Pack Opens ACC Play on Thursday at Miami

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RALEIGH, NC – The No. 18/19 NC State men's basketball team opens Atlantic Coast Conference play Thursday evening when it takes on Miami at 7 p.m. at the Watsco Center in Coral Gables, Fla.

The game will be televised on ESPNU.

NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State closed the non-conference portion of its schedule on Friday, Dec. 28 with a 97-64 win over Loyola Maryland. Senior guard Torin Dorn led five NC State players in double figures with 17 points.
- The Pack shot a season-best 62.5 percent from the field against Loyola. NC State has shot over 50 percent in five consecutive games and is shooting 52.6 percent from the field this season, which leads the ACC and ranks third in the NCAA. For the season, six of the 10 players on NC State's roster are shooting over 50 percent from the field. Over the last five games, all 10 players on the Pack's roster are shooting over 50 percent from the field.
- The Pack's bench is averaging 35.8 points per game this season and has had 19 individual double-digit scoring performances. The Pack has scored 40+ points off the bench in six games this season, including a school-record 62-point performance in the win over USC Upstate on Dec. 22. Since the 1999-2000 season, seven of the top-17 bench scoring performances have come under Kevin Keatts coached teams.
- Back in the Associated Press Top-25: The Pack is ranked 18th in the AP poll that was released on Dec. 31. NC State first appeared in the AP Top-25 poll on Dec. 24. It was the program's first appearance in the AP Top-25 since the Jan. 26, 2013 poll. It's the first time since the 2005-06 season, NC State started the season unranked and worked its way into the AP top-25 rankings during non-conference play.
- NC State is forcing opponents into 19.23 turnovers per game, which leads the ACC and ranks fifth in the NCAA.

NC State - Miami Series
- The all-time series is currently tied at 11.
- Miami won the only meeting last season between the two teams, 86-81, inside PNC Arena.
- The Hurricanes are on a three-game win streak against NC State. Miami joins Virginia (6 straight) as the only ACC teams that currently have a win streak of more than one game against the Pack.

Thursday Storylines
- A win on Thursday would give the Pack its best start (13-1) since the 1973-74 NC State that finished the season 30-1 and won the National Championship.
- This is the fourth consecutive season NC State has opened ACC play on the road. NC State last won its ACC road opener when it won at Notre Dame, 77-70, on Jan. 7, 2014.
- The Pack won four of its last six ACC road games last season, a win on Thursday night would give NC State a win in five of its last seven ACC road games.
- Markell Johnson vs. Power-5 Opponents: Thursday will mark the fifth game this season against a Power-5 opponent for NC State. Junior guard Markell Johnson is averaging 20 points on 61.2% shooting and is averaging 5.3 assists per game in those four contests.
- NC State ranks 11th in the NCAA in opponent's three-point field goal percentage, holding opponents to 27.2% shooting. Last season, Miami was just one of two teams all season to shoot over 50 percent from three-point range against NC State. The Hurricanes shot 52.6% (10-19) from three in the win over NC State last season.
- This season NC State has forced its opponents into 249 turnovers while its opponents only have 149 assists. Last year in the game against Miami, the Hurricanes had a season-best 26 assists for an NC State opponent against just 10 turnovers. The 2.6 assist-to-turnover ratio was the best ratio of the season for a Pack opponent.
- Five different players have led NC State in scoring this season. Braxton Beverly (1x) Devon Daniels (2x), Torin Dorn (6x), Markell Johnson (3x) and Eric Lockett (1x) have led the Pack in scoring. NC State relies on a balanced scoring attack. All 10 players on the roster have scored in double figures in at least one game this season and six of the players are shooting 50 percent or better from the field.
- NC State's largest deficit of the season is seven points (against Mercer on 11/24) and the Pack has only trailed in the second half of two games this season (Wisconsin and Penn State). NC State trailed Penn State by one in the second half before going on a 22-6 run to take control of the game. The Pack led Wisconsin for the entire second half until the Badgers took the lead with two minutes to go. Wisconsin did not make it a two possession game until under 10 seconds remained.

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Players Mentioned

Braxton Beverly

Devon Daniels

Torin Dorn

Markell Johnson

Eric Lockett