Saturday, December 7
Winston-Salem, NC
2 PM
NC State
at
Wake Forest
Pack Heads to Wake Forest for December ACC Contest
12/6/2019 2:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NC State split the series with the Demon Deacons last season
ACC Network | Stream | Live Stats
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (6-2, 0-1) dips back into ACC play Saturday afternoon when it travels to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest (5-4, 0-1) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The game will start at 2 p.m. and be televised on the ACC Network with Will Fleming and Dan Bonner on the call. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Tracks
- NC State won its ACC-Big Ten challenge matchup with a 69-54 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday night. The Pack had a season-low six turnovers in the game and limited Wisconsin to just 37.5% shooting in the win.
- Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems led three NC State players in double figures with a career-high 23 points in the win. The St. Louis native was 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. The four three-pointers was also a career-high. Markell Johnson (12) and C.J. Bryce (11) also reached double figures for the Pack.
- Hellems has had the best stretch of play in his young career in the last three games. The sophomore had career-highs in assists (6) and steals (4) in the win over Little Rock on Nov. 23. He followed up that performance with a then-career-high 17 points against Memphis on Nov. 28. He reset his career-high with 23 points in the win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. Over the last three games, Hellems is averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and shooting 46.9% from the field.
- The Pack has had a balanced scoring attack all season. NC State's top eight scorers all average at least 6.5 points per game and all eight players have scored in double figures in at least two games this season.
Saturday Storylines
- The Pack enters Saturday's game with only 13 turnovers in the last two games. NC State had seven turnovers against Memphis and six against Wisconsin. One of the turnovers against Wisconsin was at the end of the game when the Pack elected to dribble out the shot clock rather than attempting a shot. NC State has had fewer turnovers than its opponents in all eight games this season. The Pack leads the ACC and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in turnover margin at +5.4. Wake Forest ranks 14th in the ACC in turnover margin at -2.67.
- Turning Up the Pressure: After registering only 10 steals in the first two games of the season (5.0 per game), the Pack has had at least seven steals in all of the last 6 games and is averaging 8.83 steals per game over the last six outings. The Pack currently ranks fourth in the ACC in steals per game at 7.88 per game. NC State is the only team in the ACC to have three players (4th - Markell Johnson 1.86; 12th - C.J. Bryce and Devon Daniels 1.63) rank in the top-12 of the conference in steals per game.
- Wake Forest is one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC. The Demon Deacons rank fifth in the conference in rebounding margin at +5.67 and fourth in offensive rebounding at 11.9 per game. Olivier Sarr leads the ACC in offensive rebounds at 3.6 per game. NC State was one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC last season and led the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.56 per game, but the Pack has not rebounded as well this season. NC State enters Saturday having been outrebounded in three straight games and ranks 11th in the ACC in rebounding margin at -0.63.
NC State - Wake Forest Series
- NC State leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 144-106.
- The Pack has a record of 6-23 against the Demon Deacons in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
- As head coach of the Pack, Kevin Keatts has a 3-1 record against Wake Forest, including 1-1 at LJVMC.
- Last year, NC State split the season series with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons won the game in Winston-Salem, 71-67. The 17th-ranked Pack trailed 51-29 in the second half, but battled back to tie the game at 58 with 7:46 to go, before ultimately falling to the Demon Deacons. Markell Johnson missed the game in Winston-Salem after being injured in the previous game. In the game in Raleigh, NC State won, 94-74, behind 25 points from Markell Johnson.
RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (6-2, 0-1) dips back into ACC play Saturday afternoon when it travels to Winston-Salem to face Wake Forest (5-4, 0-1) at Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
The game will start at 2 p.m. and be televised on the ACC Network with Will Fleming and Dan Bonner on the call. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Tracks
- NC State won its ACC-Big Ten challenge matchup with a 69-54 win over Wisconsin on Wednesday night. The Pack had a season-low six turnovers in the game and limited Wisconsin to just 37.5% shooting in the win.
- Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems led three NC State players in double figures with a career-high 23 points in the win. The St. Louis native was 8-of-13 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range. The four three-pointers was also a career-high. Markell Johnson (12) and C.J. Bryce (11) also reached double figures for the Pack.
- Hellems has had the best stretch of play in his young career in the last three games. The sophomore had career-highs in assists (6) and steals (4) in the win over Little Rock on Nov. 23. He followed up that performance with a then-career-high 17 points against Memphis on Nov. 28. He reset his career-high with 23 points in the win over Wisconsin on Wednesday. Over the last three games, Hellems is averaging 15.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 2.0 steals and shooting 46.9% from the field.
- The Pack has had a balanced scoring attack all season. NC State's top eight scorers all average at least 6.5 points per game and all eight players have scored in double figures in at least two games this season.
Saturday Storylines
- The Pack enters Saturday's game with only 13 turnovers in the last two games. NC State had seven turnovers against Memphis and six against Wisconsin. One of the turnovers against Wisconsin was at the end of the game when the Pack elected to dribble out the shot clock rather than attempting a shot. NC State has had fewer turnovers than its opponents in all eight games this season. The Pack leads the ACC and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in turnover margin at +5.4. Wake Forest ranks 14th in the ACC in turnover margin at -2.67.
- Turning Up the Pressure: After registering only 10 steals in the first two games of the season (5.0 per game), the Pack has had at least seven steals in all of the last 6 games and is averaging 8.83 steals per game over the last six outings. The Pack currently ranks fourth in the ACC in steals per game at 7.88 per game. NC State is the only team in the ACC to have three players (4th - Markell Johnson 1.86; 12th - C.J. Bryce and Devon Daniels 1.63) rank in the top-12 of the conference in steals per game.
- Wake Forest is one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC. The Demon Deacons rank fifth in the conference in rebounding margin at +5.67 and fourth in offensive rebounding at 11.9 per game. Olivier Sarr leads the ACC in offensive rebounds at 3.6 per game. NC State was one of the top rebounding teams in the ACC last season and led the conference in offensive rebounds at 13.56 per game, but the Pack has not rebounded as well this season. NC State enters Saturday having been outrebounded in three straight games and ranks 11th in the ACC in rebounding margin at -0.63.
NC State - Wake Forest Series
- NC State leads the all-time series with Wake Forest, 144-106.
- The Pack has a record of 6-23 against the Demon Deacons in Lawrence Joel Veterans Memorial Coliseum.
- As head coach of the Pack, Kevin Keatts has a 3-1 record against Wake Forest, including 1-1 at LJVMC.
- Last year, NC State split the season series with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons won the game in Winston-Salem, 71-67. The 17th-ranked Pack trailed 51-29 in the second half, but battled back to tie the game at 58 with 7:46 to go, before ultimately falling to the Demon Deacons. Markell Johnson missed the game in Winston-Salem after being injured in the previous game. In the game in Raleigh, NC State won, 94-74, behind 25 points from Markell Johnson.
Players Mentioned
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