North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Has Pivotal Road Game At Clemson
3/2/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
| NC State (17-12, 8-8) at Clemson (16-12, 8-8) | ||
| Date | Tuesday, March 3 | |
| Time | 9 p.m. ET | |
| Location | Littlejohn Coliseum - Clemson, S.C. | |
| Tickets | Tickets | |
| Television | Regional Networks (Fox Sports South) (Wes Durham, Dan Bonner) | |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) | |
| Game Notes | NC State | Clemson | |
| Season Statistics | NC State | Clemson | |
| Live Stats | GameTracker | |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball  | Facebook  |
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The Starting 5 - The Top 5 Storylines For This Game
1. STANDINGS WATCH
Tuesday night's game at Clemson is a pivotal one with plenty of ACC standings implications. In true March Madness fashion, where each team stands will come down to the season's final day. The Wolfpack and the Tigers each stand at 8-8 in league play, tied with Pittsburgh and Miami. Syracuse, State's opponent this coming weekend, owns a 9-7 ACC record but is ineligible for the postseason. Additionally, Pittsburgh and Miami play Wednesday night.
2. WOLFPACK'S MARQUEE WINS
As teams jockey for position in basketball's postseason, the Wolfpack has several marquee victories to its credit. The Wolfpack defeated then-undefeated Duke 87-75 back on Jan. 11, and now it owns a pair of top-15 RPI road wins. Behind 21 points from Cat Barber, NC State ran past Louisville (RPI 15) 74-65 at the KFC Yum! Center on Valentine's Day. The Pack followed that with a rout over Virginia Tech and this week's 58-46 victory at UNC (RPI 12). The 46 points allowed at UNC was the lowest the Tar Heels have ever scored at the Smith Center. Overall, NC State owns five wins over the ESPN.com's top 50 RPI and seven wins vs. the top 65.
3. SCHEDULING TO BE IN THE BRACKET
Mark Gottfried believes in playing a challenging schedule in order to prepare his team for the NCAA Tournament. His scheduling philosophy lifted the Pack into last year's Big Dance, and this year's schedule has been no different. According to ESPN.com, NC State has played the nation's fifth-toughest schedule. After 16 ACC games, NC State's conference strength of schedule is No. 14 in the country. The Pack has played 15 games against the current top 65 of the RPI. Overall, the Wolfpack has seven wins against top 65 teams (Duke, Louisville, Boise State, Pitt, Louisiana Tech, Richmond and UNC-CH) and nine of NC State's 12 losses are to teams in the top 70 of the RPI.
4. PERIMETER POWER
There's no question NC State is led by its starting perimeter players Trevor Lacey, Ralston Turner and Cat Barber. The trio combines to average 40.8 points per game on .439 shooting with 10.8 rebounds per game. The Wolfpack is 7-2 this season when all three of those players scores in double figures and 8-1 when they combine for 45 points.
5. WINNING ACC GAMES ON THE ROAD
For the second year in a row and third time under Mark Gottfried, NC State has claimed four ACC road victories. The Pack won 72-63 at Florida State on Jan. 17, then two weeks later held off Georgia Tech 81-80 in overtime. The Wolfpack then took down Louisville (74-65) and UNC-CH (58-46) on the road. Seven ACC teams currently have four or more conference road wins, led by Virginia's seven.
