Seniors steal the show: Three takeaways from NC State’s 71-63 win over Pitt
N.C. State’s slim hopes to recreate its 2024 miracle run stayed alive for a couple of hours Wednesday night.
The Wolfpack defeated Pitt, 71-63, to cap off its home schedule and send off its seniors with a win. Every point was scored by a senior or graduate student.
But Notre Dame later beat Stanford in South Bend, which knocked the Pack out of ACC Tournament contention.
Pitt (16-14) took a couple of leads early, but N.C. State (12-18) controlled the game for nearly 36 minutes. The Wolfpack handed Pitt its third straight loss at Lenovo Center and third consecutive this season. The Panthers have lost eight of their last 10.
“What an incredible night, and it’s incredible because of our seniors,” N.C. State head coach Kevin Keatts said. “I don’t know that I’ve ever had a game where every senior scored, and scored all of the points in the game. I couldn’t have scripted a better night for those guys.”
The Wolfpack was led a surprising hero: Breon Pass.
Pass played his 115th game for N.C. State and earned his first start on senior day. He found out right before the game when his name was written on the whiteboard. The senior is one of eight players in the ACC to remain at a single program for four years. Pass scored the team’s first points of the game with a 3-pointer.
“He’s a great kid. He’s the best teammate you’re ever going to have,” Keatts said. “You couldn’t ask for a better young man. ... I wanted to start him tonight. Great night. I thought he answered. You could tell he had a lot of shots that he hadn’t taken over the years, so he put it up tonight. I was happy with him.”
The guard made four 3s in the game, including one with 4:32 in the first half. His basket put the Wolfpack up 30-23, its largest lead at that point in the game.
Pass remains the team’s most efficient perimeter shooter. He entered the game making 39.2% of his attempts and, earlier in the season, was making his 3s at a clip of at least 50%.
The in-state product added pressure on the defensive end as well. He contributed a block and steal in the first half, while also notching a deflection that disrupted the Panthers’ offensive flow.
“It’s my last time in that arena, man, so I just tried to play the best I could,” Pass said. “Thank God for my shot falling in today. Happy about that.”
N.C. State’s offense struggled to end the first half, making just one of its last seven shots, but Pass notched nine early points to guide the Wolfpack to a 34-30 lead going into the locker room. It was the eighth halftime lead in the ACC this season for N.C. State.
Despite the shakiness before the break, the Wolfpack returned in the second half with efficiency on both ends. N.C. State opened the second period on a 7-0 run. And its defense held Pitt to 0 of 4 from the field and forced two turnovers in the first four minutes.
Things got a little dicey when the officials’ whistles loosened up. Jayden Taylor, Ben Middlebrooks and Marcus Hill all had three fouls before the midway mark in the second half. N.C. State was called for eight fouls in the first eight minutes of the second half (13 overall), putting Pitt in the bonus with plenty of time on the clock. The Pack entered the game committing 16.6 fouls per outing.
Pitt is one of the best free throw shooting teams in the country, making 78.2% of its foul shots. Pitt is tied for second in the ACC and No. 17 in the nation. It is also on pace to set a single-season school record. Foul calls going in Pitt’s favor allowed the Panthers to cut N.C. State’s lead to one point.
The teams finished with a combined 35 personal fouls. Middlebrooks fouled out with 22.3 seconds remaining, finishing with 11 points, two rebounds and three steals.
N.C. State, however, found much-needed buckets and stops to end its 2024-25 home slate with a positive note.
Pass finished with 14 points, tying his career high, on 4 of 9 shooting from 3. He added three rebounds, three assists and his lone steal. Michael O’Connell led the scoring effort with 15 points, including six free throws, and eight assists. It was his best performance of the ACC schedule and second-best of the season.
“This night is special,” Keatts said. “We lost this game last year, and (expletive) I think everybody booed us off the floor. … There’s no quit in these guys. We just have not had a great year, but we’re fighting every moment that we can. We cherish tonight, it was great.”
Here are three takeaways from the senior day victory.
Sloppy starts from both teams
N.C. State and Pitt entered the game as two of the most disciplined teams in the ACC, ranking atop the conference for fewest turnovers per game. They did not look like the cleanest passing teams Wednesday night.
The Wolfpack struggled with Pitt’s length early, recording four turnovers in the first eight minutes. The Panthers turned those into steals.
Pitt, however, also struggled with its discipline and allowed the Pack to record several of its own steals.
At halftime, the two teams combined for 16 turnovers. Of those turnovers, 11 were steals. N.C. State scored 11 points off Pitt turnovers, while the Panthers returned the favor and scored eight points off Wolfpack errors.
The squads committed fewer turnovers in the second half, though they still finished above their averages. Pitt committed 14, which the Pack turned into 15 points. N.C. State committed 11 turnovers, and Pitt scored eight points off those.
N.C. State ranks No. 2 in the ACC with 9.5 turnovers committed per game, while Pitt ranks No. 3 with 9.9 each night.
“We are a great group. And tonight, we came out there and competed at a high level,” Dontrez Styles said. “We made shots, we defended. It got a little sloppy at times, but we made up for it.”
Styles ends senior night in style
Styles was one of three single-year transfers honored in senior day activities. Though he’s only been with the Pack for one season, he’s made an impact. His contributions continued against the Panthers.
Styles, a North Carolina and Georgetown transfer, pulled down the Wolfpack’s first four rebounds and recorded seven in the opening 20 minutes. He was held to three points during the first half but found the basket to jump start the team’s second-half scoring.
The Kinston native finished with his third double-double of the season, notching 13 points and a career-high 13 rebounds.
Styles entered the game scoring 17 or more points in six of the last 10 games. He averaged 14.3 points and 5.5 rebounds per game in that span, while making 26 3s on 42.6% shooting.
Keatts said the senior has been arguably the team’s most consistent player during conference play.
“It’s meant the world. It’s been an up and down journey,” Styles said of his career. “Going back to my freshman year, sophomore year at Carolina, it didn’t work out for me, and (then at) Georgetown. It’s been a unique journey. A lot of people can’t be in this position; go to three great schools. Just having the opportunity, man, I’m very blessed. I thank God every day for it.”
Better, not perfect, defense
The Wolfpack entered the game struggling on defense, despite that being one of its strengths earlier in the season. It looked improved for three quarters Wednesday night.
N.C. State gave up 35 points or more in the first half in four of its last six games but held Pitt to 30 points in the opening period. The Panthers shot 11 of 28 (39.8%) and finished the first half with three stretches of at least four consecutive missed shots.
Additionally, the Wolfpack held Jaland Lowe and Ishmael Leggett to 2 of 13 shooting through the first 27 minutes of game time. The duo finally found a rhythm late in the second. Lowe contributed 20 points, while Leggett added 12 points, respectively. They lead the Panthers with a little over 16 points per game apiece.
N.C. State struggled to guard the Panthers down the stretch, giving up eight baskets in the final 10 minutes. That could be partially attributed to foul trouble, but it managed to hold on.
This story was originally published March 5, 2025 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Seniors steal the show: Three takeaways from NC State’s 71-63 win over Pitt."
