Pack Welcomes 16th-ranked Miami to PNC Arena Saturday

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RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team is aiming for its third-straight win as it hosts 16^th-ranked Miami on Saturday inside PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for noon and the game will be televised in North Carolina on Bally Sports South. A complete list of affiliates showing the game can be found here. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- The Pack won its second consecutive game and fifth in its last six outings as NC State won at Virginia Tech, 73-69, on Saturday night.
- NC State never trailed in the contest, jumping out to a 13-2 lead and took a 36-22 advantage into halftime. The Pack turned away multiple comeback attempts by the Hokies, including a last minute 15-6 run that brought Virginia Tech within two, 71-69, with seven seconds remaining, but Terquavion Smith knocked down two free throws with six seconds to play to clinch the win.
- Terquavion Smith led NC State in scoring for the third consecutive game, finishing with 22 points against the Hokies. The Greenville, N.C., native hit two early three-pointers to help NC State jump out to a 13-2 lead and then closed the game for the Pack, scoring seven points in the final 1:12 of the game to secure the win.
- Smith was joined in double figures against the Hokies by Jarkel Joiner (21), Casey Morsell (15) and DJ Burns (10). Greg Gantt only scored one point, but grabbed a career-high tying nine rebounds.
- Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner was terrific last week in two wins for NC State. He scored 21 points, knocking down five three-pointers while also grabbing six rebounds and passing out a career-high nine assists (with no turnovers) in the win over 16th-ranked Duke. He followed up that performance with 21 points and grabbed a season-best eight rebounds in the win at Virginia Tech. For the week, Joiner averaged 21 points, 7.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 1.5 steals (and had zero turnovers in 64 minutes played).

Saturday Storylines
- Saturday's game will be the Pack's third this season against a ranked opponent (beat #16 Duke on Jan. 4, 84-60, at PNC Arena and lost on Nov. 23 to #3 Kansas, 80-74, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis in Paradise Island, Bahamas). Now in his sixth season with NC State, head coach Kevin Keatts has led the Pack to 10 wins over ranked opponents. NC State has a 7-8 record in home games against ranked teams under Keatts.
- NC State has not trailed in 2023: The Pack is 2-0 in 2023 and hasn't trailed in either game. NC State jumped out to a 15-0 lead on 16th-ranked Duke on Jan. 4, eventually leading by as many as 29 points in an 84-60 win. At Virginia Tech on Jan. 7, NC State ran out to a 13-2 lead and took a 36-22 lead into the break before holding on for a 73-69 win over the Hokies. In the earlier meeting against Miami, NC State led by 16 points in the first half and had a nine-point advantage at the break, but the Canes battled back to win the game. It's the only game this season that NC State has lost when it's had a halftime lead. The Pack is 12-1 when it leads after 20 minutes.
- Defense Setting the Tone: NC State's defense has helped the Pack jump out double-digit halftime leads in the last two outings. NC State held Duke to 29 percent shooting and Virginia Tech to 37 percent shooting in the opening 20 minutes as it held both teams to 22 first half points.. Overall in the last two games, NC State has limited opponents to 33 percent shooting (16-of-48), including 21 percent from three-point range (3-of-14) in the opening 20 minutes.
- Saturday will mark the 50th career game at NC State for sophomore guard Terquavion Smith. The Greenville, N.C., native is averaging 17.1 points for his career which ranks as the eighth-highest career scoring average in program history. In 49 career games, Smith has scored in double figures 40 times, including 19 games of 20 or more points. He has led NC State in scoring 20 times in his career, including the last three games heading into Saturday's game against the Hurricanes. But Smith is more than a scorer, he has also led the Pack in assists and steals 20 times in his career. Smith is leading this year's NC State team in scoring, assists and steals.
- Smith and Joiner Having Career Years in Sharing the Ball: The Pack's two lead guards - Jarkel Joiner and Terquavion Smith - have both already passed out more assists this season than either had last season. Smith leads the ACC and ranks fourth in the ACC with an average of 4.9 assists per game. Smith already has 82 assists this season in 17 games. Last season, he had 67 assists in 32 games. Joiner has 60 assists in 17 games to rank 15th in the ACC in assists at 3.5 per game. Joiner is playing in his fifth collegiate season, but this 60 assists this season are already the most he's ever had in a single season. The Oxford, Miss., native ranks fourth in the ACC with a 2.31 assist-to-turnover ratio. Joiner has played 100 total minutes in the last three games and has zero turnovers (14 assists in that span).
- DJ Burns stepping in Mahorcic's absence: In the six games since Dusan Mahorcic was injured, graduate forward DJ Burns is averaging 13.3 points per game and 5.3 rebounds (including 2.4 offensive rebounds) per game. Burns is shooting 60.9 percent from the field (39-of-64).
- NC State leads the ACC in turnover margin (+4.0), steals (8.9 per game) and forcing turnovers (14.8 per game). The Pack is 8-0 this season when it forces its opponent into 15 or more turnovers and 9-0 when it has at least 18 points off of opponent turnovers. In the Pack's four losses, its opponents are only averaging 10 turnovers per game and NC State is only averaging 10.5 points off of opponent turnovers.
- NC State and Miami rank second and third in the ACC in scoring. The Pack averages 79.4 points per game while the Canes average 78.0 points per game.
- NC State is 13-2 this season if it scores 70 or more points, but 0-2 if it scores under 70. Miami is one of two games this season that NC State has lost when it scored over 70 points.
- Pack has held its own on the boards: NC State has outrebounded its opponent in 12 of 17 games this season (NC State only outrebounded its opponent in 10 of 32 games last season). In the four games it has been outrebounded, Kansas, Coppin State and Clemson only edged NC State by one rebound and Miami finished +4 in rebounding in its win. NC State tied Louisville in rebounding. NC State is 12-1 when it ties or wins the rebounding battle, but is just 1-3 when it is outrebounded. The Pack ranks third in the ACC in rebounding margin at +3.94. It finished 14th in the ACC last season in rebounding margin at -2.8.

NC State - Miami Series
- Saturday will be the 29th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- The all-time series is tied at 14. Miami has a 14-13 advantage in games played since the Hurricanes joined the ACC prior to the 2004-05 season.
- Miami has a three-game winning streak in the series, including an 80-73 win earlier this season (12/10/22) at the Watsco Center. NC State led 31-15 in the first half and had a nine-point advantage at the break, 43-34, over the Hurricanes. Miami outscored NC State, 18-6, to end the game to win going away. The Pack led for 32:06 of game time in the loss. Jarkel Joiner led NC State with 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting while Terquavion Smith added 19 points and a team-high seven assists.

Pack Welcomes 16th-ranked Miami to PNC Arena Saturday

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Players Mentioned

Greg Gantt

Jarkel Joiner

Dusan Mahorcic

Casey Morsell

Terquavion Smith