NC State
Missouri
Wolfpack Faces Road Test Saturday At Missouri
12/18/2015 10:20:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| NC State (7-3) at Missouri (5-4) | ||
| Date | Saturday, Dec. 19 | |
| Time | 6 p.m. ET (5 CT) | |
| Location | Mizzou Arena – Columbia, Mo. | |
| Tickets | MUTigers.com | |
| Television | SEC Network (Andy Demetra, Jon Sundvold) | |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) | |
| Game Notes | NC State | Missouri | |
| Season Statistics | NC State | Missouri | |
| Live Stats | MU StatBroadcast | |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball | Facebook | |
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THE STARTING 5Â -Â The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. THE CENTURY 'MARK'Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Mark Gottfried has now won 99 games in his first 154 contests at NC State. A win Saturday at Missouri would make him the second-fastest Wolfpack coach to 100 wins in school history. The legendary Everett Case reached 100 wins at NC State in just 120 games. Jim Valvano reached the mark in 156 games, meaning one win in either of the next two games would tie Gottfried with Valvano for the school's second-fastest to 100 Wolfpack victories.Â
2. BIG SHOT BY BIG CATÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Cat Barber, known to his mother back in Virginia as Big Cat, made a big shot in NC State's 76-73 win over High Point on Wednesday night. With the game tied at 73, with 13.3 seconds remaining, NC State came out of a timeout and went to Barber. He drove left, briefly collided with teammate Caleb Martin, regained composure and created space against his defender. His fallaway 3-pointer from the left wing fell through the net as time expired and gave NC State a win over the Big South Conference's preseason favorite. The game-winning trey was his third of the game and was the No. 2 play on Thursday's ESPN Sportscenter.
3. DELAYED RETURN GAMEÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
Saturday's contest in Columbia is the second half of a home-and-home series between the Wolfpack and the Tigers. Missouri, ranked 25th at the time, came to PNC Arena two years ago and edged the Pack 68-64. The two teams planned on playing last December but a date could not be found that was agreeable to both schools, which then delayed the Pack's return game to this season.
4. PACK'S POST PRODUCTIONÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â
NC State has been led by perimeter players Cat Barber, Caleb Martin and Maverick Rowan, but increased production from State's post players could be the key to the Pack's success. Lennard Freeman, BeeJay Anya and Abdul-Malik Abu have each had their best moments over the last three games. In the Bucknell win, Freeman recorded a double-double (10 points,13 rebounds). Against South Florida, Abu had a double-double that featured a career-best 14 rebounds and dunked four times. He then totaled 13 points and nine rebounds against High Point. Anya had perhaps his finest outing as a Wolfpacker at USF, totaling a career-high 17 points on 7-for-8 shooting with seven rebounds and five blocks.Â
5. SUCCESS AGAINST HIS OLD LEAGUEÂ Â Â Â Â Â
Mark Gottfried coached 341 games at SEC school Alabama, and he has found success against his old conference during his time at NC State. The Wolfpack is 4-2 against SEC opponents since 2011. Gottfried's NC State teams own a pair of wins over Tennessee and a pair of wins over LSU, including a win in last year's NCAA Tournament. His SEC losses while at NC State are the 2013 loss to Missouri and a neutral-court loss to Vanderbilt in 2011.
