Kevin Keatts' last game as head coach at NC State was like so many others in this woebegone season. His Wolfpack played well at times, actually led Miami for 37 minutes, but ultimately collapsed amid a flurry of poor shots, indifferent transition defense, and one very large missed box out.
Miami's unlikely 72-70 comeback win underscored one of NC State's biggest deficiencies: A complete inability to win on the road. The Wolfpack played 11 games in hostile arenas. The Pack lost all 11.
One of Keatts' cool traditions on road trips was to take the team out for ice cream if they won. NC State made five stops for ice cream during the 2023-2024 season. But in 2025? Not a single scoop.
After going "O for the Road" NC State finished ACC play 5-15. That's the program's worst conference record since 2017 when the Wolfpack went 4-14 in Mark Gottfried's final campaign.
State's overall record, 12-19, is the worst since the Pack finished 11-19 in 1994 during the Les Robinson era. I would note that NC State in the 90's recruited under significant self-imposed academic limitations, part of an effort to get Phi Beta Kappa on campus following the NCAA probation of 1990. Kevin Keatts had no such recruiting restrictions.
Though Keatts, for the most part, brought in good talent in each of his eight seasons at State. He had grown accustomed to rebuilding his roster while a coach at Hargrave Military Academy. He always seemed very well tuned to which players would be leaving, who would be back, and most of all, places to find transfers and good high school seniors.
Back in November it looked for all the world that Keatts had assembled another strong player pool on the heels of the 2024 Final Four run. There was so much experience.
But a nine-game losing streak in January and February relegated this veteran team to the bottom of the ACC standings with Boston College and Miami.
NC State had lots of seniors on its roster, which is a big part of what makes this season so disappointing.
Michael O'Connell, who hit the remarkable buzzer beater versus Virginia which fueled the 2024 winning streak, is actually a grad student. Ben Middlebrooks, Breon Pass, Dontrez Styles, Jayden Taylor, Brandon Huntley-Hatfield and Marcus Hill are all fourth year players. But this veteran team never really jelled.
Moreover, statistical deficiencies abounded.
In conference play, NC State averaged just 66.9 points per game. Only Virginia scored less. The Wolfpack shot just 40%-that ranks 17th in the ACC. Three point shooting improved slightly over the final weeks, but 32%, just 14th best, won't cut it.
Rebounding was another sore point for this team. The Pack did a decent job on the offensive glass, thanks largely to the hard working Middlebrooks and Styles, getting a respectable 10 O-Boards per game. But missed box outs on the defensive end, especially by the perimeter players, was a problem. State got just 20 defensive rebounds per game, worst in the league.
What that means is that after working on defense for 20-30 seconds and forcing a missed shot, the Wolfpack had to play defense all over again for another 20-second possession. Often on the second possession points would be surrendered.
And truthfully NC State opponents often scored on the first possession. ACC teams shot nearly 48% from the field against the Wolfpack and 37% from three. Both figures are among the most generous in the league.
The three-point stat is surprising because "running opponents off the three-point line" has always been a big point of emphasis under Keatts.
State did a good job of protecting the basketball, averaging just 9.4 turnovers per game -- a tribute to O'Connell and State's other ball handlers.
Also the Pack's defensive pressure forced 10.8 turnovers per game. But note, this number dropped during the season to State's detriment. The Pack was forcing almost 13 turnovers per game in early January, tops in the league. But at season's end, State ranked just 10th in this department. That's huge, because those turnovers reduced opponent shooting opportunities and also led to easy transition offense. Given State's shooting and rebounding woes, 10th best in forcing turnovers was not good enough.
During the offseason NC State acquired Louisville's Mike James through the transfer portal. A four-star recruit out of Oak Hill Academy, James was slotted for a starring role on the wing. But due to a knee injury, he never played.
Even without James, NC State's top seven players were all veterans; however, the nonconference season was quite uneventful. The Wolfpack beat the Riders and Coppin State but lost the big games against Purdue, BYU, Texas, and Kansas.
State's best moment of the early season was an 84-74 triumph against a tall, talented Florida State squad. At home, of course.
But State lost at struggling Virginia on December 31 and got thrashed by Wake Forest to begin 2025. The Pack slipped by Notre Dame when Irish star Markus Burton missed the game winner, but that was the last win for five weeks.
NC State lost by two at home to North Carolina when Jalen Washington blocked Jayden Taylor's attempt to tie the game in the final second. Then came a quick flurry of defeats: A three-point loss at Virginia Tech and a three-point loss at home to a poor shooting Cal team. The Pack played pretty well against fourth place SMU and lost by six in the final minute. State played arguably its best basketball of the season at Duke, pulling within one point on Hill's three point play with 4:40 to go. Still, it was another defeat.
Probably the Wolfpack's best chance to win during the long losing streak came on the road at Stanford. The Cardinal played without their two primary ball handlers and State led by a point with 17 seconds to go. Somehow Stanford pulled out the win.
Perhaps worn out by the west coast trip, State was blown out at home by Louisville for that ninth straight defeat.
NC State won its final three home games, but even while winning in Raleigh, losing badly on the road. The Pack lost by 24 at UNC, 14 at Syracuse, 25 at Georgia Tech, and the final blow was that 2-point loss at Miami.
State did enjoy one final moment of glory at home when the Pack upset the Pitt Panthers at the Lenovo Center 71-63. Seniors, on Senior night, scored all 71 points. But those final home wins weren't nearly enough to qualify for the ACC Tournament.
Given that Keatts probably would have been fired last year were it not for the program's first Final Four since 1983, Athletic Director Boo Corrigan should have a short list of candidates to replace him. And time is of the essence. The transfer portal opens in three weeks and NC State again needs major reconstruction.
State's seven departing veterans on average scored 53 of the team's 69 points (State averaged a slightly higher total overall than it did in conference play). Freshmen and sophomores tallied an average of 16 points per game.
Richmond County's Paul McNeil was the best of the newcomers, scoring 4.2 points per game in about 8 minutes of playing time. McNeil was the star in the Pack's upset of Wake Forest with 24 points.
Trey Parker had some big moments, also averaging 4.6 points per game. Dennis Parker, not related and a year older, averaged 3 points per game. 6'9 Ismael Diouf got playing time due to Huntley-Hatfield's injuries and Middlebrooks' persistent foul trouble, but averaged just two points and one rebound per game. Bryce Heard, another freshman, averaged about six minutes per game but rarely scored.
Will these players remain after the coaching change? Will Mike James be healthy and will he stay at State?
UNC has beefed up its program, hiring a general manager to oversee NIL and roster assembly. Duke, which hired a GM two years ago, has a legitimate chance to win the national championship.
NC State has a great deal of work to do in quick order, to avoid falling further behind its Triangle rivals.