North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State Heads to Texas for Tilt with 12th-ranked Tennessee
12/15/2023 8:53:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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NC State Game Notes | Tennessee Game Notes
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RALEIGH, NC – The NC State men's basketball team heads to Texas to face 12th-ranked Tennessee Saturday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame San Antonio event.
Tipoff for the game against the Volunteers is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
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Pack Notes
- NC State improved to 3-0 in the month of December with an 81-67 win over UT Martin on Tuesday night. The Pack hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the win over the Skyhawks.
- The Pack was led by DJ Horne who scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He tied his career-high with six made three-pointers which were also the most made by an NC State player this season.
- Over the last three games, Horne is averaging 17.3 points per game and is shooting 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point range in that stretch. The Raleigh native has also passed out 12 assists against just one turnover in the last three games.
- For the season, Horne has 24 assists and just three turnovers in 272 minutes of action. He is averaging just one turnover for every 90.7 minutes played this season. Horne's 8.0 assist-to-turnover ratio would lead all players in NCAA DI, but he averages just 2.7 assists per game and you have to average 3.0 assist per game to qualify.
- DJ Burns, Jr., and Dennis Parker, Jr., both posted double-doubles in the win over UT Martin. Burns had 10 points and added a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career. Burns also blocked a career-high five shots against the Skyhawks and passed out a team-high four assists.
- Parker, Jr.'s double-double was the first of the freshman's young collegiate career. The Richmond, Va., native who is the lone freshman on NC State's roster this season scored 14 points and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds in the win over UT Martin.
- Jayden Taylor added 13 points and six rebounds as the Pack had four players reach double figures against UT Martin. NC State has had at least four players score in double figures in seven of nine games this season.
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Saturday Storylines
- Familiar Faces: Both teams have players or staff that are familiar with the opposing program. Tennessee Associate Head Coach Justin Gainey played collegiately at NC State from 1996-2000. He appeared in 128 games for the Wolfpack, making 104 starts. At the conclusion of his career, Gainey ranked fourth in school history in steals (190) and ninth in assists (344). He played 3,835 minutes in his NC State career which ranked as the third-most in school history when he departed. NC State grad forward D.J. Burns, Jr., originally signed with Tennessee out of high school and redshirted during the 2018-19 season, his lone year with the Volunteers. He wasn't teammates with any of the current Tennessee players, but Vols fifth-year player Josiah-Jordan James signed with Tennessee in the Fall of 2018 when Burns was on the team.
- Saturday marks the first game this season NC State has played against a ranked opponent. In the Kevin Keatts' era, NC State has 11 wins over ranked opponents. Last season the Pack went 2-2 against ranked foes, falling to third-ranked Kansas in the Bahamas and at No. 8 Virginia in February while securing wins over 16th-ranked Duke and 16th-ranked Miami at home in January. The Pack's last win away from home over a ranked opponent was Feb. 24, 2021 when NC State won in Charlottesville over 21st-ranked Virginia, 68-61. The Pack's last neutral site win over a ranked opponent was Nov. 22, 2017 when the Pack took down second-ranked Arizona, 90-84, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. (The Pack would play Tennessee two days later at the Battle 4 Atlantis).
- NC State Deploying Diverse Offensive Attack: Through nine games this season, NC State has had 10 different players reach double figures in scoring. Every scholarship player that has played at least 10 minutes in a game this season has scored in double figures. Last season in 35 games, only nine NC State players had a double-digit scoring performance. Six different players have led NC State in scoring this season (DJ Burns, DJ Horne, Ben Middlebrooks, Casey Morsell, Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor). No player has been the team's leading scorer in back-to-back games this season.
- Get out and Go: NC State has outscored its last three opponents by 43 points in fast break points (59-16). For the season, NC State is averaging 17.8 fast break points per game which ranks as the 13th-most in NCAA DI.
- Pack turning bench back into an advantage. Kevin Keatts first four teams at NC State all averaged over 20 bench points per game and helped the Pack gain a significant advantage on its opponents as NC State had a +850 point advantage over its opponent in bench points in his first four years combined. The last two seasons saw NC State's bench scoring fall to a combined average of just 12.9 points per game, but this season NC State's bench is contributing at a higher level again. Through nine games, NC State is averaging 20.8 bench points per game this season and has already had five individual double-digit bench performances.
- Win the turnover battle: NC State ranks 17th in the NCAA in turnover margin at +4.8. The Pack forces its opponents into an average of 14.4 turnovers per game (76th in NCAA/3rd in ACC) while turning it over themselves an average of just 9.7 times per game (22nd in NCAA/4th in ACC). In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 92-36 (71.9%) when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents, 8-12 (40%) when it has the same amount of turnovers as its opponent and 20-33 (37.7%) when it has more turnovers than its opponent.
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NC State Series with Tennessee
- Saturday will be the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series with the Vols, 7-4.
- Last Meeting (Nov. 24, 2017): Tennessee beat NC State, 67-58, in the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Pack committed 21 turnovers against the Vols and shot just 38.2 percent from the field, but found themselves down just four points, 59-55, with 3:19 to play before Tennessee closed the game out. Allerik Freeman led NC State with 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
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NC State Game Notes | Tennessee Game Notes
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RALEIGH, NC – The NC State men's basketball team heads to Texas to face 12th-ranked Tennessee Saturday night in the Basketball Hall of Fame San Antonio event.
Tipoff for the game against the Volunteers is scheduled for 10 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on ESPN2.
NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
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Pack Notes
- NC State improved to 3-0 in the month of December with an 81-67 win over UT Martin on Tuesday night. The Pack hit a season-high 13 three-pointers in the win over the Skyhawks.
- The Pack was led by DJ Horne who scored a season-high 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting. He tied his career-high with six made three-pointers which were also the most made by an NC State player this season.
- Over the last three games, Horne is averaging 17.3 points per game and is shooting 45.5 percent (10-of-22) from three-point range in that stretch. The Raleigh native has also passed out 12 assists against just one turnover in the last three games.
- For the season, Horne has 24 assists and just three turnovers in 272 minutes of action. He is averaging just one turnover for every 90.7 minutes played this season. Horne's 8.0 assist-to-turnover ratio would lead all players in NCAA DI, but he averages just 2.7 assists per game and you have to average 3.0 assist per game to qualify.
- DJ Burns, Jr., and Dennis Parker, Jr., both posted double-doubles in the win over UT Martin. Burns had 10 points and added a career-high 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and fourth of his career. Burns also blocked a career-high five shots against the Skyhawks and passed out a team-high four assists.
- Parker, Jr.'s double-double was the first of the freshman's young collegiate career. The Richmond, Va., native who is the lone freshman on NC State's roster this season scored 14 points and pulled down a season-high 10 rebounds in the win over UT Martin.
- Jayden Taylor added 13 points and six rebounds as the Pack had four players reach double figures against UT Martin. NC State has had at least four players score in double figures in seven of nine games this season.
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Saturday Storylines
- Familiar Faces: Both teams have players or staff that are familiar with the opposing program. Tennessee Associate Head Coach Justin Gainey played collegiately at NC State from 1996-2000. He appeared in 128 games for the Wolfpack, making 104 starts. At the conclusion of his career, Gainey ranked fourth in school history in steals (190) and ninth in assists (344). He played 3,835 minutes in his NC State career which ranked as the third-most in school history when he departed. NC State grad forward D.J. Burns, Jr., originally signed with Tennessee out of high school and redshirted during the 2018-19 season, his lone year with the Volunteers. He wasn't teammates with any of the current Tennessee players, but Vols fifth-year player Josiah-Jordan James signed with Tennessee in the Fall of 2018 when Burns was on the team.
- Saturday marks the first game this season NC State has played against a ranked opponent. In the Kevin Keatts' era, NC State has 11 wins over ranked opponents. Last season the Pack went 2-2 against ranked foes, falling to third-ranked Kansas in the Bahamas and at No. 8 Virginia in February while securing wins over 16th-ranked Duke and 16th-ranked Miami at home in January. The Pack's last win away from home over a ranked opponent was Feb. 24, 2021 when NC State won in Charlottesville over 21st-ranked Virginia, 68-61. The Pack's last neutral site win over a ranked opponent was Nov. 22, 2017 when the Pack took down second-ranked Arizona, 90-84, in the first round of the Battle 4 Atlantis. (The Pack would play Tennessee two days later at the Battle 4 Atlantis).
- NC State Deploying Diverse Offensive Attack: Through nine games this season, NC State has had 10 different players reach double figures in scoring. Every scholarship player that has played at least 10 minutes in a game this season has scored in double figures. Last season in 35 games, only nine NC State players had a double-digit scoring performance. Six different players have led NC State in scoring this season (DJ Burns, DJ Horne, Ben Middlebrooks, Casey Morsell, Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor). No player has been the team's leading scorer in back-to-back games this season.
- Get out and Go: NC State has outscored its last three opponents by 43 points in fast break points (59-16). For the season, NC State is averaging 17.8 fast break points per game which ranks as the 13th-most in NCAA DI.
- Pack turning bench back into an advantage. Kevin Keatts first four teams at NC State all averaged over 20 bench points per game and helped the Pack gain a significant advantage on its opponents as NC State had a +850 point advantage over its opponent in bench points in his first four years combined. The last two seasons saw NC State's bench scoring fall to a combined average of just 12.9 points per game, but this season NC State's bench is contributing at a higher level again. Through nine games, NC State is averaging 20.8 bench points per game this season and has already had five individual double-digit bench performances.
- Win the turnover battle: NC State ranks 17th in the NCAA in turnover margin at +4.8. The Pack forces its opponents into an average of 14.4 turnovers per game (76th in NCAA/3rd in ACC) while turning it over themselves an average of just 9.7 times per game (22nd in NCAA/4th in ACC). In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 92-36 (71.9%) when it has fewer turnovers than its opponents, 8-12 (40%) when it has the same amount of turnovers as its opponent and 20-33 (37.7%) when it has more turnovers than its opponent.
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NC State Series with Tennessee
- Saturday will be the 12th all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series with the Vols, 7-4.
- Last Meeting (Nov. 24, 2017): Tennessee beat NC State, 67-58, in the third place game at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Pack committed 21 turnovers against the Vols and shot just 38.2 percent from the field, but found themselves down just four points, 59-55, with 3:19 to play before Tennessee closed the game out. Allerik Freeman led NC State with 14 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
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Players Mentioned
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