Pack Visits Tallahassee for Tussle with Florida State

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NC State Game Notes

Pack Notes
- NC State never trailed in beating Boston College, 81-70, Saturday afternoon. The win marked the Pack's first wire-to-wire victory since the season-opening win over The Citadel back on Nov. 6.
- The Pack jumped out to an 18-6 lead and while BC would get within seven in the opening 20 minutes, NC State would get back in front by double figures by halftime, heading to the locker room with a 12-point lead. The Pack's lead ballooned to as much as 22 in the second half as the Eagles never got within single digits in the final 20 minutes.
- For the first time since Jan. 24 (seven games) DJ Horne did not lead NC State in scoring. The Pack placed four players in double figures led by DJ Burns, Jr., who tied his season-high with 19 points. It's the first time Burns has led NC State in scoring since the Pack's win at Notre Dame on Jan. 3.
Jayden Taylor chipped in 15 points off the bench while Casey Morsell and Horne each added 13 points.
Horne has now led NC State in scoring in seven of the last eight games and nine of the last 12. Horne's 13 points against BC were his fewest since being held to nine in the Pack's overtime loss to Virginia on Jan. 24.
- Mohamed Diarra stuffed the stat sheet against Boston College, finishing the game with eight points, a game-high 10 rebounds, a career-high tying three blocks and a team-leading two steals. Diarra is playing his best basketball of the season currently. In the last four games, he is averaging just shy of a double-double with averages of 9.8 points and 9.8 rebounds per game. He's also blocked seven shots and registered five steals in the time frame. Diarra is shooting 13-of-22 (59.1%) from the field, including 7-of-12 (58.3%) from three-point range. Diarra has led the Pack in rebounding in three of the last four games and seven of the last 11. He ranks fifth in conference action, averaging 7.9 rebounds per game in 16 ACC contests.

Tuesday Storylines
- NC State has been a tough out in seven ACC road games this season. The Pack has a 4-3 conference road record, one of just five ACC teams to be over .500 in ACC road games. Of the seven conference road games, six have been tied or within one possession in the final minute of regulation. NC State has 28 ACC road wins in the Kevin Keatts era (dating back to beginning of 2017-18 season). Only Virginia (45), Duke (40) and North Carolina (36) have more ACC road wins than the Pack since Kevin Keatts became head coach. This is Keatts' seventh season as head coach of NC State and the Pack has now won at least four ACC road games in six of his seven seasons.
- Jayden Taylor playing well off the bench: The Indianapolis, Ind., native started the first 24 games of the season, but in his final six starts he averaged just 7.1 points per game and was shooting just 33.3 percent from the field. In the three games since moving to the bench, Taylor is averaging 12.3 points per game and shooting 47.6 percent from the field.
- Jayden Taylor enters Tuesday night needing just 12 points to reach 1,000 career points. Taylor scored 681 points in 65 games while at Butler and has scored 307 points in 27 games this season for NC State. Taylor would be the fourth player on NC State's current team to reach 1,000 career points.
- NC State ranks ninth in the NCAA in turnover per game, averaging just 9.4 per game. Tuesday night the Pack will matchup with Florida State which leads the ACC and ranks 18th in the NCAA in forcing opponent turnovers. The Seminoles force 15.2 turnovers per game.
- Horne had made three or more three-pointers in nine consecutive games prior to going 1-of-7 against Boston College from downtown on Saturday. Horne's 82 three-pointers this season are still the third-most by any ACC player and his 43.2 percent three-point field goal percentages continues to be the best mark in the conference.
- In a stat that has absolutely zero bearing on the game, NC State and Florida State enter Tuesday night with the exact same amount of points scored on the season. Both the Pack and FSU have scored 2,051 points in 27 games this season.
- Grad guard Michael O'Connell leads the ACC in assist/turnover ratio with a 3.15 average. NC State is 13-3 this season when he passes out three or more assists. O'Connell's assist/turnover ratio is currently the fourth-highest in program history.
- Casey Morsell - the mainstay in the starting lineup. NC State started its seventh different starting lineup combination at Clemson. Eight different players have started for the Pack this season, but Morsell is now the only NC State player to start every game this season. He has started 74 consecutive games, dating back to the 2021-22 season. His 74 starts are the tied for the ninth longest starting streak in program history. If Morsell starts on Tuesday, he'll tie Cozell McQueen (1983-85) for the eighth-longest starting streak in program history.
- NC State leads the ACC and ranks 28th in the NCAA with an average of 14.4 fast break points per game. NC State is 15-4 this season when it has more fast break points than its opponent, but is just 2-6 when its opponent has more fast break points. In ACC-only games, the Pack is 9-2 when it has more fast break points than its opponent and 0-5 when the opponent has more fast break points.

NC State Series with Florida State
- Tuesday is the 63rd meeting all-time between NC State and Florida State. The Pack leads the all-time series, 32-30, but Florida State has won eight of the last 10 meetings between the two programs.
Kevin Keatts has a 2-5 record against the Seminoles as head coach of the Pack.
NC State has an 8-17 record all-time in Tallahassee and has lost five straight games at FSU. The Pack last won at Florida State on Jan. 17, 2015. The Pack has won at every other ACC school since it last won at Florida State.
- Last Meeting - Feb. 1, 2023: NC State topped the Seminoles, 94-66, last season in PNC Arena. The Pack jumped out to a 30-4 lead less than 10 minutes into the game and was able to cruise to victory from there. The win snapped a five-game losing streak to Florida State for the Pack and the 28-point margin of victory was the largest for NC State in the series. Terquavion Smith scored 32 points and tied a season-high with six three-pointers. DJ Burns posted 15 points. Jarkel Joiner and Casey Morsell each finished in double figures as well, with Joiner adding 14 points and Morsell registering 10 while collecting a game-high seven rebounds.

Pack Visits Tallahassee for Tussle with Florida State

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Players Mentioned

DJ Burns, Jr.

Mohamed Diarra

DJ Horne

Jarkel Joiner

Casey Morsell

Michael O'Connell

Terquavion Smith

Jayden Taylor