Louisville 77, State 57: Postgame Observations
Here are some observations on NC State’s 77-57 basketball loss to Louisville at PNC Arena on Saturday:
◼ The setback isn’t a damaging one. The Cardinals are ranked sixth in the nation and atop the ACC standings, after all. But the loss represents one fewer chance the Wolfpack will have this season to add an impressive Quadrant 1 victory onto its resume.
It also drops coach Kevin Keatts’ geam below .500 in the conference and completely stunts the momentum it was beginning to build by winning three straight prior to this current three-game losing streak.
At 14-8 (5-6) State is undoubtedly on the wrong side of the NCAA bubble right now with nine more regular season games remaining.
Needless to say, there’s a lot of work to be done, along with a lot of issues to fix.
◼ State did almost everything it needed to do early in the game to give itself a chance at the upset. It got Louisville into foul trouble, reaching the bonus by the first TV timeout and the double bonus 10½ minutes in.
It was also able to press fullcourt again with the return of Pat Andree and all nine scholarship players healthy and available -- forcing 11 first half turnovers on six steals. But the Wolfpack didn’t take full advantage of either the fouls or the turnovers.
State led by only two at 19-17 after C.J. Bryce finally made his first basket in three games -- a fallaway jumper from the right baseline with 7:45 left in the half. That, however, was the only shot he made in six attempts.
His teammates weren’t much better. The Wolfpack was just 8 of 27 from the floor over the opening 20 minutes, 1 of 19 from 3-point range. It also committed eight turnovers -- a combination that allowed the Cardinals to break the game open with a 22-5 run to close the half.
◼ As shoddy as State’s first half offensive performance was, its defense was just as bad. Louisville was able to score at the rim early on dribble penetration. Then when it adjust to try and stop that, it left Louisville’s shooters open from the perimeter - specifically, Ryan McMahaon.
A 6-foot senior who looks like Ollie from the movie Hoosiers, McMahon hit his first six 3-point attempts, most of which were wide open looks. He had 18 points by halftime, 10 more than his season average.
"In the first half McMahon, he did what he wanted to do," Devon Daniels said. "We didn’t lock in on the scouting report with him. He did what he wanted to do. He’s a shooter and that’s what he did."
◼ On the positive side, Bryce finally began to look like Bryce in the second half. After missing his first shot after halftime, the redshirt senior wing hit a 3-pointer from the left wing. The shot was originally waved off because official Raymie Styons called a foul on Louisville in the lane. But after consulting with the rest of the crew, the basket counted and the Wolfpack retained possession.
Bryce then tipped in a Funderburk miss and hit another trey as he was fouled to fuel a 13-3 run that got State back into contention. Bryce finished with a team-leading 15 points on 6 of 14 shooting (2 of 6 3-pointers).
"I don't think anything was very different for me," Bryce said. "I'm very confident in my game. I work on my game every single day. I feel like everyone goes through their slumps during the season. I'd rather mine come now than later but as a team we have to get back to work and we're looking forward to it."
◼ As was the case Monday night against UNC, the Wolfpack’s offense finally began clicking in the second half. But like that loss to the Tar Heels, they simply couldn’t get enough defensive stops to mount a successful comeback. Louisville shot 50.9 percent for the game (28 of 55) and made 10 of its 21 3-point attempts (55 percent).
"We were starting to get back in the game," Bryce said. "It was 56-52. Defensively, we just didn’t pay attention to the details. Some switches here, communication there. That’s something that we have to be better at."
