Pack Closes Homestand with Visit from Pitt

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NC State Game Notes | Pitt Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball team (15-7, 7-4 ACC) plays its final home game of a three-game home stretch Wednesday evening when it hosts Pitt (14-8, 5-6 ACC) inside PNC Arena.

Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Notes
- NC State won its second straight game, getting past Georgia Tech, 82-76, Saturday evening. The win was the 200th victory of Kevin Keatts collegiate coaching career.
- The Pack went on a 24-4 run in the second half to turn a 44-38 deficit into a 62-48 lead with 8:21 remaining. The Yellow Jackets would get within five points in the final minute, but could never catch the Pack.
- NC State held Georgia Tech to 41.4 percent from the field in the win on Saturday night. The Pack ranks third in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to just 42.3 percent shooting in conference action. Through 11 ACC games, only two teams (Virginia Tech and Louisville) have shot over 45 percent against the Pack.
- DJ Horne led NC State in scoring for the fifth time in the last seven games. The Raleigh native scored 26 points, making four three-pointers against the Yellow Jackets. Horne has now made three or more three-pointers in five consecutive games. He has made three of more three-pointers in 11 of 22 games this season. Horne's 61 three-pointers are the third-most by an ACC player this season and his 42.1 percent three-point field goal percentage is the fourth-best mark in the conference.
- Horne ranks sixth in the ACC in conference-only games, averaging 17.0 points per game. Over the last seven games, Horne is averaging 19.7 points per game and shooting 44.6 percent from the field.
- On Monday Feb., 5, Horne was named Co-ACC Player of the Week. Horne averaged 25 points per game in two NC State wins last week and had zero turnovers in 71 minutes of action. Horne was clutch for the Pack in the second half of both games. NC State found itself behind in the final 20 minutes, but Horne scored 32 of his 50 points last week in the final 20 minutes of the game.

Wednesday Storylines
- NC State is 26-4 at home since the beginning of the 2022-23 season. The Pack is 12-4 in ACC home games and 14-0 against non-conference teams.
- Casey Morsell scored 15 points against Georgia Tech and has now scored in double figures in seven of his last eight games. After going through a six game stretch from 12/12 - 1/6 where he scored in single digits five times and averaged just 8.0 points per game, Morsell is averaging 13.9 points per game in his last seven outings. Morsell went over 1,000 career collegiate points earlier this season and now has 887 points in his NC State career. He needs to average 11.3 points per game (10 guaranteed games left) the rest of the season to become the 58th player in program history to score 1,000 career points.
- Michael O'Connell stuffing the stat crew as part of the starting lineup. The Stanford transfer has started the last two games for NC State and is averaging 6.5 points, 6.0 rebounds, 5.5 assists and 3.0 steals in those two games. The Stanford transfer averages 3.8 assists per game and has a 3.6 assist/turnover ratio in NC State's wins this season compared to just 1.7 apg and a 1.7 assist/turnover ratio in the Pack's losses. NC State is 11-2 this season when O'Connell has three or more assists.
- The Pack tied its season low with just four turnovers against Georgia Tech on Saturday. NC State had just one turnover in the second half. NC State is 11-2 this season when it has fewer than 10 turnovers in a game.
- NC State and Pitt are two of just 32 teams in NCAA DI this season to average under 10 turnovers per game. The Pack ranks 19th in the NCAA, averaging 9.6 per contest while Pitt ranks 29th averaging just 9.9 per game.
- NC State had 14 assists against Georgia Tech and is now 10-2 this season when it has 14 or more assists in a game.
- NC State's 89 steals in ACC play are the second-most by an ACC team. The Pack has had at least nine steals in six of its last seven games.
- NC State has given up 60 offensive rebounds in the last four games, including 20 to Virginia on Jan. 24 and 20 to Miami on Jan. 30. The 20 offensive rebounds tie for the most by an NC State opponent in the Kevin Keatts era. Pitt is second in ACC play in offensive rebounds, averaging 10.7 per game in 11 conference contests.
- Casey Morsell Excelling at Foul Line: The grad guard in his fifth collegiate season has had 67 free throw attempts this season. That's already nine more free throws this season than his previous most in a whole season (56 in 30 games in the 2021-22 season). The Ft. Washington, Md., native is shooting 83.6 percent from the foul line this season (8th in the ACC), his average rises to 92.7 percent (38-of-41) in ACC-only contests (2nd in the ACC). Morsell enters Wednesday's game vs. Pitt having made 34 of his last 35 free throw attempts. Morsell actually rebounded his only missed free throw of his last 35 attempts, chasing down the rebound and then driving to the basket where he was fouled to earn two more free throws.
- As a Team, Pack Knocking Down the Free Ones in ACC play: NC State enters Saturday's game shooting 80.1 percent from the free throw line in ACC play. The Pack has shot over 80 percent from the foul line in seven of 11 ACC games and has shot at least 75 percent in 10 of them. NC State's guard trio of Casey Morsell (92.6%), DJ Horne (85.4%) and Jayden Taylor (84.1%) are all shooting over 80 percent in league play from the foul line.
- NC State scored 22 fast break points on Saturday, outscoring the Yellow Jackets by 10 in transition points. The Pack leads the ACC and ranks 22nd in the NCAA with an average of 14.8 fast break points per game. The 22 fast break points were the most against an ACC opponent this season. NC State is 14-3 this season when it has more fast break points than its opponent, but is just 1-4 when its opponent has more fast break points.
- Graduate guard DJ Horne clicking from long range. The Arizona State transfer ranks fourth in the ACC in three-point field goals per game (2.8) and three-point percentage (42.1%). The Raleigh, N.C., native got off to a slow start this season from three-point range, through seven games he was only shooting 32.5 percent from downtown (13-of-40). In the last 15 games, Horne is shooting 45.7% from three-point range (48-of-105). Horne can heat up quickly, he has made multiple three-pointers in 17 of 22 games this season. In the 17 games where Horne has made at least two three-pointers, he is shooting 48.3% (58-of-120) from long range.

NC State Series with Pitt
- Wednesday will be the 26th all-time meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the series, 21-44.
- Kevin Keatts has a 7-2 record against the Panthers as head coach of the Pack.
- Last Meeting (Dec. 2, 2022): Pitt handed the Pack one of just two home losses last season, defeating the Pack, 68-60, inside PNC Arena in both teams ACC opener. NC State shot just 35 percent from the field against Pitt in the loss. The Pack were led by Terquavion Smith and DJ Burns on the offensive end, with Smith totaling 15 points and Burns adding 13. The Pack scored the first basket of the second half to get within three, 33-30, but NC State could get no closer. The Panthers stretched its lead to 11 early in the second half. A 7-0 run brought NC State within four, but Pitt had an answer for every Pack threat and pulled away to win.

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Players Mentioned

DJ Horne

Casey Morsell

Michael O'Connell

Terquavion Smith

Jayden Taylor

North Carolina State University Athletics