NC State Plays at Rutgers Thursday in B1G/ACC Challenge

November 29, 2017

Game Notes | Live Stats | B1G Network

RALEIGH – The NC State women's basketball team (6-1) concludes a four-game road swing Thursday evening at Rutgers in the 2017 installment of the B1G/ACC Challenge. Tip-off is scheduled for 6 p.m. from the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, N.J., with live video coverage provided by the B1G Network.

This week marks the 11th annual B1G/ACC Challenge. The ACC has never lost a challenge with the B1G, going 7-0-3 as a conference and a combined 71-51 in challenge games. NC State is 4-6 in B1G/ACC Challenge games, most recently defeating Indiana 84-70 in Raleigh last season on Dec. 1.

A WIN THURSDAY WOULD...
-Be the 869th win in program history (868-453)
-Be the 651st win of head coach Wes Moore's career (650-213)
-Be Moore's 93rd win at NC State (92-44)
-Be NC State's sixth win over Rutgers (5-4)
-Be NC State's fifth win in the B1G/ACC Challenge (4-6)

NOTING THE WOLFPACK (6-1)
-Ranked 18th nationally in rebound margin (+12.7).
-Ranked 24th in scoring defense (54.0 points allowed per game).
-Forward Chelsea Nelson ranks 19th nationally (1st in ACC) in FT attempts (46).
-PG Kaila Ealey ranks 27th nationally (2nd in ACC) with a 3.60 assist-to-turnover ratio.
-All six wins have been by 17 points or more.

SCOUTING THE SCARLET KNIGHTS (5-2)
-The Scarlet Knights are 1-0 at home this season.
-Rutgers added eight new players this past offseason after going 6-24 during the 2016-17 season.
-The Scarlet Knights rank 14th nationally in steals per game (13.1) and 20th in turnover margin (+7.0).
-Leading scorer Tyler Scafie is averaging 19.1 points per game and ranks ninth nationally in field goals made.
-Rutgers narrowly lost to defending national champion South Carolina on Nov. 24, pulling within three points in the fourth quarter before falling 78-68.

SERIES HISTORY
-Thursday's game marks the 10th meeting between NC State and Rutgers.
-The Wolfpack leads the series 5-4.
-Six of the nine games have been played at neutral sites.
-NC State is 0-1 at Rutgers and last played there on Jan. 1, 1986.
-In the last meeting between the teams, Rutgers earned a neutral-site 66-56 win on Nov. 26, 2005.

POINTS IN THE PAINT
NC State's offense has been very successful close to the basket this season. The Wolfpack has outscored its opponents in the paint by a 216-120 margin.

SHARING THE RESPONSIBILITIES
In seven games this season, the Wolfpack has had a different leading scorer six times.

STARTING HOT
NC State has been getting off to very fast starts this season, outscoring its opponents 20.4-11.7 on average in the first quarter.

PLUS/MINUS
Senior forward Chelsea Nelson is the team's leader in plus/minus through seven games this season. During the 171 minutes and 37 seconds Nelson has been on the court this season, NC State is outscoring its opponents 338-217 (+121). Teammates Kaila Ealey (+109) and Aislinn Konig (+107) are also above 100.

MAKING A DIFFERENCE ON THE ROAD
Presently in the fifth season under head coach Wes Moore, the Wolfpack has earned 26 true road wins since the start of the 2013-14 season. In the prior eight seasons from 2005-06 to 2012-13, the Wolfpack earned 32 true road wins.

#GoPack | @PackWomensBball

NC State Plays at Rutgers Thursday in B1G/ACC Challenge

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Players Mentioned

Kaila Ealey

Aislinn Konig

Chelsea Nelson