Kevin Keatts evaluates NC State's early effort vs. Zach Edey
Heading into the Final Four, everyone was excited to see the matchup between DJ Burns and Zach Edey. If NC State was going to have a chance of pulling off the upset, Burns had to put up a good effort against the two-time Defensive Player of the Year. Early on, the advantage is probably in favor of Edey.
CBS’ Tracy Wolfson caught up with NC State head coach Kevin Keatts to get his opinion, saying they have to get Edey off the block. If Purdue runs a set to get Edey into position, he’s having a ton of success with 10 points at the under-eight media timeout.
NC State is getting beat in the rebounding margin overall but Edey has five of his own. Keatts knows if his program is going to advance to the national championship, those numbers have to trend in a different direction.
“I think we have to do a good job getting him off the block,” Keatts said. “Even the shots that he’s missed, he’s got them back. Our problem is, we’re getting beat to 50/50 balls and extra rebounds. We can’t do that. We’ve got to outplay them in that area.”
Kevin Keatts not too concerned about first-half fatigue
At one point in the first half, there was continuous play for over six minutes. Not too many whistles coming from the officials but also good offense from both teams. Neither head coach was able to make a substitution for a long time or get their players a break.
Burns, in particular, looked winded out there. Not just from going up and down the court but also defending Edey on multiple possessions. He wound up breaking up the play too by committing a foul on Edey in the paint.
Even so, Keatts is not too worried about his team being fatigued. The head coach is more concerned about getting good looks and making those shots.
“I don’t think it’s an issue,” Keatts said. “We’re struggling a little bit because our shots are not going down. We’ve got some good looks. We’ve just not made shots.”
Compared to the other three teams in Phoenix, NC State has played the most basketball of late. Five games in five days at the ACC Tournament earned them an automatic birth to the NCAA Tournament. Everyone wondered when fatigue would catch up to them.
As of now, Keatts does not believe it’s in the first half against Purdue.