Pack Hosts Miami Saturday

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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (6-2, 2-1 ACC) returns to action Saturday when it hosts Miami (4-5, 0-4 ACC) inside PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised in North Carolina on Fox Sports South with Tom Werme and Mike Gminski calling the action. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State dropped its first ACC contest of the season, falling to Clemson, 74-70, in overtime on Tuesday. The Pack led for over 35 minutes in the game. Clemson led 8-7 early in the first half and didn't lead again until scoring the first basket of overtime. NC State entered the game forcing opponents into an average of 20+ turnovers a game and led the NCAA in turnover margin at +8.6, but only forced nine Clemson turnovers and finished the game -5 in turnover margin.
- Senior forward D.J. Funderburk led the Pack with 21 points against Clemson. The Cleveland, Ohio native shot 5-of-8 from the field and 9-of-9 from the foul line. After not playing in a game for 26 days, Funderburk has produced back-to-back 20-point games in his two games since returning to the lineup. It's the first back-to-back 20-point performances of his career. He finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting in the win over Boston College on Dec 30.
- Funderburk would lead the ACC in scoring in league games (20.5 ppg.), but has not played the required 75% of his team's games. He will qualify for the rankings after the Miami game.
- Senior guard Devon Daniels posted his sixth career double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds against Clemson. The Battle Creek, Mich., native leads the team in scoring, assists and steals and is tied for the team-lead in rebounding. Daniels and Georgia Tech's Jose Alvarado are the only players in the ACC to rank in the top-15 in scoring, field goal percentage, assists and steals.

Saturday Storylines
- This one might go down to the wire: Both teams have played tight games in their last three outings. Miami has dropped its last three games, but by a combined total of 5 points. The Hurricanes fell to Virginia Tech by two points, by one point to Clemson and by two points to North Carolina. NC State has won two of its last three games, but all have come down to the final seconds. The Pack beat North Carolina and Boston College by three points and fell to Clemson in overtime by four points.
- Both teams have gotten used to not playing with a full squad this season. The Hurricanes, who were picked seventh in the Preseason ACC poll - one spot ahead of NC State - has been hit hard by the injury bug and has seen two players declared out for the rest of the season due to injuries and has had additional players miss multiple games due to injuries. Only five Miami players have appeared in all nine games this season. Because of COVID and injury issues, NC State has only had its full 14-member squad available for two of eight games this season. Only six of NC State's 14 players have appeared in all eight games this season.
- Sophomore forward Manny Bates is two field goals short of 100 for his career. The Fayetteville, N.C. native is shooting 61.1 percent this season and is a career 64.1% field goal shooter. To qualify for the NC State record book, a player has to have 200 career FGs made. Bates' teammate D.J. Funderburk has the best career field goal percentage in NC State history at 58.9 percent (272-of-462).
- In ACC play, freshman guard Shakeel Moore is averaging 12.0 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 52 percent from the field. He was named ACC Freshman of the Week after scoring 17 points in the win over #17 North Carolina on Dec. 22. He followed that up by hitting the game-winning shot in the 79-76 win over Boston College on Dec. 30. Against Clemson, Moore led the team with career-highs in rebounds (10) and blocks (2) while tying his career-high in assists with three.

NC State - Miami Series
- Saturday marks the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- NC State leads the all-time series, 14-11. The Pack has a 6-4 record against the Hurricanes inside PNC Arena.
- Last season: The Wolfpack swept Miami in two games. D.J. Funderburk scored 19 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Pack past Miami, 80-63, inside PNC Arena on 1/15/20. NC State defeated Miami, 83-72, in Coral Gables on 2/5/20. Devon Daniels scored 14 points in the win while Manny Bates went 5-for-5 from the field and finished with 10 points, seven rebounds and four blocks.
- Kevin Keatts is 3-1 against Miami as head coach of NC State and the Pack has won the last three meetings.

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Players Mentioned

Manny Bates

Devon Daniels

D.J. Funderburk

Shakeel Moore