Pack Hosts Hokies Saturday at Noon

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NC State Game Notes | Virginia Tech Game Notes

RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team (13-4, 5-1 ACC) is back in action Saturday at noon when it hosts Virginia Tech (10-7, 2-4 ACC) inside PNC Arena.

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

Pack Notes
- NC State battled back from a double-digit second half deficit to beat Wake Forest, 83-76, Tuesday night.
With the win, NC State is off to a 5-1 start for the first time since the 1988-89 season.
- Wake Forest led by as many as 12 points in the first half and had a 60-49 advantage with 9:48 to play, but NC State outscored the Demon Deacons 34-16 to end the game. The Pack went on a 12-2 run to get within one, 62-61, with 5:42 to play. Wake pushed its advantage back to four, 69-65, with 4:12 to go, but the Pack scored the next eight points to take a 73-69 lead with 1:51 to go and the Deacs would never get back in front.
- NC State didn't take its first lead of the game until two Casey Morsell free throws with 2:17 remaining gave the Pack a 71-69 lead.
- For the second straight game, DJ Horne led NC State as the Raleigh native scored 21 points on 9-of-19 shooting. He added a team-best three assists and tied for team-high honors with two steals.
- Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-5 field goals and 4-of-4 free throws off the bench. He added six rebounds in the win. Also coming off the bench was Mohamed Diarra who chipped in eight points on 3-of-4 shooting and a game-high 13 rebounds. Diarra has now grabbed 24 rebounds (including seven offensive rebounds) in the Pack's last two games.
- NC State did not make a three-pointer in the win over Wake Forest. It's the first time since Dec. 30, 2014 vs. Cincinnati (0-5) that NC State did not make a three-pointer in a game. It's the Pack's first win without making a three-pointer since March 4, 1989 vs. Wake Forest. (Credit to Tim Peeler for research) Tuesday was the 209th game with Kevin Keatts as head coach and the eight three-point attempts were the fewest in a single game in the Keatts era.

Saturday Storylines
- NC State's 5-1 start in conference play is its best start in the ACC since the 1988-89 team started 5-1. A win on Saturday would give the Pack its best start through seven games in the ACC since the 1973-74 team went 12-0 in the ACC.
- NC State is 24-3 at home since the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The Pack is 10-3 in ACC home games and 14-0 against non-conference teams
- Dating back to last season, NC State has won 10 of its last 12 ACC games played in the month of January. The Pack won six of its seven ACC games last January and four of five this January.
- In the last two games, NC State's bench has contributed 70 points and 38 rebounds. The Pack's bench has shot a combined 24-of-38 (63.2%) from the field in the last two outings. NC State's bench is averaging 21.3 points per game this season. It's the highest average for the Pack since the 2018-19 team averaged 28.9 bench points per game.
- Whose day will it be? NC State has had six different players lead the team in scoring this season, including five different players in its six ACC games (DJ Horne has led the team in scoring three times in ACC play - Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor tied for team-high honors with each scoring 15 points in the win over Virginia on Jan. 6).
- ACC foes have limited the Pack's transition points: In 11 non-conference games this season, NC State averaged 17.1 fast break points per game but that number has been cut nearly in half in ACC play where the Pack averages just 9.3 fast break point an outing in five conference games.
- Win the boards, win the game?: NC State is 9-1 this season when it outrebounds its opponent, but just 4-3 when the opponents win the rebounding battle. In ACC play, the Pack is 5-0 when it outrebounds the opponent and 0-1 when it is outrebounded.
- In the last two games, NC State has combined to shoot 54 percent from the field. This season, the Pack is 6-0 when it shoots 50 percent or better from the field and 12-2 when it shoots 40 percent or better from the field.
- Graduate guard Michael O'Connell has passed out 26 assists and just five turnovers in the last seven outings. He ranks tied for second in the ACC with a 3.19 assist/turnover ratio. The season isn't even at the halfway point yet, but O'Connell's assist/turnover ratio currently would be the third-best single-season average in program history. Currently, only three players in program history have finished a season with better than a 3.0 assist/turnover ratio.
- Ben Middlebrooks carving out a role. Over the last six games, the junior transfer from Clemson, is playing 16.4 minutes per game off the bench and is averaging 7.7 points and 4.9 rebounds per game in a backup role behind DJ Burns, Jr. Middlebrooks has been efficient offensively, shooting 66.7% (18-of-27) from the field and 81% (17-of-21) from the foul line during the seven game stretch.

NC State Series with Virginia Tech
- Saturday will be the 63rd all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 43-19.
- Kevin Keatts is 3-4 against the Hokies as head coach of the Pack, but has led the Pack to two consecutive wins over Virginia Tech and wins in three of the last four games.
- Last Meeting (March 8, 2023): NC State never trailed in beating, Virginia Tech, 97-77, in the second round of the 2023 ACC Tournament. NC State shot over 60 percent in both halves of the game, finishing the game with a 61.9 percent field goal percentage which is the best in program history in an ACC Tournament game. NC State closed the first half with a 17-2 run to take a 53-26 lead into the halftime locker room. Terquavion Smith led NC State with 30 points on 11-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-7 from three-point range.

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Players Mentioned

DJ Burns, Jr.

Mohamed Diarra

DJ Horne

Ben Middlebrooks

Casey Morsell

Michael O'Connell

Dennis Parker, Jr.

Terquavion Smith

Jayden Taylor