Pack Starts Road Stretch with Trip to Pitt

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team opens a three-game road stretch Wednesday afternoon when it faces Pitt inside the Petersen Events Center.

Tipoff is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to the game on the Wolfpack Sports Network with Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes calling the action.

Pack Tracks
- The Pack starts a stretch of three consecutive road games Wednesday with a game at Pitt. NC State has won 10 consecutive games against the Panthers and has a 10-1 advantage over Pitt since it joined the ACC prior to the 2013-14 season.
- NC State fell to Duke, 69-53, in its last game. The Pack was led by Shakeel Moore with 13 points while D.J. Funderburk and Jericole Hellems each added 11.
- The Pack will play the rest of the season without senior guard Devon Daniels. Daniels was the team leader in points (16.5), assists (3.1) and steals (1.7) when he went down with a torn ACL. He was also tied for the team-lead with 19 three-pointers this season. His field goal percentage of 48.1 ranks ninth in the ACC and he ranked third in the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game.
- Hellems has stepped up for the Pack since Devon Daniels tore his ACL in the second half of the win over Wake Forest on Jan. 27. In the first game without Daniels, Hellems registered his first career double-double with career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (10) against Syracuse on Jan. 31. In the five games since Daniels was injured, Hellems is averaging 16.0 points on 49.2% shooting (31-of-63) and 5.8 rebounds per game.
- Sophomore forward Manny Bates is shooting 66.2% from the field in ACC-only games. The field goal percentage is the second-best mark in the league (minimum 4 made FGs/game). He is averaging just under 10 points/game, nearly doubling his scoring output from his freshman season. The Fayetteville native is currently leading the ACC in blocks (3.0 per game) for the second consecutive season.

Wednesday Storylines
- Force at least 15 turnovers. When NC State forces an opponent into 15 or more turnovers this season the Pack is 8-1. When its opponent has less than 15 turnovers, NC State is 0-8. In the Pack's eight wins this season, opponents are averaging 20 turnovers per game. In its eight losses, NC State's opponents average just 12.6 turnovers.
- When the Pack's defense is stealing the ball and converting it into points NC State is tough to beat. The Pack is 7-0 when it scores 19 or more points off opponent turnovers this season, but just 1-9 when it scores 18 points or less off opponent turnovers.
- Shooting percentage tells the story. In the Pack's eight wins this season, NC State is combining to shoot 50.8% from the field and hold its opponents to 42.1% shooting. In its eight losses, the numbers are nearly reversed. The Pack is shooting 42.9% when it loses and its opponents are shooting 50%.
- Bates Breaking Out: Last season in 29 games, Bates had a total of 99 field goal attempts. This season in 16 games, Bates already has 104 field goal attempts. He averaged 5.1 points per game as a freshman, but is averaging just a shade under double figures (9.7) this season. The Fayetteville native has also greatly improved at the free throw line. He is shooting 65.7% at the foul line this year after shooting 48.6% last season. He has also increased his rebounding average to 6.2 this season after averaging 4.0 last season. Bates is on pace to become NC State's all-time leading shot blocker and have the best field goal percentage in program history. For his career, Bates is shooting 64.5% (131-of-203). The top field goal percentage in program history (minimum 200 made field goals) is Kevin Thompson at 58.8%.
- In last season's regular season meeting, Manny Bates recorded his first career double-double, scoring 13 points and recording 10 rebounds while also blocking five shots in the Pack's 77-73 win over Pitt.
- In the five games since Devon Daniels was injured, forwards Manny Bates, D.J. Funderburk and Jericole Hellems have combined to score 184 points and are shooting 72-of-132 (54.5%).
- The Pack is averaging 34.4 points in the paint in the five games since Devon Daniels was injured. With the loss of Daniels, NC State's top-three scorers remaining are all forwards. After being outscored in points in the paint in five of its first six ACC games, the Pack had outscored its opponents in points in the paint in five of the last six games.

NC State - Pitt Series
- Wednesday marks the 22nd all-time meeting between the two programs.
- NC State leads the series, 19-2, and has won 10 straight games against the Panthers.
- NC State has a 10-1 record against Pitt since the Panthers joined the ACC, including 4-0 inside the Petersen Events Center.

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Players Mentioned

Manny Bates

Devon Daniels

D.J. Funderburk

Jericole Hellems

Shakeel Moore