North Carolina State University Athletics
Wednesday, January 24
Charlottesville, VA
7 PM
NC State
at
Virginia
Pack Opens Two-Game Road Swing at Virginia Wednesday Night
1/22/2024 3:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ACC Network | Digital Stream
NC State Game Notes | Virginia Game Notes
RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team (13-5, 5-2 ACC) starts a two-game road swing when it travels to Charlottesville to play Virginia (13-5, 4-3 ACC) on Wednesday night.
Tipoff in John Paul Jones Arena is scheduled for 7 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 Notes
- NC State dropped just its second game of its conference slate season Saturday afternoon when it fell at home to Virginia Tech, 84-78.
- The Pack had a 54-51 lead with 7:53 to play after two Jayden Taylor free throws, but Virginia Tech went on a 24-7 run over the next 5:30 minutes to take a 14-point lead. NC State made a late rally, scoring 17 points in the final 2:05 of the game, but VT made 9 of its 10 free throws down the stretch to capture the win.
- NC State forced 20 Virginia Tech turnovers - second-most opponent turnovers this season and most by an ACC team - but the Pack turned it over themselves a season-high 18 times and the Hokies shot 62.5 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
- Casey Morsell led the Pack with 19 points (on just seven field goal attempts) in the loss to Virginia Tech. The UVA transfer was 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range and made 9 of his 10 foul attempts. DJ Horne added 16 points and Jayden Taylor finished with 15 points.
- Despite the loss, NC State's 5-2 ACC record is the Pack's best through seven conference games since the 2012-13 team started 5-2 in the ACC. NC State's 5-1 start to ACC play was the Pack's best record since the 1988-89 season.
- DJ Horne Back in Form: After a scintillating December that saw Horne averaged 18.8 points per game and shoot 53.3 percent from the field, he started January shooting just 24.4 percent from the field and averaging just 9.3 points in the first three games of the new year. In the last three games, Horne has turned back to his December shooting numbers as he is averaging 21.3 points and shooting 53.3 percent from the field in his last three outings.
Wednesday Storylines
- NC State's 5-2 start in conference play is its best start in the ACC since the 2012-13 team started 5-2. A win on Tuesday would give the Pack its best start through eight games in the ACC since the 1988-89 team was 6-2 through eight games.
- Ironically, the last time NC State started 5-2 in the ACC it played its eighth conference game that season at Virginia. The Cavaliers defeated NC State, 58-55, on Jan. 29, 2013. Virginia ended that game on a 13-6 run to knock off the 19th-ranked Pack. C.J. Leslie led NC State with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
- Dating back to last season, NC State has won 10 of its last 13 ACC games played in the month of January. The Pack won six of its seven ACC games last January and four of six this January.
- In the last three games, NC State's bench has contributed 87 points and 52 rebounds. The Pack's bench has shot a combined 32-of-56 (57.1%) from the field in the last three outings. NC State's bench is averaging 21.1 points per game this season. It's the highest average for the Pack since the 2018-19 team averaged 29.0 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 seven ACC games (Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor tied for team-high honors with each scoring 15 points in the win over Virginia on Jan. 6).
- Graduate guard Michael O'Connell has passed out 31 assists and just six turnovers in the last eight outings. He leads the ACC (and ranks 20th in NCAA DI) with a 3.29 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.
- Mohamed Diarra has led NC State in rebounding in three straight games, grabbing 32 rebounds during that span. He ranks seventh in ACC-only contests in rebounding with an average of 8.7 rebounds per game. When Diarra plays at least 15 minutes a game this season he is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game. (80 rebounds in seven games playing over 15 minutes)
- NC State only turned it over six times in its win over Virginia on Jan. 6, but since that game the Pack has had four straight double-digit turnover outings (In the first 14 games of the season, NC State only had 10 or more turnovers four times). After the UVA game, NC State led the ACC and ranked third in NCAA DI with an average of just 8.6 turnovers per game. In the last four games, NC State is averaging 14 turnovers per game, including a season-high 18 in the loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. It was the most turnovers by NC State in a 40-minute game since turning it over 20 times vs. Syracuse on Feb. 9, 2021. (The Pack had 19 turnovers on Dec. 1, 2021 against Nebraska but that game went four overtimes.) Despite the recent rash of turnovers, NC State still ranks 24th in NCAA DI with an average of 9.8 turnovers per game.
NC State Series with Virginia
- Wednesday will be the 156th all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 86-69.
- NC State is 2-9 all-time at John Paul Jones Arena, but Kevin Keatts has guided the Pack to both of its wins at JPJ Arena and is 2-2 all-time as head coach of NC State in Charlottesville.
- Overall, Kevin Keatts is 4-5 against Virginia as head coach of NC State.
Earlier meeting with Virginia
- NC State defeated Virginia, 76-60, on Saturday, Jan. 6 to push the Pack to a 3-0 start in ACC play.
- UVA led 19-15 coming out of the under-8 media timeout when Dennis Parker, Jr., hit a desperation three-pointer from 30-feet away to beat the shot clock. Parker, Jr.'s three-pointer started a 20-9 run to close the first half for NC State as the Pack went into the locker room with a 35-28 advantage. NC State opened the second half by outscoring UVA 14-4 to take 49-32 lead with 14:50 to play and the Cavaliers never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.
- Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor tied for team-high honors with 15 points. DJ Horne chipped in 14 points. Michael O'Connell came off the bench to score six points and pass out five assists against zero turnovers. Ben Middlebrooks added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- In a battle of two of the nation's best teams in taking care of the ball, the Pack won the turnover battle, only turning it over six times while forcing UVA into eight turnovers.
NC State Game Notes | Virginia Game Notes
RALEIGH – The NC State men's basketball team (13-5, 5-2 ACC) starts a two-game road swing when it travels to Charlottesville to play Virginia (13-5, 4-3 ACC) on Wednesday night.
Tipoff in John Paul Jones Arena is scheduled for 7 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 Notes
- NC State dropped just its second game of its conference slate season Saturday afternoon when it fell at home to Virginia Tech, 84-78.
- The Pack had a 54-51 lead with 7:53 to play after two Jayden Taylor free throws, but Virginia Tech went on a 24-7 run over the next 5:30 minutes to take a 14-point lead. NC State made a late rally, scoring 17 points in the final 2:05 of the game, but VT made 9 of its 10 free throws down the stretch to capture the win.
- NC State forced 20 Virginia Tech turnovers - second-most opponent turnovers this season and most by an ACC team - but the Pack turned it over themselves a season-high 18 times and the Hokies shot 62.5 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes.
- Casey Morsell led the Pack with 19 points (on just seven field goal attempts) in the loss to Virginia Tech. The UVA transfer was 4-of-7 from the field, including 2-of-3 from three-point range and made 9 of his 10 foul attempts. DJ Horne added 16 points and Jayden Taylor finished with 15 points.
- Despite the loss, NC State's 5-2 ACC record is the Pack's best through seven conference games since the 2012-13 team started 5-2 in the ACC. NC State's 5-1 start to ACC play was the Pack's best record since the 1988-89 season.
- DJ Horne Back in Form: After a scintillating December that saw Horne averaged 18.8 points per game and shoot 53.3 percent from the field, he started January shooting just 24.4 percent from the field and averaging just 9.3 points in the first three games of the new year. In the last three games, Horne has turned back to his December shooting numbers as he is averaging 21.3 points and shooting 53.3 percent from the field in his last three outings.
Wednesday Storylines
- NC State's 5-2 start in conference play is its best start in the ACC since the 2012-13 team started 5-2. A win on Tuesday would give the Pack its best start through eight games in the ACC since the 1988-89 team was 6-2 through eight games.
- Ironically, the last time NC State started 5-2 in the ACC it played its eighth conference game that season at Virginia. The Cavaliers defeated NC State, 58-55, on Jan. 29, 2013. Virginia ended that game on a 13-6 run to knock off the 19th-ranked Pack. C.J. Leslie led NC State with 20 points and 14 rebounds.
- Dating back to last season, NC State has won 10 of its last 13 ACC games played in the month of January. The Pack won six of its seven ACC games last January and four of six this January.
- In the last three games, NC State's bench has contributed 87 points and 52 rebounds. The Pack's bench has shot a combined 32-of-56 (57.1%) from the field in the last three outings. NC State's bench is averaging 21.1 points per game this season. It's the highest average for the Pack since the 2018-19 team averaged 29.0 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 seven ACC games (Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor tied for team-high honors with each scoring 15 points in the win over Virginia on Jan. 6).
- Graduate guard Michael O'Connell has passed out 31 assists and just six turnovers in the last eight outings. He leads the ACC (and ranks 20th in NCAA DI) with a 3.29 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.
- Mohamed Diarra has led NC State in rebounding in three straight games, grabbing 32 rebounds during that span. He ranks seventh in ACC-only contests in rebounding with an average of 8.7 rebounds per game. When Diarra plays at least 15 minutes a game this season he is averaging 11.4 rebounds per game. (80 rebounds in seven games playing over 15 minutes)
- NC State only turned it over six times in its win over Virginia on Jan. 6, but since that game the Pack has had four straight double-digit turnover outings (In the first 14 games of the season, NC State only had 10 or more turnovers four times). After the UVA game, NC State led the ACC and ranked third in NCAA DI with an average of just 8.6 turnovers per game. In the last four games, NC State is averaging 14 turnovers per game, including a season-high 18 in the loss to Virginia Tech on Saturday. It was the most turnovers by NC State in a 40-minute game since turning it over 20 times vs. Syracuse on Feb. 9, 2021. (The Pack had 19 turnovers on Dec. 1, 2021 against Nebraska but that game went four overtimes.) Despite the recent rash of turnovers, NC State still ranks 24th in NCAA DI with an average of 9.8 turnovers per game.
NC State Series with Virginia
- Wednesday will be the 156th all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 86-69.
- NC State is 2-9 all-time at John Paul Jones Arena, but Kevin Keatts has guided the Pack to both of its wins at JPJ Arena and is 2-2 all-time as head coach of NC State in Charlottesville.
- Overall, Kevin Keatts is 4-5 against Virginia as head coach of NC State.
Earlier meeting with Virginia
- NC State defeated Virginia, 76-60, on Saturday, Jan. 6 to push the Pack to a 3-0 start in ACC play.
- UVA led 19-15 coming out of the under-8 media timeout when Dennis Parker, Jr., hit a desperation three-pointer from 30-feet away to beat the shot clock. Parker, Jr.'s three-pointer started a 20-9 run to close the first half for NC State as the Pack went into the locker room with a 35-28 advantage. NC State opened the second half by outscoring UVA 14-4 to take 49-32 lead with 14:50 to play and the Cavaliers never got closer than 13 the rest of the way.
- Dennis Parker, Jr., and Jayden Taylor tied for team-high honors with 15 points. DJ Horne chipped in 14 points. Michael O'Connell came off the bench to score six points and pass out five assists against zero turnovers. Ben Middlebrooks added eight points and a team-high seven rebounds.
- In a battle of two of the nation's best teams in taking care of the ball, the Pack won the turnover battle, only turning it over six times while forcing UVA into eight turnovers.
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