N.C. State’s Omer Yurtseven boiled down Sunday’s 86-81 loss to No. 25 Miami in pretty simple terms.
“They made big shots,” he said. "They usually don’t.”
The Wolfpack clawed its way to a couple of ties but couldn’t quite overcome the Hurricanes on an afternoon that saw both teams shoot better than 54 percent.
This was supposed to be a battle of defense-oriented teams. But, time after time, Miami would fight through N.C. State’s full-court pressure only to nail a 3-pointer; or pass the ball around the perimeter as the shot clock ran down before hitting an open guard in the lane off a pick and roll for an easy layup.
The Ebuka Izundu power jam counter rang up three big ones as he made all seven of his shot attempts from the field.
Miami’s 5-foot-7 guard Chris Lykes wove in and out of the Wolfpack defense without much resistance in his first start of the season.
And Bruce Brown Jr. turned the second half into his own personal showcase, shooting 5-for-5 with seven assists and a steal in the clutch to finish with a team-high 19 points.
“Every team has that game,” N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts said, citing Miami’s uncharacteristically hot shooting from beyond the arc.
The Hurricanes (14-4, 3-3 ACC) entered the game as the second-worst 3-point shooting team in the ACC at 30 percent. Sunday, they made 10 of 19 for 52.6 percent.
Still, N.C. State was right there.
“It was a game that we certainly could have won. We’ll go back and we’ll get better at guarding the basketball,” Keatts said.
He’s pleased with his Pack, just days after saying this team simply didn’t have the talent of other ACC squads.
The struggle showed in some of the Wolfpack’s forced jumpers, tough fouls and lost rebounds. But Yurtseven’s game was graceful under pressure.
The 7-foot sophomore has a Matrix-like finesse, coraling tipped passes and toeing the inbounds line under the basket as if he sees the game unfold in slow motion.
His 28 points on 12-of-16 shooting marked a game high and his six rebounds were tops for the Wolfpack (13-7, 3-4).
Not impressed
But he’s not impressed with himself.
“Since we didn’t win, it doesn’t matter how many points we scored,” Yurtseven said.
He blamed himself and his frontcourt mates for allowing the Hurricanes to effectively run back screens that let guards gain speed on their way to open paint.
“To be honest, their drive-and-kick game was not really a problem. It was all about keeping them in front,” he said. “They have really good one-on-one players and they know how to read the pick-and-roll.
“We have to do a better job about getting up on those screens.”
The Pack certainly has some things to improve upon coming off its first home league loss and fifth game against a ranked opponent. And Miami has served notice to the basketball world that it can get into an offensive rhythm that might be unstoppable.
Markell Johnson showed good guy (14 assists), bad guy (six turnovers) moments in his first start since a seven-game suspension. And Abdul-Malik Abu, in the starting lineup for some reason, needs to defend without fouling. He played just five minutes Sunday.
But the Wolfpack continues to show encouraging signs as it aims for at least a .500 finish in ACC play to get into the NCAA Tournament conversation.
“It’s a tough conference, but I love my team,” Keatts said. “We’re right there in the mix with everybody else.”
Staff writer Monica Holland can be reached at mholland@fayobserver.com or 486-3518.