Pack Returns to PNC Arena to Host Wisconsin

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (5-2, 0-1 ACC) returns to PNC Arena Wednesday evening when it hosts Wisconsin (4-3) as part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.

The game is scheduled to tipoff at 9:15 p.m. and will be televised on ESPN2 with Mike Couzens and Cory Alexander on the call. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Toys for Tots Donations
NC State Athletics and Coca Cola are partnering with the US Marine Corps Toys for Tots program to help brighten the holidays for thousands of needy children throughout the Triangle area this year.

Fans attending the game are encouraged to bring new, unwrapped toys to any of the PNC Arena collection points between 8:00 p.m. and tip off at 9:15 p.m.

You can also text PACKTOYS to 440-588-8697 (440-588-TOYS) to make a monetary donation.

Pack Tracks
- NC State fell to #16 Memphis, 83-78, on Thanksgiving Day. The Pack trailed by 20 points, 61-41, with 17:27 to play, but battled back to cut the deficit to three, 74-71, on two Jericole Hellems free throws with 4:31 to go. NC State missed a tying three-pointer with three minutes to go and could never get closer than three points in the final minutes.
- Senior guard Markell Johnson had his best game of the season, finishing with a season-high 22 points, while also leading the team in assists (6) and steals (3) and tying for team-high honors with five rebounds. Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems added a career-high 17 points while D.J. Funderburk scored 14 points off the bench.
- The Pack has had a balanced scoring attack all season. NC State's top eight scorers all average at least seven points per game and all eight players have scored in double figures in at least two games this season.
- Senior guard C.J. Bryce leads the team in scoring (16.1), rebounding (7.3) steals (1.9) and field goal percentage (54.3%). The Charlotte native ranks second in the ACC in field goal percentage and is sixth in the conference in steals, eighth in scoring, eighth in free throw percentage (81.5%) and 14th in rebounding.

Noting NC State
- NC State returns six of its top-seven scorers from last season.
- The Pack will only have 10 scholarship players in uniform in the 2019-20 season. Junior guard Thomas Allen is sitting out the season after transferring from Nebraska. Freshman guard Dereon Seabron is sitting out as an academic redshirt and junior guard Blake Harris left the program in October.
- Thursday's game against Memphis marked the first time this season NC State played more than eight scholarship players in a game. Nine scholarship players saw action against the Tigers. NC State had only dressed out eight scholarship players in the first five games. Markell Johnson missed the first game (injury). D.J. Funderburk missed the first two games (suspended). A.J. Taylor has not dressed out for a game since the season-opener against Georgia Tech (injury) and Danny Dixon missed games three through five with an injury.
- Redshirt freshman Manny Bates made his NC State debut on Nov. 5 against Georgia Tech. The Fayetteville native missed his senior season of high school with a shoulder injury and sat out last season after having preseason shoulder surgery. Bates' appearance against Georgia Tech was his first game representing his school since his junior season of high school wrapped up on Feb. 24, 2017 - that is a span of 985 days.
- For the third consecutive season, Keatts has added two grad transfers to the roster (2017-18 - Allerik Freeman (Baylor) and Sam Hunt (North Carolina A&T); 2018-19 - Eric Lockett (FIU) and Wyatt Walker (Samford). This year, the Pack has added Pat Andree and Danny Dixon. Andree comes to NC State from Lehigh. One of the top-shooters in the Patriot League, Andree averaged 12.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game last season. Dixon averaged 7.5 points and 3.6 rebounds per game last season at UMKC.

Wednesday Storylines
- NC State has won 35 of its last 36 non-conference games at PNC Arena. The Pack is 20-1 in non-conference home games at PNC Arena under head coach Kevin Keatts.
- The Pack has an all-time record of 7-12 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. NC State is 6-3 in home challenge games. Kevin Keatts is 1-1 at NC State in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
- Notable stats from last year's game:
            - Markell Johnson scored a then-career-high 21 points to lead NC State in scoring.
            - The Pack was outscored 26-10 in bench points in the loss to the Badgers. The 10 bench points were the second-fewest of the season for NC State and marked one of only five times in 36 games last year that NC State's bench was outscored by the opponents bench.
            - Wisconsin had 16 assists against just 10 turnovers. It was one of only 11 times in 36 games that an opponent had a positive assist-to-turnover ratio against NC State. The Badgers' 10 turnovers were the fewest by a non-conference opponent and tied for the fourth-fewest by an opponent all season.
            - Wisconsin finished the game 11-of-21 from three-point range. Wisconsin's three-point percentage of 52.4% was the highest given up by NC State last season. The Badgers were one of only four teams to hit double-digit three-pointers against the Pack last season and one of only two teams to shoot over 50% from three-point range.
- Contrasting styles on display on Wednesday night. NC State pushes the pace on offense and ranks 15th in the NCAA in scoring offense at 83.6 points per game, while Wisconsin ranks 254th in scoring offense at 68.3 points per game. Conversely, Wisconsin ranks 56th in the NCAA in scoring defense, holding opponents to just 61.7 points per game, while NC State ranks 215th and allows 70.4 points per game.

NC State - Wisconsin Series
- Wednesday's meeting is the 4th game all-time in the series. Wisconsin leads the series, 3-0.
- The two teams first met in the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. The #10-seed Wolfpack had a nine-point halftime lead on the #6-seed Badgers, but Wisconsin outscored NC State by 18 points in the second half to advance to the Elite 8.
- The other two meetings were part of the ACC-Big Ten Challenge. Wisconsin defeated NC State, 87-48, in 2010 and beat the Pack, 79-75, last season. The Pack led for almost 32 minutes of game-time last year, but Wisconsin ended the game on a 15-6 run to win.

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Players Mentioned

Thomas Allen

Pat Andree

Manny Bates

C.J. Bryce

Danny Dixon

Allerik Freeman

D.J. Funderburk

Blake Harris

Jericole Hellems

Sam Hunt

Markell Johnson

Eric Lockett

Dereon Seabron

A.J. Taylor

Wyatt Walker