North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack's Road Stretch Begins At Georgia Tech
1/30/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| NC State (13-9, 4-5) at Georgia Tech (10-10, 1-7) | |
| Date | Saturday, Jan. 31 |
| Time | 12 p.m. ET |
| Location | McCamish Pavilion - Atlanta, Ga. |
| Tickets | Tickets |
| Television | ACC Network Affiliates (Tim Brant, Eddie Fogler) |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) |
| Game Notes | NC State | Georgia Tech |
| Season Statistics | NC State | Georgia Tech |
| Live Stats | GameTracker |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball  | Facebook  |
The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. FACING THE TOUGHEST SCHEDULE
According to ESPN.com's Daily RPI, NC State has played the nation's third-toughest schedule. The Wolfpack is halfway through the ACC portion of its schedule and its conference strength of schedule is ninth in the nation. The Pack has already played eight games against the current RPI top 50, highlighted by an 87-75 win over Duke back on Jan. 11. Overall, the Wolfpack has three wins against top 60 teams and all nine of NC State's losses are to teams in the top 85 of the RPI.
2. WOLFPACK SUCCESS AGAINST THE YELLOW JACKETS
Under Mark Gottfried, NC State is 4-1 against Georgia Tech. After losing his first meeting with the Yellow Jackets in 2012, Gottfried has coached the Pack to four straight wins against the Atlanta school. The Wolfpack captured a pair of 13-point wins against Georgia Tech during the 2012-13 season and also scored an 80-78 overtime win in the two teams' only meeting last year. T.J. Warren's runner with 6.2 seconds remaining was the difference, as the win over Georgia Tech was part of a three-game win streak that helped NC State gain momentum last season.
3. PACK RELIES ON PERIMETER PLAYERS
It's no secret NC State's on-court success is driven by its perimeter players, primarily leading scorers Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner. In NCSU's 13 wins this season, Lacey and Turner combine for 33.2 points per game on .474 field goal shooting and 8.9 rebounds per game. In nine losses, the duo combines for 25.0 points on .398 shooting and 6.7 rebounds.
4. BOUNCING BACK AFTER HOME LOSSES
In recent years, the Wolfpack has shown the ability to recover and win after a home loss. NC State is 7-3 in the game after a home loss since the start of last season, including a 3-1 mark this year. Following home losses this season, NC State has bounced back to defeat Tennessee, Pittsburgh and Florida State. Last season's victories over Florida Gulf Coast, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh and UNC Greensboro came after home losses as well.
5. INCREASED POST PRODUCTION
One question for this year's NC State squad has been finding the right combinations and match-ups for the team's four post players. The Wolfpack bigs, led by Kyle Washington, have shown improvement. Washington has lifted his season scoring average to 7.6 points per game and has six double-digit scoring outings, including career bests of 17 points each vs. UNC-Chapel Hill and at Purdue. Additionally, freshman Abdul-Malik Abu is averaging 14.0 points and 6.0 rebounds over the last three games. Abu notched his first career double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds in NC State's game vs. Clemson.
