the game leading the Mustangs with 14.3 points per game.

“Everybody in the program is frustrated. The great thing about it is it’s not a frustration because we’re not playing hard. That’s a different issue. Our issue is that we’re not scoring enough points to win these games,” Keatts said. “If we can figure out how to get over the hump and make some shots, then we’re there.”

Here are three takeaways from N.C. State’s home loss.

Settling for jumpers creates deficit

N.C. State’s early scoring was driven by one thing: making a concerted effort to get inside.

Hill took a couple of jumpers — though he’s one of the more consistent shooters — while Taylor recorded a transition layup. Additionally, Styles drove inside and drew contact for a pair of free throws. Ten first half points were in the paint, in addition to four free throws.

The Wolfpack’s offensive success slowed down considerably toward the end of the first half when it began settling for too many jump shots from the midrange and perimeter.

N.C. State was 10-33 from the field with 25 jumpers attempted at the halftime break. The team started 4-8 but missed 11 straight shots in the final seven minutes; it was 3-16 in the final nine.

The Wolfpack also shot 2 of 10 from 3-point range from the perimeter, McNeil making the first and Taylor ending the half with a triple. Its lack of offense and inability to shut down the Mustangs on the other end allowed SMU to take an 11-point lead shortly before halftime.

“We had some good looks. They just didn’t go in,” Hill said. “I feel like we play great; a lot of energy out there. There were some shots that didn’t fall that we had good looks (for).”

Part of the challenge was SMU’s zone, which made penetration difficult at times, but the Pack needed to be more aggressive.

Keatts, however, said he thought the team did well against the zone and got inside.

“I think about the wide open shots that we had in the middle. I thought Dontrez had like three or four shots in the middle. We swung it around. We screened the zone. I don’t think we settled,” Keatts said. “I think if you go back and look at the game, you’re gonna be like, ‘Man, they got some really good looks.’ I thought we did. Throughout the game, we may have forced two or three shots.”

The Wolfpack finished with 12 layups and 53 jump shots. At this point in the season, N.C. State should know it has been the most successful in the lane and needs to prioritize that if it wants the consistency it’s desperately after.

Rebounding effort stalls in first half

The Wolfpack came out of the gate with an unexpected intensity off the boards and outrebounded SMU 5-2 at the first media timeout. Styles grabbed one on the offensive end, while Middlebrooks and Huntley-Hatfield contributed three in the first three minutes.

Michael O’Connell and McNeil came down on a rebound together, nearly fighting each other for the ball.

N.C. State, however, wasn’t able to keep up with the ACC’s rebounding leaders. SMU pulled down 23 first-half rebounds — including five offensive boards for six second-chance points — compared to the Wolfpack’s 15.

N.C. State performed better in the second half and tied with the Mustangs in the rebounding effort, with both pulling down 19 boards, but its early deficit ultimately hurt the team.

SMU entered Lenovo Center as one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, leading the ACC in total boards (39.9 per game) and offensive rebounds (13.4). Its success on the glass led to an offensive rebounding percentage of 37.9%, ranking in the national top 15, according to KenPom.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack is on the complete opposite end of the spectrum. N.C. State remains one of the worst rebounding teams in the nation, averaging 32.4 total rebounds per game and only 21.9 defensive boards. It has struggled all season, but its numbers have steadily dropped during ACC play.

Paul McNeil gives lift in Lenovo

McNeil has found little success with the Wolfpack in his rookie season as he transitioned to the college game and settled into his role for the team. He finished with a breakout game against the Mustangs.

McNeil hit the team’s first 3-pointer of the game and gave N.C. State a 15-14 lead. He struggled from the arc, shooting 1 of 5 from outside, but scored a career high eight points after making five free throws. McNeil added three rebounds and three assists.

“I was really excited for Paul. He’s been working all week,” Taylor said. “He had really good practices, and you got to see that tonight. He’s a really good shooter. He’s growing every day, and I feel like Paul’s gonna be a really good player for N.C. State.”

The rookie guard was also one of the better defenders for the Pack. According to the advanced analytics, he was just one of four N.C. State players with a stop percentage over 50% and he was credited with three stops. Unfortunately his efforts did not lead to a victory.

“We wanted to give him an opportunity. I thought this energy was great,” Keatts said. “I thought he played hard, and I thought he did some really good things, so we hope this little launching pad for him to continue to get better.”