NC State basketball quick hits from 74-68 loss to Oklahoma State

Quick hits and notes from NC State basketball 74-68 loss to Oklahoma State in front of a small crowd at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., on Wednesday evening.

Play of the game

NC State was beginning to make a late push to get back into the contest after falling behind 50-36 with 10:11 left in the contest. A pair of free throws by Pack sophomore guard Cam Hayes cut the Cowboys’ lead down to 57-49 with 4:31 left, and that is when Oklahoma State sophomore guard Rondel Walker responded with what was a theme in the second half.

Oklahoma State on multiple occasions found success breaking down NC State’s press defense, and Walker hit a three-pointer doing exactly that five seconds after Hayes’ free throws to give Oklahoma State what would be its last double-digit advantage of the game at 60-49.

Highlight of the game

Truthfully, it was Oklahoma State that had the highlight moments with a multitude of dunks and finishes around the rim. Junior forward Kalib Boone had three alley-oop dunks during the contest, all from breaking down the press.

But the edge goes to redshirt sophomore wing Dereon Seabron flying high on the fast break for a one-handed dunk with 5:34 left to put the Wolfpack up 21-16.

Player of the game

In The Wolfpacker’s scouting report on Oklahoma State, it was detailed how about seven different Oklahoma State players were capable of being leading scorers on a given night.

On this evening, Boone was that player.

He came off the bench with starting big man Moussa Cisse in foul trouble and finished with a game-high 20 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field and added five blocked shots, four rebounds and a steal in 18 minutes.

When Boone was on the court, Oklahoma State outscored NC State basketball by 13 points.

Boone was also the catalyst of a staggering stat from the game. The Cowboys’ bench, which had accounted for over half of Oklahoma State’s points coming into the game, outscored NC State’s reserves 56-5.

NC State basketball offense struggles

Also noted in the scouting report on Oklahoma State under three things to expect from the Cowboys, besides from the fact that the scoring could come anywhere, was a tenacious defense.

That showed up Wednesday evening, too.

Boone led a defensive stand at the rim that resulted in 10 blocked shots.. Oklahoma State also finished with eight steals, and NC State finished with a season-high 17 turnovers compared to just eight assists.

Four NC State players had at least three turnovers, including freshman guard Terquavion Smith, who had a challenging game in his first action against a Power Five team. Smith went 0 for 5 from the field and turned it over three times in 16 minutes.

Unsurprisingly, that resulted in NC State shooting a low percentage from the field. The Pack made 30.4 percent of its shot attempts, including only 5 of 20 threes. Seabron was the lone Wolfpack player to make at least half his shot attempts, going 6 of 11 from the field.

In its previous three contests, head coach Kevin Keatts’ team shot at least 45.0 percent every time and and had just four total shots blocked. The eight steals by Oklahoma State more than doubled the seven the first three opponents collectively totaled.

NC State basketball was dominated in the paint and in transition

Oklahoma State started the game making just 1 of 11 shots and having four turnovers not even halfway through the first half.

Eventually, though, it figured out the NC State press defense and used its advantage inside.

When Oklahoma State built its largest lead of the game at 14 points, it had a 39-23 rebounding advantage, including 14-7 on the offensive glass.

It also used its transition offense against the Pack’s full court D to have 32 fast break points, compared to 15 for NC State.

The Cowboys shot just 2 of 13 on threes, but it overcame that by having a sizable 42-24 advantage in the paint, which is partially a tribute to the rim protection it received on defense.

Standouts for NC State basketball

For the third time in four games, Seabron had a double-double, finishing with 19 points and 10 rebounds. He also had three assists and two steals. He is now averaging 20.5 points and 10 boards on the young season.

Neither Hayes (4 of 16 from the field) or senior forward Jericole Hellems (3 of 11) had efficient shooting performances, but both were automatic at the line, going 16 of 16 combined. Hellems finished with 18 points before fouling out for the second straight game. Hayes added 16 points.

Interestingly, when Hellems played, in those 36 minutes the Wolfpack outscored Oklahoma State by 10 points. In the four minutes he was on the bench, the Cowboys were plus-16 on the Pack.

Also, it is worth noting that NC State did not quit. The Pack cut the lead down to two points at 68-66 with just 33.6 seconds left after a pair of free throws from Hellems, but Oklahoma State went a perfect 6 for 6 at the line down the stretch.

NC State basketball plus/minus

Here is the plus/minus for each player (the difference between points scored while they were on the floor) for NC State basketball:

Hellems: +10 (36 minutes played)

Sophomore forward Jaylon Gibson: +5 (16)

Sophomore center Ebenezer Duwuona: +1 (18)

Hayes: – (31)

Fifth-year senior guard Thomas Allen: -1 (12)

Junior guard Casey Morsell: -4 (29)

Seabron: -6  (36)

Freshman forward Ernest Ross: -12 (7)

Smith: -15 (16)

NC State basketball game scores

Using Hollinger’s measure of productivity, players are graded 1-40 with 10 being average for an NBA player.

Seabron: 16.8

Hellems: 8.1

Hayes: 6.9

Gibson: 4.9

Dowuona: 4.7

Morsell: 3.5

Allen: -0.7

Ross: -1.1

Smith: -5.7

What this NC State basketball loss means

The Pack is 3-1 on the season while Oklahoma State improved to 4-1.

NC State is 0-3 all-time against the Cowboys.

The game was televised online on CBS Sports Network. Throughout the year, we’ll keep track of the Pack’s record on the different channels:

• ACC Network Extra: 2-0

• FloSports: 1-0

• CBS Sports Network: 0-1

We also track NC State’s records by month:

• November: 3-1

Other stats of note

• Oklahoma State won the turnover margin 17-12 and converted that into a 15-13 advantage in points off turnovers.
• The Cowboys would eventually edge out the Pack on the boards 44-39 overall and narrowly on the offensive glass, 16-15. NC State, though, actually had a 14-13 second-chance points advantage.
• Defensively, NC State had five blocks and seven steals.
• NC State led by as much as nine points and for 15:01. Oklahoma State had the edge for 21:50. There was just one lead change and one tie in the game.

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