NC State basketball looking for a NET gain against Clemson, despite two recent losses

Raleigh

N.C. State basketball coach Kevin Keatts learned a hard lesson about the NET rankings and NCAA tournament rankings in 2019.

The Wolfpack was 33rd in the NET used by the NCAA selection committee to help determine the field. With a win over Clemson in the ACC Tournament, the Pack appeared to have done enough.

And then the Pack was left out. St. John’s, No. 73 in the NET, made it.

N.C. State’s nonconference strength of schedule was ranked No. 353 that season, the worst in Division I. Strength of schedule also was factored into the NET formula, not that it mattered.

The lesson learned by Keatts: schedule better or the NCAA committee can find a way to keep you out.

Here’s another way: stand 80th in the NET rankings. That’s where the Wolfpack sits after an 83-79 loss Saturday at Wake Forest.

Keatts noted Monday the Pack (15-9, 7-6 ACC) did not drop in the NET rankings despite being the loser. Wake Forest, the winner, moved down a few slots, he said.

“There’s something a little flawed with that,” Keatts said.

One thing the Wolfpack can not dodge is its 0-6 record against Quad-1 opponents. Put up an “oh-for” in that category and nothing else may not matter as far as making the NCAAs, and the Pack missed out on one Saturday at Wake.

The NET factors in both offensive and defensive efficiency, with a margin of victory component that has many coaches, including Keatts, saying it encourages teams to run up the score on weaker opponents.

“This thing has become a complete numbers game, and unfortunately I think it takes away from sportsmanship,” Keatts said. “Our games become ‘Hey, you’ve got to try to beat the heck out of people’ just to improve your NET.”

Both Keatts and his players said Saturday that the NCAA Tournament remains the goal, that Quad-1 opportunities remain on the schedule. The Pack plays at Clemson on Saturday and later has games against North Carolina and Duke. Then, there’s the ACC Tournament.

“We can still be there in March,” guard D.J. Horne said Saturday.

After a two-game ACC losing streak, Keatts said this week’s practices would be “more about us.” The Pack, he said, needed some defensive work. The extra time also could give guards Jayden Taylor and Casey Morsell some rest time and perhaps a freshness that could help solve their shooting woes in the losses to Wake Forest and Pitt.

Horne has been stringing together strong offensive games, the transfer guard putting up 20 or more points in his last four games. He had a season-high 31 points against Wake and is averaging 26.5 points over the four-game span.

Keatts said after the Wake game that Horne was playing aggressively, with a “chip on his shoulder.”

“He’s carried us the last three, four games,” Keatts said Monday. “He has played elite basketball. I do not know where we would be without him.”

Taylor had 21 points in a win over Georgia Tech but did not score in a 67-64 loss to Pitt. He then was 3-of-15 from the field at Wake Forest, missing seven of eight 3-point shots.

Morsell had seven points against the Deacons and is a combined 5-of-15 in the two losses.

Guard Michael O’Connell, who has moved into the starting lineup, also has not been as effective. He had two points in each of the two losses and played just 11 minutes at Wake Forest.

“We’ve got to get a few of our guys playing better, making some shots,” Keatts said.

Clemson (16-7, 6-6 ACC) has won its last two after a one-point loss to Virginia. First, they went into Chapel Hill and knocked off North Carolina 80-76. The Tigers then shot 61% from the field in beating Syracuse, offsetting 21 turnovers in a 77-68 win

The Pack lost three times to Clemson last season and had blowout defeats in both its last home game and in the ACC Tournament. The Pack went to the 2023 NCAA Tournament. The Tigers, who had a better ACC record than N.C. State last season plus the tournament win, were left out.