Pack Hosts Pitt to Open ACC Play

ACC Network | Stream | Live Stats | Tickets

NC State Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes

RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team (7-1) opens ACC play Friday evening when it hosts Pitt (5-3) in both team's conference opener.

Tipoff at PNC Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State took down William & Mary, 85-64, Tuesday evening to move its record to 7-1 on the season. The Pack are off to its best start to a season since the 2018-19 team opened the year with a 13-1 record.
- For the second-straight game - and the fourth time in eight games this season - NC State had five players score in double figures in the victory. Casey Morsell led the Pack with 23 points, while Terquavion Smith added 13, Jack Clark and Dusan Mahorcic each had 12 and Jarkel Joiner finished with 11.
- The Pack trailed 19-17, nine minutes into the game, but closed the half on a 26-9 run to take a 43-28 advantage into the break. NC State opened the second half by outscoring W&M 29-11 to increase its run to 55-20 over 20 minutes of action. It marks the third consecutive game, the Pack has gone on a big run to break open a game. Against Butler, the Pack went on a 19-2 run at the end of the first half and beginning of second half to turn a 20-20 game with 6:59 left in the first half into a 39-22 NC State advantage with 18 minutes to play. Against Dayton, NC State went on a 17-0 run in the second half to turn a one-point deficit into a 16-point lead with 12 minutes to go.
- Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner was named ACC Player of the Week on Monday after a fantastic three games in the Bahamas last week. He led NC State in scoring in both of the Pack's wins, including a season-high 27 points in the win over Dayton. He scored 20 of his game-high 27 points in the second half. Overall, in three games at Battle 4 Atlantis, Joiner averaged 19.7 points per game, and he was especially lethal in the second half of the three games, scoring 41 (13.7) of his 59 points in the tournament in the final period.

Friday Storylines
- Pack scoring and bothering: NC State enters Friday's game against the Panthers leading the ACC in scoring (83.0) and defensively is on top of the ACC in turnovers forced (16.3) and steals (10.0).
- Turn them over: Pitt is 14th in the ACC in turnovers, averaging 14.1 per game while the Pack leads the ACC in forcing turnovers at 16.3 per game.
- Friday is a matchup of two of the top teams in the ACC in three-pointers. The Pack leads the ACC in three-pointers made per game at 9.0 per game (72 in 8 games) while Pitt ranks tied for second with an average of 8.75 per game (70 in 8 games). The Panthers have hit double-digit three-pointers in three of its last four games, including 14 in its dominating win over Northwestern on Monday. NC State has hit 10 or more three-pointers in four of its five games at PNC Arena this season, including a season-best 15 in the win over FIU on Tuesday, Nov. 15.
- NC State has outrebounded its opponent in seven of eight games this season (NC State only outrebounded its opponent in 10 of 32 games last season). Kansas is the only team to outrebound the Pack and they only outrebounded NC State by one. The Pack ranks third in the ACC in rebounding margin at +5.88. Friday proves to be the toughest rebounding test yet for NC State. Pitt is second in the ACC in rebounding margin at +6.38 and has outrebounded six of its eight opponents this season.
- Dusan Mahorcic bringing toughness. The Belgrade, Serbia native has been a welcome addition to the Pack's lineup. He has grabbed at least two offensive rebounds every game and leads the team with an average of 7.3 per game. Over the last three games, Mahorcic is averaging 11.3 points on 71.4% shooting (15-of-21) and 6.3 rebounds per game.
- Casey Morsell - shooting star: NC State senior guard Casey Morsell has a reputation as the Pack's top defensive player, and while the Ft. Washington, Md., native does shine on the defensive end, he has put a lot of work in on his jumper. After hitting only 25 three-pointers and shooting 20.3% from behind the arc in two seasons at Virginia, Morsell has been a weapon for NC State offensively. Morsell hit 35 three-pointers last season, shooting 35% from long-range and this season has hit 25 three-pointers in eight games (most in the ACC) and is shooting 53.2% (second in the ACC) from downtown. Morsell started the season 2-of-8 from three-point range in the first two games. In the last six games, he's 23-of-39 (59.0%) on three-pointers. In 53 career games at UVA, he only had three games with multiple three-pointers made. Has now played in 38 games in an NC State uniform and has made multiple three-pointers in 19 of 38 games with the Pack.

NC State - Pitt Series
- Friday will be the 25th meeting all-time between the two programs, and the 15th since Pitt joined the ACC prior to the 2013-14 season.
- The Pack leads the all-time series, 21-3, including a 12-2 advantage since the Panthers joined the ACC. Pitt won the first meeting between the programs after joining the conference and won the most recent, the Pack won 12 straight between those games.
- Pitt won the most recent meeting, 71-69, on Feb. 12 inside the Petersen Events Center. The Panthers shot 51.9% in the second half to overcome a five point halftime deficit. Terquavion Smith was limited to just six points in the loss, but did pass out a season-best six assists in the contest.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Clark

Jarkel Joiner

Dusan Mahorcic

Casey Morsell

Terquavion Smith