Pack Hosts #6 Duke Wednesday at PNC Arena

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RALEIGH, NC – The NC State men's basketball team (16-9, 7-7 ACC) plays its first home game in 18 days Wednesday evening when it hosts sixth-ranked Duke (22-3, 12-3 ACC) at PNC Arena.

The game will tipoff at 9 p.m. and be televised on ESPN with Dave O'Brien and Seth Greenberg 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 had its two-game road win streak snapped Sunday evening when it fell to Boston College, 71-68. The trio of C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels and Jericole Hellems all scored 15 points to lead NC State in scoring. Daniels added a game-high 10 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.
- Junior guard Devon Daniels has scored in double figures in eight of the last nine games and is averaging and is averaging 14.2 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.9 steals per game over the last eight outings.
- Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems has scored in double figures in consecutive games for the first time this season since back-to-back double-digit performances against Wisconsin (12/4) and Wake Forest (12/7). Hellems is averaging 12.5 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.5 assists in the last two outings.
- Freshman forward Manny Bates leads the ACC and ranks eighth in the NCAA with an average of 2.96 blocks per game. The Fayetteville, N.C., native leads the ACC in blocks in all games and blocks in ACC-games only. If Bates finishes the season in the lead in blocks, it would mark only the second time since 1977 that an NC State player led the ACC in blocks (Beejay Anya - 2.5 bpg) and the first time in program history an NC State player led the ACC in blocks in conference games. Bates broke the NC State-program record for most blocked shots by a freshman in just 15 games.
- Wednesday's home game is the first time back in PNC Arena in 18 days for the Pack which played its last three games on the road.

Wednesday Storylines
- Wednesday's game against Duke is the first of two NC State games this week where the Pack will face a top-10 opponent. It's the first time since February 2015 that the Pack has faced consecutive top-10 opponents (2/11/15 loss to #2 Virginia 51-47 and 2/14/15 win at #9 Louisville 74-65). It's the first time since January 2005 that the Pack faces consecutive top-10 opponents at PNC Arena (1/13/05 loss to #5 Duke 86-74 and 1/16/05 win over #8 Georgia Tech 76-68).
- Wednesday's game will mark the 11th time NC State has faced a top-10 team under head coach Kevin Keatts. The Pack is 4-6 against top-10 teams in the Keatts era, including a 2-2 mark against Top-10 foes in PNC Arena. In PNC Arena, the Pack has defeated #2 Duke, 96-85, on 1/6/18, defeated #7 Auburn, 78-71, on 12/19/18 and lost to #3 Virginia in overtime, 66-65, on 1/29/19 and #6 Louisville, 77-57, on 2/1/20.
- Wednesday's game will pit the top-two assist men in the ACC against each other. Duke's Tre Jones (6.57 apg) has a slight lead on NC State's Markell Johnson (6.54 apg) for the conference lead in assists. Johnson previously led the ACC in assists his sophomore season and would become the first ACC player since North Carolina's Kendall Marshall (2011 and 2012) to lead the ACC in assists in multiple seasons. The Pack is 9-3 this season when Johnson passes out seven or more assists and 7-6 when he passes out six or fewer (or doesn't play in the game).
- The league-leader in blocks in Manny Bates faces the top-team in the ACC in blocks in Duke. The Blue Devils average an ACC-best 5.88 blocks per game and have five players with at least 16 blocks this season. NC State only has two players (Bates and DJ Funderburk) with at least 16 blocks this season, but Bates with 68 blocks has more blocks to his credit than any two Blue Devils combined. For the season, Bates has accounted for 59% of NC State's blocked shots.
- NC State and Duke have both hit exactly 177 three-pointers in 25 games this season. The two teams are tied for eighth in the ACC with an average of 7.08 three-pointers per game. The Blue Devils rank fourth in the ACC in three-point percentage 35.5% while NC State ranks 10th at 31.7%. In ACC play, the Pack is 5-1 if it shoots 30 percent or better from three-point range and 2-6 if it shoots below 30 percent from long range.
- The Pack has forced seven consecutive opponents into committing more turnovers than passing out assists. Only three ACC teams have managed to pass out more assists than commit turnovers against the Pack. NC State is 0-3 in those games and 7-4 against ACC teams when it forces an opponent to record more turnovers than assists. For the season, NC State opponents have 278 assists and 359 turnovers.
- Share the basketball: NC State is 10-1 this season when the Pack has 14 or more assists and 6-8 when it has fewer than 14 assists.
- Value the basketball: NC State has had three of its five-highest turnover games of the season in the last three outing. The Pack has turned the ball over a combined 52 times in the last three games for an average of 17.3 per outing. For the season, NC State averages 12.0 turnovers per game.

NC State - Duke Series
- Duke leads the all-time series with NC State, 147-101. Kevin Keatts is 1-1 against the Blue Devils as head coach of the Pack.
- The Blue Devils won the lone meeting between the two programs last season, 94-78, in Cameron Indoor Stadium. Markell Johnson registered a double-double with 16 points and 10 assists.
- NC State won the last meeting at PNC Arena between the two programs. The Pack defeated second-ranked Duke, 96-85, on Jan. 6, 2018. It was the first career ACC win for Kevin Keatts.

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Players Mentioned

Manny Bates

C.J. Bryce

Devon Daniels

Jericole Hellems

Markell Johnson