Pack Opens ACC Tournament Against Clemson

NC State Game Notes | Clemson Game Notes

BROOKLYN, N.Y. – The NC State men's basketball team begins play in the ACC Tournament Tuesday afternoon when it faces Clemson inside the Barclays Center.

The first round against the Tigers will tipoff at 4:30 p.m. ET and be televised on the ACC Network.

Pack Tracks
- The Pack ended the regular season with a 89-76 loss to Florida State on Saturday afternoon. The Pack forced a season-low eight turnovers, and the Seminoles outscored the Pack, 42-22, in points in the paint and had a 53-4 advantage in bench points.
- Freshman guard Terquavion Smith led NC State with 30 points against Florida State. He was 11-of-23 shooting, including 5-of-10 from three-point range. Smith has led the Pack in scoring in five consecutive games and eight of the last 10 games overall.
- Smith has scored 20 or more points in five consecutive games and is averaging 23.8 points per game during this stretch. He has hit 23 three-pointers (4.6 per game) and is shooting 46.9% (23-of-49) in the last five outings.
- Smith has made 96 three-pointers this season, which is the most by a freshman in program history and the third-most in a single season in program history. He leads the ACC with an average of 3.1 three-pointers per game. He is aiming to be the first freshman to lead the ACC in three-pointers since Duke's JJ Redick in the 2002-03 season.
- Redshirt-sophomore guard Dereon Seabron leads NC State in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. Seabron is one of only just three DI players - and the only power conference player - to lead his team in points, rebounds, assists and steals. He has led NC State in scoring 12 times this season, in rebounding 22 times, assists 17 times and steals nine times.

Seabron and Smith Score ACC accolades
- Dereon Seabron and Terquavion Smith both earned Atlantic Coast Conference accolades as the conference office announced the 2021-22 ACC postseason awards Monday morning. Seabron was named the ACC's Most Improved Player and earned All-ACC Second Team honors while Smith was named to the All-ACC Rookie Team and earned All-ACC Honorable Mention. Seabron is the first NC State player to win the conference's Most Improved Player honor.
- Seabron had a stellar sophomore season. He averaged 17.3 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting 49.9 percent from the field. He led NC State in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals. He is one of just four players in NCAA Division I to lead his team in all four of those stat categories and the only player from a power conference to do so.
- Smith averaged 16.5 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. He also hit an ACC-best 96 three-pointers in the regular season. In conference only games, Smith upped his average to 18.3 points per game which was the second-best scoring average in the ACC. He also led all players in ACC-only games with 73 three-pointers, an average of 3.65 per game. Smith also ranked eighth in steals with an average of 1.55 per game.

NC State - Clemson Series
- Tuesday is the 161st meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 104-56.
- Kevin Keatts has a 4-4 record against Clemson as head coach of NC State, including a 1-0 record against the Tigers in the ACC Tournament
- NC State is 7-3 all-time against Clemson in the ACC Tournament
- Earlier Meeting this season: Clemson shot 58 percent in the second half to defeat NC State, 70-65. The Tigers outscored NC State, 44-20, in points in the paint. Dereon Seabron led the Pack with 27 points and added a team-high tying seven rebounds and finished with three assists and two steals. Terquavion Smith scored just two points in the game and was 0-7 shooting (all three-pointers).

Last Time Against Clemson in the ACC Tournament
- The Pack posted the second-largest halftime deficit comeback (16 points) in ACC Tournament history as it outscored Clemson 33-16 in the second half to win, 59-58, in the second round of the 2019 ACC Tournament in Charlotte. NC State held the Tigers to just 19 percent shooting from the field in the final 20 minutes. Junior guard Markell Johnson made two clutch free throws with 2.6 seconds remaining to give NC State the win. Johnson led all scorers with 23 points and four assists. Trailing by as many as 18 in the contest, NC State would reclaim the lead at the 5:38 mark in the second half following a 20-2 run.

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Players Mentioned

Markell Johnson

Dereon Seabron

Terquavion Smith