North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack Hosts Presbyterian Friday Night
11/7/2024 12:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
NC State opened season with 97-66 win over USC Upstate
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NC State Game Notes | Presbyterian Game Notes
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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (1-0) continues its season-opening homestand Friday evening when it welcomes Presbyterian (1-1) to the Lenovo Center.
Tipoff against the Blue Hose is scheduled for 7 p.m., and can be streamed on ACC Network Extra with Andrew Sanders and Casey Morsell calling the action. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Tony Haynes on the call for the  Wolfpack Sports Network.
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Pack Tracks
- NC State opened the season Monday night with a 97-66 win over USC Upstate. It marks the 30th time in the last 31 attempts that the Pack has won its home-opener against a non-conference opponent.
- The 97 points were more than the Pack scored in any game last season as NC State featured a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures and eight players who scored eight or more points.
- Breon Pass had a career game in the opening game of his fourth and final season with the Pack. The Reidsville, N.C., scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and tied his career-high with four assists. It was the first double-digit scoring game of Pass' collegiate career (87th career game).
- Ben Middlebrooks posted his second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while also adding a career-high tying four blocks.
- Marcus Hill, making his NC State debut, tied Pass for team-high scoring honors with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
- NC State's bench scored 47 points in the win, led by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The 47 bench points are the fourth-most in the Kevin Keatts era and the most in a game for NC State since the Pack had 54 bench points in a win over Pitt on Jan. 12, 2019.
- The Pack passed out 22 assists in the win over USC Upstate. The 22 assists are the most in a single-game for NC State since they had 22 in a win over North Florida on Nov. 27, 2020.
- NC State had six newcomers make their program debuts on Monday night and the six players combined to score 54 points on 21-of-35 shooting (60.%).
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Friday Storylines
- In the last two seasons, and Monday night's season-opener, NC State is 28-7 (.800) in home games, including a 14-0 mark against non-conference opponents.
- NC State has a 51-2 (.962) record against non-conference opponents in regular season home games under head coach Kevin Keatts.
- NC State held USC Upstate to 33.9% shooting on Monday night. Dating to last season, it marked the seventh time in the last eight games NC State has held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field. In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 54-9 (85.7%) when it holds the opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field. That record improves to 29-3 (90.6%) when the Pack holds a non-conference opponent to under 40 percent shooting. Including last season's postseason run in the NCAA Tournament, the Pack has won 15 straight games against non-conference opponents when it holds them to under 40 percent shooting.
- NC State shot 55.9 percent in the season-opening win over the Spartans on Monday. The Pack was ridiculously efficient on two-point field goals in the win, NC State was 29-of-41 (70.7%) on two-point field goal attempts.
- The Pack had 22 assists in the win, its most assists in a single game in four seasons. NC State's three primary ballhandlers (Michael O'Connell, Trey Parker and Breon Pass) combined for 14 assists and just one turnover. O'Connell led NC State with six assists against USC Upstate. The Pack is now 21-4 (84%) in O'Connell's career at NC State when he has three or more assists in a game.
- NC State finished the game against USC Upstate with a 36-7 advantage in fast break points. The 36 fast break points are the most for NC State since having 37 in a win over FIU on Nov. 15, 2022. Through the first three days of the season, only Milwaukee (43) from the Horizon League has had more fast break points in a game than the Pack. The NCAA has only been tracking fast break points for two seasons. Last year, NC State ranked 76th in the NCAA with an average of 11.9 fast break points per game, but in the 2022-23 season, NC State led the ACC and ranked 13th in the NCAA with an average of 14.9 fast break points per game.
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NC State series with Presbyterian
- Friday will be the third all-time meeting between NC State and Presbyterian. The Pack won both previous meetings.
- The two programs last met on November 16, 2017 in the Lenovo Center with the Pack winning, 86-68. The Blue Hose had an eight-point lead, 44-36, at halftime, but NC State outscored Presbyterian, 50-24, in the final 20 minutes to win going away. Lennard Freeman led five NC State players in double figures with 23 points.
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NC State Game Notes | Presbyterian Game Notes
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RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (1-0) continues its season-opening homestand Friday evening when it welcomes Presbyterian (1-1) to the Lenovo Center.
Tipoff against the Blue Hose is scheduled for 7 p.m., and can be streamed on ACC Network Extra with Andrew Sanders and Casey Morsell calling the action. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Tony Haynes on the call for the  Wolfpack Sports Network.
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Pack Tracks
- NC State opened the season Monday night with a 97-66 win over USC Upstate. It marks the 30th time in the last 31 attempts that the Pack has won its home-opener against a non-conference opponent.
- The 97 points were more than the Pack scored in any game last season as NC State featured a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures and eight players who scored eight or more points.
- Breon Pass had a career game in the opening game of his fourth and final season with the Pack. The Reidsville, N.C., scored a career-high 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting and tied his career-high with four assists. It was the first double-digit scoring game of Pass' collegiate career (87th career game).
- Ben Middlebrooks posted his second career double-double with 10 points and a game-high 10 rebounds while also adding a career-high tying four blocks.
- Marcus Hill, making his NC State debut, tied Pass for team-high scoring honors with 14 points on 7-of-10 shooting.
- NC State's bench scored 47 points in the win, led by Brandon Huntley-Hatfield, who scored 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting. The 47 bench points are the fourth-most in the Kevin Keatts era and the most in a game for NC State since the Pack had 54 bench points in a win over Pitt on Jan. 12, 2019.
- The Pack passed out 22 assists in the win over USC Upstate. The 22 assists are the most in a single-game for NC State since they had 22 in a win over North Florida on Nov. 27, 2020.
- NC State had six newcomers make their program debuts on Monday night and the six players combined to score 54 points on 21-of-35 shooting (60.%).
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Friday Storylines
- In the last two seasons, and Monday night's season-opener, NC State is 28-7 (.800) in home games, including a 14-0 mark against non-conference opponents.
- NC State has a 51-2 (.962) record against non-conference opponents in regular season home games under head coach Kevin Keatts.
- NC State held USC Upstate to 33.9% shooting on Monday night. Dating to last season, it marked the seventh time in the last eight games NC State has held an opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field. In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 54-9 (85.7%) when it holds the opponent to under 40 percent shooting from the field. That record improves to 29-3 (90.6%) when the Pack holds a non-conference opponent to under 40 percent shooting. Including last season's postseason run in the NCAA Tournament, the Pack has won 15 straight games against non-conference opponents when it holds them to under 40 percent shooting.
- NC State shot 55.9 percent in the season-opening win over the Spartans on Monday. The Pack was ridiculously efficient on two-point field goals in the win, NC State was 29-of-41 (70.7%) on two-point field goal attempts.
- The Pack had 22 assists in the win, its most assists in a single game in four seasons. NC State's three primary ballhandlers (Michael O'Connell, Trey Parker and Breon Pass) combined for 14 assists and just one turnover. O'Connell led NC State with six assists against USC Upstate. The Pack is now 21-4 (84%) in O'Connell's career at NC State when he has three or more assists in a game.
- NC State finished the game against USC Upstate with a 36-7 advantage in fast break points. The 36 fast break points are the most for NC State since having 37 in a win over FIU on Nov. 15, 2022. Through the first three days of the season, only Milwaukee (43) from the Horizon League has had more fast break points in a game than the Pack. The NCAA has only been tracking fast break points for two seasons. Last year, NC State ranked 76th in the NCAA with an average of 11.9 fast break points per game, but in the 2022-23 season, NC State led the ACC and ranked 13th in the NCAA with an average of 14.9 fast break points per game.
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NC State series with Presbyterian
- Friday will be the third all-time meeting between NC State and Presbyterian. The Pack won both previous meetings.
- The two programs last met on November 16, 2017 in the Lenovo Center with the Pack winning, 86-68. The Blue Hose had an eight-point lead, 44-36, at halftime, but NC State outscored Presbyterian, 50-24, in the final 20 minutes to win going away. Lennard Freeman led five NC State players in double figures with 23 points.
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Players Mentioned
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