Pack Starts 2020 with Trip to Clemson

ACC Network | Online Stream

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (10-3, 1-1 ACC) resumes ACC play Saturday at noon when it faces Clemson (6-7, 0-3 ACC) at Littlejohn Coliseum.

The game will start at noon and be televised on ACC Network with Wes Durham and Malcom Huckaby 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 closed the non-conference portion of its schedule Sunday afternoon with a 72-60 win over Appalachian State. The Pack was led by junior forward D.J. Funderburk who scored a career-high 22 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds. Devon Daniels (18 points/11 rebounds) and Markell Johnson (12 points/11 rebounds) both posted double-doubles in the win. double-digit scoring streak of his career.
- D.J. Funderburk is averaging 16 points and 6.7 rebounds per game over his last three outings while shooting 74.1% from the field. The Cleveland, Ohio native has shot over 50 percent in nine of the 11 games he's played in this season. He is shooting 66.7% from the field on the season and would lead the ACC in field goal percentage, but just misses out on qualifying to be ranked. (Funderburk averages 4.55 field goals per game and to be ranked a player needs to average 5.0 field goals per game).
- The Pack has had a balanced offensive attack this season. NC State has five players averaging in double figures and in 13 games has had six different players lead the team in scoring. Only once this season has a player led the team in scoring in back-to-back games (C.J. Bryce - St. Francis Brooklyn and Alcorn State). Overall, the top eight scorers for NC State all average at least 6.0 points per game and all eight players have scored in double figures in at least two games this season.

Saturday Storylines
- A win on Saturday would give the Pack three consecutive ACC road wins (dating back to last season's 73-47 win at Boston College in the regular season finale). NC State hasn't won three consecutive ACC road games since the final two road games of the 2002-03 season and the first ACC road game of the 2003-04 season (2/25/03-to-1/11/04).
- A win on Saturday would also mark the first time since the 2011-12 season that NC State won its first two road games of the ACC season.
- Markell Johnson has scored in double figures in nine consecutive games. The longest double-digit scoring streak of his career. He is averaging 15 points per game and shooting 47.7% during this stretch.
- In two games against Clemson last season, Markell Johnson led the Pack in scoring in both games and averaged 19.5 points per game and shot 51.9% from the field.
- Junior forward D.J. Funderburk enters the Clemson game having shot 76.7% (23-of-30) from the field in his last four games.
- After going through a stretch of being outrebounded in four of five games, including a season-worst -14 rebounding margin at UNCG on Dec. 15, NC State has outrebounded its last opponents by a combined total of 34. The Pack had a season-best +19 rebounding margin in the win over Appalachian State on Sunday. In the win over the Mountaineers, Manny Bates (9) and Markell Johnson (11) both set career-highs for rebounds while Devon Daniels (11) and D.J. Funderburk (9) both tied their career-highs in rebounding.
- 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 every game since and is averaging 9.1 steals per game over the last nine outings. NC State has three players that rank in the top-5 of the ACC in steals per game (3rd - Devon Daniels 1.92; 5th - C.J. Bryce & Markell Johnson 1.75).
- NC State has held its last two opponents to a combined 35.3% shooting from the field. The Pack limited The Citadel to 33.8% shooting (season-low for an NC State opponent) on Dec. 22 and held Appalachian State to 36.9% on Dec. 29.

NC State - Clemson Series
- NC State leads the all-time series with the Tigers, 103-53.
- Last season, NC State won both meetings with Clemson. The Pack defeated the Tigers, 69-67, last January in PNC Arena when Braxton Beverly made a three-pointer as time expired. Clemson led by six points with 24 seconds left in the game before NC State came back. In the second round of the 2019 ACC Tournament, NC State came-from-behind again to beat Clemson, 59-58. The Pack trailed by as many as 18 points in the first half and was down 16 at halftime, but outscored Clemson, 33-16, in the final 20 minutes to win. Markell Johnson hit two free throws with under 3 seconds remaining to win the game.
- NC State has a three-game winning streak over Clemson. The combined winning margin of those three wins is 4 points (two - 1 point wins and a 2 point win).
- The Pack last won in Littlejohn Coliseum on March 3, 2015 (66-61). NC State has lost its last two games at Clemson.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Manny Bates

Braxton Beverly

C.J. Bryce

Devon Daniels

D.J. Funderburk

Markell Johnson