Pack Hosts North Carolina Sunday at Sold Out PNC Arena

ESPN | WatchESPN

NC State Game Notes | North Carolina Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team hosts North Carolina Sunday inside a sold out PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPN. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Tracks
- NC State fell for just the third time in its last 12 games with a 75-72 loss to Syracuse on Tuesday night.
- Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner recorded the first triple-double of this career and fifth in NC State history in the loss to Syracuse. The Oxford, Miss., native finished with 15 points, a career-high 11 assists and 10 rebounds. It's the second triple-double by an ACC player this season and the 38th triple-double in ACC history. It is the 14th triple-double to happen in a league game.
- Joiner has stuffed the stat sheet in the last two games. He is averaging 20.5 points, 8.5 assists, 8.0 rebounds and 4.0 steals over the Pack's last two games.
- Jack Clark, in just his second game back after missing 10 games due to injury, scored 15 points and grabbed nine rebounds - five offensive - off the bench at Syracuse. NC State is now 8-1 this season when Clark scores in double figures and just 4-4 when he is held below 10.
- Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith became the 56th player in program history to score over 1,000 points in their career. He did it last Saturday in the win over Boston College in his 58th career game. He's the fastest ACC player to 1,000 career points in the last 15 years. Smith scored 14 points against Syracuse and has now scored in double figures in 49 of his 59 career games.
- DJ Burns added 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting against Syracuse. Over the last three games, Burns is shooting 64.5% (20-of-31) from the field. Burns is third in the ACC in league games, shooting 56.3 percent from the field.

Sunday Storylines
- A win on Tuesday would be the Pack's seventh consecutive ACC home win this season. NC State's current six-game home winning streak in league games is the longest for the Pack in the same season since the 2005-06 team won six straight home league games. NC State has never won seven straight ACC home games in the same season. The 1972-73 and 1973-74 NC State teams both went undefeated in home ACC games but there were only six home games in the league schedule in those seasons. Most recently, the 2012-13 team went went 8-1 in ACC home games. That NC State team won its first four ACC home games, dropped a one-point contest, 79-78, to 14th-ranked Miami on 2/2/13 and then won its remaining four home games. NC State's 6-1 home record in ACC play this season is the best for NC State since head coach Kevin Keatts' 2017-18 team went 7-2 in home ACC games.
- Jack's Back: Graduate guard Jack Clark made his return to the lineup on 2/11 against Boston College. Clark was injured late in the Pack's game at Clemson on Dec. 30 and missed 10 games until returning against the Eagles. Clark was leading NC State in rebounding (10th in the ACC) and steals (2nd in the ACC) when he was injured. In 10 minutes against Boston College, Clark knocked down both of his three-point attempts to finish with six points and added four rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes of action. Clark played 31 minutes at Syracuse on 2/14 and had 15 points and nine rebounds
- Jarkel Joiner has made 32 of his last 33 free throws. For the season, Joiner is shooting 83.2 percent from the foul line and has improved that mark to 89.1% (49-of-55) in ACC games. The Oxford, Miss., native has been even better this season in clutch moments. In the final four minutes of regulation or in overtime, Joiner is shooting 91.3% (42-of-46) from the foul line.
- Pack Tough to Beat when the Three Ball is Falling: In its 10 ACC wins, NC State is shooting 38.3 percent from three-point range, but is shooting just 27.7 percent from downtown in its six conference losses. For the season, NC State is 16-2 if it shoots 30 percent or better from three-point range, but just 4-5 if it shoots under 30 percent. In the Pack's 20 wins, the guard trio of Terquavion Smith, Casey Morsell and Jarkel Joiner combine to shoot 40.4 percent from three-point range, but in its seven losses that trio is shooting just 28.9 percent.
- NC State continues to rank among the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers per game. The Pack averages just 10.0 turnovers per game to rank 11th in NCAA DI. NC State is 19-2 this season when it has the same number or fewer turnovers than its opponent. In the first meeting between the teams on Jan. 21, NC State only turned it over eight times, but it only forced the Tar Heels into seven turnovers.
- The Pack ranks second in the ACC and 21st in NCAA DI in blocked shots per game despite not having a single player rank in the top-15 in the ACC in blocks. DJ Burns leads the team with 23 blocks, but Ernest Ross (22), Ebenezer Dowuona (21) and Casey Morsell (20) are right behind him.
- NC State scored 25 points off turnovers and had 19 fast break points in the win over Boston College last Saturday. Both of those marks are the best for the Pack since its win over Duke on Jan. 4. NC State leads the ACC and ranks ninth in the NCAA in fast break points, averaging 15.4 per game. In the Pack's wins this season it averages double amount of points off turnovers than in losses. In NC State's 20 wins, it averages to turn opponent's turnovers into 18.6 points. In its seven losses, it only averages 9.3 points off turnovers. NC State is 13-0 this season when it has at least 18 points off of opponent turnovers.

NC State - North Carolina Series
- Sunday will be the 244th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- North Carolina leads the all-time series, 164-79, and is 18-5 against the Pack at PNC Arena.
- Last Meeting (1/21/23): North Carolina defeated NC State, 80-69, at the Dean E. Smith Center. The Pack led 42-41 with 16:39 remaining, but the Tar Heels went on a 12-2 run to take a nine-point lead with 12:45 to play and NC State never got closer than six the rest of the way. The Tar Heels outrebounded the Pack, 42-27, in the game, and made 36-of-39 free throws in the game. The Pack was led by D.J. Burns and Jarkel Joiner who both scored 18 points. Casey Morsell and Terquavion Smith both finished with 12 points.

Pack Hosts North Carolina Sunday at Sold Out PNC Arena

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jack Clark

Ebenezer Dowuona

Jarkel Joiner

Casey Morsell

Ernest Ross

Terquavion Smith