Pack Opens ACC Tournament Wednesday vs. Virginia Tech

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NC State Game Notes

GREENSBORO, N.C – The sixth-seeded NC State men's basketball team begins play at the 2023 New York Life ACC Tournament Wednesday evening when it takes on 11^th-seed Virginia Tech in a second round matchup.

Tipoff is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. 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.

Pack Tracks
- NC State dropped its regular season finale, falling to Duke, 71-67, last Tuesday.
- Graduate guard Jarkel Joiner led NC State with 26 points. Joiner tied his career-high with six three-pointers in the game and also added a team-high eight rebounds.
- Joiner closed the regular season in a tear as he averaged 23.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 steals in the Pack's last six games. He led NC State in scoring in five of its last six games and posted the only triple-double in conference play this season with 15 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds at Syracuse on Feb. 14.
- DJ Burns added 13 points in the loss to Duke. Over the last 10 games, Burns is averaging 18.7 points and shooting 58.7 percent (84-of-143) from the field. Burns led the ACC in field goal percentage in conference games, shooting 56.6 percent in 20 league games.
- Pick your poison with the Pack's scoring trio: Jarkel Joiner (17.3 ppg.), Terquavion Smith (16.8) and DJ Burns (16.1) combine to score 50.2 points per game for NC State in ACC play. In the Pack's 20 ACC games, one of the three players led NC State in scoring in every game. Smith has led the team in scoring eight times, Joiner seven times and Burns' six times (Burns & Joiner tied for team-high scoring honors at Syracuse). The Pack is 11-3 in league play when all three players score in double figures.

Wrapping up the regular season
- The Pack's 22 wins are the most regular season wins for NC State since the 2012-13 team also headed into the ACC Tournament with a 22-9 record. The last time NC State won more than 22 regular season games was when the 1987-88 team entered the ACC Tournament with a 23-6 record.
- NC State's 12 ACC wins this season are tied for the most in a single season in program history. The Pack has previously won 12 ACC games four times. The 1972-73 and 1973-74 teams went 12-0 in ACC action while the 1954-55 and 1958-59 teams went 12-2 in ACC play.

Keys to Victory for the Pack
- Win the Opening 20 Minutes: NC State is 19-1 this season when it has the halftime lead, but just 3-8 if it is behind at the half.
- Score 70+ Points: NC State is second in the ACC in scoring, averaging 78.4 points per game. The Pack is 22-4 this season if it scores 70 or more points and is 0-5 if it is held under 70 points.
- Scoring in the Paint: NC State is 14-0 this season when it has more paint points than its opponent, but is 8-9 when its opponent scores more points in the paint.
- Rack Up the Fast Break Points: NC State leads the ACC and ranks fifth in NCAA DI in fast break points, averaging 15.6 per game. The Pack is 19-5 this season if it has double-digit fast break points, but just 3-4 if it has less than 10 fast break points.
- Don't turn it over: NC State continues to rank among the nation's leaders in fewest turnovers per game. The Pack averages just 9.6 turnovers per game to rank fifth in NCAA DI. Twice this season NC State has had just two turnovers in a game. NC State is 21-4 this season when it has the same number or fewer turnovers than its opponent.
- NC State continues to lead the ACC in turnover margin (+3.9), forcing turnovers (13.5) and steals (8.2). In the Pack's wins this season it averages a little more than double the amount of points off turnovers than in losses. In NC State's 22 wins, it averages to turn opponent's turnovers into 18.4 points. In its nine losses, it only averages 9.1 points off turnovers. NC State is 13-0 this season when it has at least 18 points off of opponent turnovers.

NC State - Virginia Tech Series
- NC State leads the all-time series with Virginia Tech, 42-19. The programs have met twice in the ACC Tournament with NC State winning both meetings. The most recent ACC Tournament meeting was March 14, 2013 and the fifth-seeded Pack defeated 12th-seed Virginia Tech, 80-63, in a first round game played at Greensboro Coliseum.
- Kevin Keatts has a 2-4 record against Virginia Tech as head coach of NC State, but has led NC State to wins over the Hokies in two of the last three meetings.
- Last meeting (Jan. 7, 2023): NC State never trailed in beating Virginia Tech, 73-69, at Cassell Coliseum. The Pack had an 11-point lead, 65-54, with 1:12 to play when the Hokies made a late surge. The Hokies went on a quick 8-0 run in just 25 seconds of game time to cut the Pack's lead to 65-62 with 47 seconds to play. NC State made 8 of its 10 free throw attempts in the final 38 seconds to keep the Hokies behind. Smith led the Pack with 22 points and also had team-highs in steals (3) and assists (3). Joiner added 21 points while Casey Morsell had 15 points and DJ Burns added 10. The Pack led 36-22 at the break.

Pack Opens ACC Tournament Wednesday vs. Virginia Tech

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Players Mentioned

Jarkel Joiner

Casey Morsell

Terquavion Smith