NC State
Virginia
Pack Takes Road Win Streak to Charlottesville for Showdown with UVA
2/23/2021 1:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NC State has won three straight ACC road games
 Live Stats | NC State Game Notes
 RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball completes a three-game road stretch with a visit to No. 15/14 Virginia on Wednesday evening.
 The game will tipoff at 6:30 p.m. and be televised on the ACC Network with Mike Couzens and Jordan Cornette 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
- The Pack heads to Virginia on a two-game win streak after an 80-62 win at Wake Forest on Saturday. NC State went on a 23-5 run in the first half to take a 33-18 lead and never looked back, taking a 16-point lead into halftime and never had its lead cut to single digits in the second half.
- NC State shot over 50 percent for the second consecutive as five players reached double figures led by Jericole Hellems and Dereon Seabron who both had 14 points. Seabron, a redshirt freshman, had the best game of his young career as he posted career-highs in points (14), rebounds (9) and steals (4) while tying his career-high in assists (3) in the win over the Demon Deacons.
- The Pack forced 19 turnovers in the win over Wake Forest and had a 28-5 advantage in points off turnovers. When NC State forces an opponent into 15 or more turnovers this season the Pack is 9-1 and is 9-0 when it scores 19 or more points off opponent turnovers.
- The win over Wake Forest marked the third consecutive ACC road win for NC State. It's the first time since the last two road games of the 2002-03 season and first road game of 2003-04 season that NC State has won three straight ACC road games. The last time, NC State had won three straight ACC road games in the same season was the 2001-02 season.
- 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 seven games since Daniels was injured, Hellems is averaging 15.9 points on 50.6% shooting (42-of-83).
 Wednesday Storylines
- A win on Wednesday night would give NC State its fourth straight ACC road win. The Pack hasn't won four straight road games in ACC play since winning the last two conference road games of the 1980-81 season and first two ACC road games of 1981-82 season. The last time, NC State won four straight ACC road games in the same season was the 1973-74 season. In his fourth season as head coach of NC State, Kevin Keatts has led the Pack to 15 ACC road wins.
- Wednesday's game marks the fourth time NC State has played a rank opponent this season. The Pack defeated #17 North Carolina on 12/22, lost in overtime at #19 Clemson on 1/5 and lost to #14 Virginia, 64-57. Kevin Keatts has guided the Pack to eight wins over opponents ranked in the Associated Poll in his career.
- Force at least 15 turnovers. When NC State forces an opponent into 15 or more turnovers this season the Pack is 9-1. When its opponent has less than 15 turnovers, NC State is 1-8. In the Pack's 10 wins this season, opponents are averaging 19.3 turnovers per game. In its nine 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 9-0 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 10 wins this season, NC State is combining to shoot 51.3% from the field and hold its opponents to 42.7% shooting. In its nine losses, the numbers are nearly reversed. The Pack is shooting 42.9% when it loses and its opponents are shooting 50%.
- In the seven games since Devon Daniels was injured, forwards Manny Bates, D.J. Funderburk and Jericole Hellems have combined to score 259 points and are shooting 99-of-181 (54.7%).
- The Pack is averaging 35.5 points in the paint in the seven 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 seven of the last eight games.
- Freshman Cam Hayes has put together back-to-back solid performances. The Greensboro native scored 11 points, passed out a career-best nine assists and had three steals in the win over Pitt last Wednesday and had 11 points, five assists and three steals in the win at Wake Forest on Saturday. Hayes scored in double figures in two of the first three games this season, but then missed three weeks due to COVID and had not scored in double figures since his return until the game at Pitt.
- Fellow freshman Dereon Seabron is making the best of his recent opportunities. The Norfolk, Va., native played 30 minutes at Pitt and 33 minutes at Wake Forest. Prior to those two games, Seabron had only played over 20 minutes in a game once this season. Seabron posted eight points at Pitt and then had career-highs in points (14), rebounds (9), steals (4) and tied career-high in assists (3) at Wake Forest.
- Wednesday is a matchup of the two best shot-blockers in the lead. Manny Bates leads the ACC and ranks eighth nationally with an average of 2.89 blocks per game. UVA's Jay Huff is second in the ACC and 18th nationally at 2.4 per game.
- Strength vs. Strength: NC State leads the ACC and ranks 31st nationally in forcing opponents into turnovers at 16.1 per game. UVA leads the ACC and ranks fourth nationally in turnovers per game, averaging to commit only 9.7 an outing.
- Wednesday is a matchup of the two top field goal percentage teams in the ACC. The Cavaliers led the ACC in field goal percentage at 49 percent while NC State is second in the ACC at 47.3 percent. The Pack shot a season-best 56.9% in last Wednesday's win at Pitt and followed it up with a 50 percent shooting performance in the win at Wake Forest on Saturday.
NC State - Virginia Series
- Saturday marks the 152nd meeting all-time between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 83-68, but UVA has a 41-24 advantage in games played in Charlottesville, including an 8-1 record against the Pack in John Paul Jones Arena.
- Last season, NC State scored its first win in Charlottesville since March 2, 2005 with a 53-51 win over the Cavaliers. D.J. Funderburk led the Pack with 14 points in the win.
