With DJ Burns, DJ Horne and Casey Morsell in the building — key figures in last season’s ACC Championship and Final Four run — NC State men’s basketball was motivated to not set the longest losing streak in program history.
No one was more motivated than senior guard Jayden Taylor, made evident in the first three possessions. Taylor made a turnaround jumper as the shot clock was winding down, then immediately stole the inbound pass and laid it in. He then forced a turnover on the next possession, which started a fast break that didn’t result in a basket but set the tone for the rest of the game in NC State’s 70-62 win over Boston College Saturday evening at Lenovo Center.
“We all wanted to come in and start with a lot of energy to try and get a win,” Taylor said. “We had to get this one, especially with our old guys in the building.”
Over the last five games Taylor struggled, averaging only 6.8 points per game on 30% shooting but in front of his old teammates, Taylor rediscovered his game with 16 first-half points and three steals.
“I thought Jayden Taylor kind of set the tone for us early, and really got after those guys,” said head coach Kevin Keatts.
For a team that struggled offensively for most of the season, forcing the Golden Eagles into 14 turnovers and scoring 13 points off said turnovers helped build a 44-29 halftime lead that gave NC State room for error in the second half, where it only scored 26 points.
“We look like we were supposed to look, and that’s because we created so much off of our defense,” Keatts said. “This team is not blessed to be a great offensive team, but when we create stuff off our defense, we can score the basketball and that’s the way we have to play.”
Another member of last year’s Final Four squad who had been struggling as of late was graduate guard Michael O’Connell. In the last eight games leading up this one, O’Connell had only dished out nine assists to six turnovers, which is uncommon for a guard of his caliber as one of the best in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio.
Much like Taylor, O’Connell found motivation in the presence of his former team members. He had six points, six assists and zero turnovers. O’Connell kept the offense afloat with all six of his points and three assists in the second half while the rest of his counterparts struggled.
“He hasn’t played great offensively, but it was great to see him have six assists and no turnovers,” Keatts said. “That’s what he brings to our team. He’s a calming force.”
With the win, NC State keeps its hopes of making the ACC Tournament alive even though it’s still on the outside looking in. Right now, the Wolfpack sits at 16th in the conference standings, meaning it would miss the tournament today and is still two games back of the 15th spot. If the Wolfpack would’ve lost today, it wouldn’t have officially eliminated it from the tournament but it would’ve been much harder to sneak in, and that’s all the motivation this team needed.
“We got to get out of the bottom three to make the ACC Tournament,” Taylor said. “We the defending champs, it won’t even feel right to not be in the tournament.”
After its largest margin of defeat against Louisville, Keatts challenged his team and said “No one took anything personal.” Instead, they came together and prevented this team from making history by setting the program’s longest losing streak.
“We went on a losing streak last year at some point and we still found a way to win in the end,” said freshman guard Trey Parker. “I feel like with this team, it’s all confidence and the motivation of playing together. So we found some motivation yesterday and we all came together as a team and found some goals that we want to achieve all together.”
Every game from here on out feels like a must-win for the Wolfpack as it has ground to make up in the conference standings and needs other teams to lose.
The next game up for the Pack is at UNC-Chapel Hill on Wednesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. on ESPN.
