Pack Welcomes Georgia Tech to PNC Arena Saturday Afternoon

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NC State Game Notes | Georgia Tech Game Notes

RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team (18-5, 8-4 ACC) is back in action Saturday afternoon when it hosts Georgia Tech (8-14, 1-11 ACC) at PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC 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 won its third straight game - and seventh in its last eight outings - with a dominating 94-66 win over Florida State on Wednesday night.
n The Seminoles scored the first basket of the game, but that would be the lone lead of the game for FSU. NC State would go on a 12-0 run to take a 12-2 lead and after a Seminole basket made it 12-4, would go on a 18-0 run to take a 30-4 lead with just under 11 minutes left in the first half. The Pack's lead would balloon to 30 in the first half before taking a 22-point lead into the halftime break. Florida State would get within 17 in the second half, but NC State would push the advantage back up to 33 points in the final minutes.
- The 28-point win is the largest margin of victory for the Pack in a home ACC win since an 83-54 win over Clemson on Feb. 16, 2002. It's the third largest margin of victory for the Pack over an ACC opponent in PNC Arena. The only two larger margin of victories are the 29-point win over Clemson on 2/16/02 and a 34-point, 85-51, win over Clemson on Feb. 14, 2001. Overall, the 28-point win is the largest margin of victory for NC State over an ACC opponent since a 76-40 win at Wake Forest on Jan. 14, 2012.
- Sophomore guard Terquavion Smith poured in 32 points on Wednesday. It's Smith's fourth career 30-point performance. Smith has scored in double figures in every game this season as he continues to lead the ACC in scoring with an average of 19.1 points per game. On Monday night, he was named to the Wooden Award Late Season Top 20 Watch List and has also been named to the Oscar Robertson Trophy Midseason Watch List. He was named a Midseason Third-Team All-American by The Sporting News.

Saturday Storylines
- The Pack's 18-5 record is NC State's best record through 23 games since the 2005-06 team was 19-4. NC State's 8-4 ACC record is the program's best ACC record through 12 games since the 2005-06 team had a 9-3 ACC record.
- Different players stepping up: In the Pack's current three game winning streak, it's had a different player step up and lead the offensive attack in each game. In the 85-82 win over Notre Dame on Jan. 24, graduate guard Jarkel Joiner led the Pack with 28 points, last Saturday in the win at Wake Forest, graduate forward D.J. Burns led NC State to a win with a career-high 31 points. In the dominating win over Florida State on Wednesday, sophomore guard Terquavion Smith led NC State with 32 points.
- Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner has made 29 of his last 30 free throws. For the season, Joiner is shooting 82.7 percent from the foul line and has improved that mark to 88.5% (46-of-52) 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 90.9% (40-of-44) from the foul line.
- In two career games against Georgia Tech, sophomore guard Terquavion Smith is averaging 25.5 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.0 assists per game. He had 26 points in 24 minutes of action in last season's win at Georgia Tech. He had 25 points in the Pack's win on Jan. 17 in Atlanta. In two games, Smith is shooting 58.1 percent (18-of-31) from the field, including 52.6% (10-of-19) from three-point range.
- Graduate forward D.J. Burns scored has scored in double figures in eight consecutive games and 11 of the last 13 entering Saturday's contest. He only scored in double figures four times in the first 10 games of the season. In the first 10 games of the season, Burns averaged 7.4 points, 3.8 rebounds, 0.9 assists and 0.6 blocks while playing 16.6 minutes per game. After Dusan Mahorcic was injured in the Coppin State game on Dec. 6, Burns has seen his role increase. Over the last 13 games since Mahorcic went out, Burns is averaging 14.8 points, 5.5 rebounds (including 2.3 offensive rebounds), 2.1 assists and 1.2 blocks while playing 25.4 minutes per game. Burns is shooting 57.1 percent from the field (84-of-147) over the last 12 games.
- NC State has only committed 23 turnovers in the last four games combined, including a school-tying record (and fewest by an NCAA DI team this season) two vs. Notre Dame on Jan. 24. The Pack leads the ACC in conference games in fewest turnovers per game, averaging just 7.92 per outing. The Pack has had single digit turnovers in 10 of its last 13 games.
- Georgia Tech forced NC State into 15 turnovers in the earlier meeting between the two teams. The 15 turnovers are the second-most in a game by NC State this season and the most against an ACC opponent.
- The two teams rank second (NC State - 11.6) and third (Georgia Tech - 11.1) in the ACC in offensive rebounding. The Yellow Jackets grabbed 18 offensive rebounds, the most allowed by NC State this season, in the matchup on Jan. 17. NC State grabbed a season-high 16 offensive rebounds in Wednesday's win over Florida State.
- The Pack shot a season-best 60 percent (12-of-20) from three-point range in the win over Florida State on Wednesday. Georgia Tech enters Saturday's game second in the ACC in three-point field goal percentage, holding its opponents to just 30.8 percent long-range shooting this season. NC State shot 33.3% (7-of-21) in the first meeting between the teams.
- NC State leads the ACC in turnover margin (+4.1), steals (8.3 per game) and forcing turnovers (13.9 per game). The Pack is 10-0 this season when it forces its opponent into 15 or more turnovers and 12-0 when it has at least 18 points off of opponent turnovers.
- NC State is 16-1 this season when it outrebounds or ties its opponent in rebounding.
- The Pack is 18-2 this season when it shoots 40 percent or better from the field.

NC State - Georgia Tech Series
- Saturday will be the 103rd all-time meeting between the two programs.
- NC State leads the all-time series, 59-43, and has an 11-6 advantage in games played at PNC Arena.
- Last Meeting: NC State defeated Georgia Tech, 78-66, 18 days ago on Jan. 17. The Yellow Jackets jumped out to a 16-6 advantage, but the Pack slowly reeled GT in, eventually taking a 42-37 lead into the halftime break on the strength of a 12-2 run to close the opening 20 minutes. NC State never trailed in the second half, pulling away to win by double digits. Terquavion Smith led NC State in scoring with a game-high 25 points. The Greenville, N.C., native shot 9-of-17 from the field and added a team-best five assists. Smith also tied his career-high with two blocked shots. Jarkel Joiner added 19 points and three assists. The Oxford, Miss., native went 9-for-9 at the foul line for the game, including 8-for-8 in the second half as the Pack built its lead. Casey Morsell stuffed the stat sheet, finishing with 12 points, a team-high nine rebounds and a career-high three blocks.

Pack Welcomes Georgia Tech to PNC Arena Saturday Afternoon

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Players Mentioned

Jarkel Joiner

Dusan Mahorcic

Casey Morsell

Terquavion Smith