North Carolina State University Athletics
State Welcomes No. 2/3 Virginia Wednesday Night
2/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| NC State (14-10, 5-6) vs. #2/3 Virginia (21-1, 9-1) | ||
| Date | Wednesday, Feb. 11 | |
| Time | 8 p.m. ET | |
| Location | PNC Arena - Raleigh, N.C. | |
| Tickets | Tickets | |
| Television | ACC Network Affiliates (WRAL) (Steve Martin, Dan Bonner) | |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) | |
| Game Notes | NC State | Virginia | |
| Season Statistics | NC State | Virginia | |
| Live Stats | GameTracker | |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball  | Facebook  |
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PROMOTION: Kyle Washington Trading Cards (Available at Sections 115 & 129) Halftime: CAT Scholar-Athlete Presentation
The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. WOLFPACK STRENGTH OF SCHEDULE: 9TH
NC State is no stranger to playing the nation's elite teams. According to ESPN.com's Daily RPI, NC State has played the nation's ninth-toughest schedule. That number will surely improve after Wednesday night's game against ACC-leading Cavaliers. After 11 ACC games, NC State's conference strength of schedule is 25th in the nation. The Pack has already played eight games against the current RPI top 50, highlighted by wins over Duke and Boise State. Overall, the Wolfpack has four wins against top 80 teams (Duke, Boise State, Pitt, Louisiana Tech) and nine of NC State's 10 losses are to teams in the top 75 of the RPI.
2. NC STATE-VIRGINIA
Wednesday's contest is the 144th meeting between the Wolfpack and the Cavaliers, with NC State holding an 82-61 all-time series lead. The series, which dates back to 1913, saw NC State dominate at the turn of the century (9-3 vs. UVa from 2001-06) but Virginia has gained momentum in recent years. NC State is 7-5 all-time against Virginia at PNC Arena.
3. KEEP CAT HOT
Mark Gottfried called Barber's 23-point, 7-assist game at Georgia Tech his best game as a college player. The sophomore point guard, inserted back into the starting lineup after coming off the bench for two games, scored 18 points in the first half as NC State build a commanding lead and went on to win in overtime. In the next outing, Barber was even better. He scored a career-high 28 points and made four 3-pointers at Wake Forest. Over the past two games, Barber is averaging 25.5 points and 5.5 assists with just one turnover.
4. WHAT'S DIFFERENT FROM THE FIRST MEETING?
NC State and Virginia played a tight game a month ago in Charlottesville, with the home team pulling away late to win 61-51. NC State led Virginia 42-41 with 9:20 left and trailed by just one at halftime. Three factors have swayed to NC State's favor in Wednesday's rematch: Virginia is without star wing Justin Anderson, who is recovering from surgery on a broken finger; NC State is coming off a week of rest and recovery since playing on Feb. 3; the Pack is playing at PNC Arena, where it owns an 11-4 record this season.
5. A BREAK, PLAY TWICE, ANOTHER BREAK
For much of this season, NC State had been playing a high volume of games in a short period of time. That trend has leveled out in February, with NC State having two bye weeks. NC State is coming off a stretch of eight days without a game. That's the longest period of time between games this season. In addition, NC State has seven days between games after it plays at Louisville on Feb. 14.
