Pack Closes Non-Conference Slate with Matchup against Vanderbilt

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NC State Game Notes | Vanderbilt Game Notes

RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team will close the non-conference portion of its schedule Saturday evening when it faces Vanderbilt inside the United Center in Chicago as part of the Legends of Basketball Showcase.

The game against the Commodores is the final game of a quadruple header on Saturday. The game is scheduled to tipoff at 10:30 p.m. ET (9:30 p.m. in Chicago) and will be televised on CBS Sports 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 dominated preseason Southern Conference favorite Furman from the jump on Tuesday to win 92-73. The Pack opened a 26-10 lead less than eight minutes into the game, an 11-0 Paladins run got Furman within five, but NC State quickly stretched the lead out to 19 by halftime and led by as many as 30 points in the second half.
- The Pack had five players reach double figures, led by Terquavion Smith who finished with 24 points on 9-of-17 shooting. Also reaching double figures were Casey Morsell (17), Jack Clark (15), LJ Thomas (14) and Jarkel Joiner (10). The 14 points by LJ Thomas were a career-high for the true freshman and he also led the team with a career-best four steals.
- The Pack tied a season-high by registering 17 steals against Furman. They also had 17 steals against FIU on Nov. 15. NC State ranks 19th in NCAA DI forcing an average of 10 steals per game this season. When the Pack has double-digit steals this season it is 6-0.
- One of the top guard duos in the country: Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner and sophomore guard Terquavion Smith form one of the top guard duos in the country. They are the highest scoring guard tandem in the ACC combining to average 35.3 points per game while also combine to have the most assists (108) of any two players in the ACC and they also have the most combined steals (40) of any two-guard tandem in the ACC.

Saturday Storylines
- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts will get a milestone result on Saturday night -- either one to remember or one to forget. A win would be the 100th win at NC State for Keatts. A loss would be the 100th loss of Keatts collegiate coaching career. Coincidentally, Keatts 100th career win came on Dec. 1, 2018 when the Pack beat Vanderbilt in Miami, 80-65. Keatts career coaching record is 171-99 and he has a 99-71 record as head coach of NC State.
- Terquavion Smith has a hot hand: NC State's preseason All-ACC first-team selection is averaging 25.3 points per game on 50.9 percent shooting over the last three games. The Fayetteville, N.C. has hit 13 three-pointers in the last three outings while also passing out 19 assists and registering six steals. Smith leads the ACC in assists and three-pointers made while ranking second in scoring and third in steals. Smith passed out 67 assists in 32 games last season. He enters Saturday's contest against Vanderbilt with 66 assists in 12 games this season.
- Points off Turnovers: After only forcing six turnovers and scoring four points off turnovers in last Saturday's loss at Miami (both season lows)i, NC State was back to its pestering way on Tuesday in the win over Furman, forcing 20 Paladins turnovers that the Pack turned into 19 points. In its nine wins this season, NC State is averaging 20.6 points off turnovers. In its three losses, NC State is averaging just nine points off turnovers.
- Different tempos: NC State ranks fifth in the NCAA in fast break points, averaging 19.3 per game. Vanderbilt ranks 338th in the NCAA, averaging just 5.0 fastbreak points per game.
- Vanderbilt has only allowed one opponent to score over 80 points this season (and it took Temple an overtime period to get over 80 points). NC State leads the ACC and ranks 29th in the NCAA in scoring, averaging 81.9 points per game. Vanderbilt averages to only give up 67 points an outing, NC State has scored at least 73 points in 11 of 12 games this season.
- Jack Clark is the x-factor: Clark broke out of a mini-slump with 15 points in Tuesday's win over Furman. In NC State's nine wins this season, Clark is averaging 10.9 points and shooting 46.9 percent from the field. In the Pack's three losses, he is averaging just 3.3 points per game and shooting 20 percent.
- Pack's three-point prowess: Through games of Wednesday, Dec. 14 there have been 10 individual performances of six or more three-pointers in a game by an ACC player. An NC State player is responsible for four of those 10 performances. The Pack's Jarkel Joiner, Casey Morsell and Terquavion Smith have all had six three-pointer performances this season. Joiner hit six three-pointers in the win over FIU on Nov. 15, Smith hit six three-pointers in the win over Coppin State on Tuesday while Casey Morsell is the only player in the ACC to have multiple six or more three-pointer games. The senior guard hit six against FIU and hit six against William & Mary on Nov. 29. As a team, NC State leads the ACC (ranks 41st nationally) in three-pointers per game with an average of 9.2 an outing.

NC State - Vanderbilt Series
- Saturday will be the sixth meeting between the two programs. Vanderbilt leads the all-time series, 3-2.
- Chicago will be the sixth different location these two teams have met. They have now played against each other in Greensboro, N.C., Nashville, Tenn., Orlando, Fla., East Rutherford, N.J., Miami, Fla., and now Chicago.
- The most recent meeting was Dec. 1., 2018 in Miami. The Pack defeated the Commodores, 80-65. Markell Johnson led NC State with 19 points.

Pack Closes Non-Conference Slate with Matchup against Vanderbilt

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Players Mentioned

Jack Clark

Jarkel Joiner

Casey Morsell

Terquavion Smith

LJ Thomas