This statement was made by Mark Bergin, who holds the position of senior multiplatform producer at WRAL.

Oakland Golden Grizzlies
Go Pack The Wolfpack of North Carolina State University, also known as Go Pack.
TBS | Saturday, March 23rd 7:10 PM EDT

The NC State Wolfpack’s men’s basketball team will partake in its seventh match within a span of 12 days this Saturday evening as they face off against the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

During an interview on Friday, a journalist inquired with NC State’s head coach Kevin Keatts about his strategy for preventing player fatigue.

“When visiting Chick-fil-A, they never disclose the ingredients of their sandwiches, but they are delicious, so I won’t reveal my secret,” joked Keatts.

On Saturday at 7:10 p.m., NC State (23-14) will face off against Oakland (24-11) at the PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh for the second round of the NCAA Tournament. The game will be broadcasted on TBS.

Junior forward Ben Middlebrooks of the Wolfpack, who achieved a personal best of 21 points in their 80-67 victory against Texas Tech last Thursday, echoed what his head coach had expressed.

Middlebrooks stated that they have been hearing about fatigue for a while, but despite playing many games, he does not see any of his players becoming tired.

I don’t think we’ve fallen behind in any way.

Keatts expressed his pride in his players for being able to focus and ignore distractions, despite their losing streak in the last four regular-season games.

Keatts commented that it would have been simple for the group to give up and accept that it wasn’t their season. Despite this, during their successful games at the ACC Tournament, they were able to enjoy the nice weather in Washington, D.C. since they were also on spring break. They could have chosen to use the loss as motivation to head home or go on spring break.

Keatts spoke about NC State’s difficulty in guarding Jack Gohlke, a senior guard at Oakland, who scored 32 points and made 10 3-pointers in their 80-76 victory over Kentucky.

Keatts commented on Gohlke’s impressive performance in the first round, stating that he has never seen such a strong shooting performance before, or at least not in a long time.

Michael O’Connell, the senior guard for Wolfpack, shared his strategy on how he and his team plan to limit Oakland’s performance.

According to O’Connell, allowing them to gain momentum will make it difficult to secure the victory.

O’Connell stated that the Wolfpack will attempt to restrict Gohlke’s opportunities to touch the ball.

The Wolfpack will need to counter Oakland’s zone defense on the offensive end.

Keatts mentioned that it may be unusual for you to see that regularly.

NC State junior forward Mohamed Diarra shared what it was like to see NC State start to get national attention after winning the ACC Tournament and the opening-round game.

Diarra expressed that it is important for DJ Burns to have our support and enthusiasm, even though we may feel fatigued.

“We are grateful for the energy they contribute to us.”

When inquired about which song accurately represents Burns, Diarra made a suggestion.

“I believe Diarra mentioned ‘King of the Galaxy’ by rapper BabyTron. It’s a great song that he really enjoys.”

Keatts also acknowledged the contributions of Greg Kampe, the longtime head coach of Oakland since 1984.

Keatts praised Kampe as an exceptional coach, noting that one does not typically remain in one place for four decades without possessing strong expertise.

Source: wralsportsfan.com