Keavin Keatts on NC State's Elite Eight run: 'I'm so proud of them'
For the first time in nearly 40 years, NC State is heading to the Elite Eight. After the Wolfpack’s 67-58 upset win over No. 2 seed Marquette, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts raved about his team.
“These guys are great. We’re doing it on both ends of the floor. I’m so proud of them,” Keatts said. “We talked about being very stingy defensively and Marquette’s a really good basketball team. We did a great job. I thought we were better defensively.”
NC State’s defense was lockdown in the win, forcing Marquette to have one of its worst offensive performances of the season. The Golden Eagles shot 20-60 (33.3%) from the field and 4-31 (12.9%) from beyond the arc in the loss.
Meanwhile, NC State connected on 39.1% of its attempts from 3-point range. Further, the Wolfpack recorded 14 assists on 26 total made field goals. Keatts can see his team improving every game.
“We’re sharing the basketball,” Keatts said. “They’re starting to trust each other. They believe in one another. It’s beautiful. We’re going to the Elite Eight and all the credit goes to these guys.”
DJ Hornes never doubted NC State
Senior guard DJ Horne was a standout for the Wolfpack, tallying a team-high 19 points while shooting 4-7 from downtown. Horne also contributed five rebounds to NC State’s winning effort.
NC State is the third school Horne has been to in his collegiate career. He began his career at Illinois State, where he found relative success and earned all-conference honors. Horne then transferred to Arizona State.
Horne stamped his mark on the Sun Devils, averaging 12.5 points, 3.4 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game in his final season with the team. After the 2022-23 campaign, Horne entered the transfer portal once again.
Now, after bouncing around from program to program over the course of five years, Horne has found a home.
“It’s magical,” DJ Horne said. “I’m gonna say we knew it from Day One, man. We knew we’re a good team. It was all about just locking in and understanding our roles. And there’s no better time to be doing that than now.
“Everybody’s good, man, and that’s what good teams do, man. One through five, anybody who comes in the game has that next-man-up mentality. And right now, we’re playing great basketball and we’re gonna do everything we can to keep that going.”
On Sunday, NC State will square off against the winner between Houston and Duke.