Tobacco Road Showdown: No. 10/11 NC State Plays at No. 12/12 North Carolina

Sunday, February 16

Chapel Hill, N.C.

2 PM

NC State

North Carolina

Tobacco Road Showdown: No. 10/11 NC State Plays at No. 12/12 North Carolina

2/15/2025 11:55:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN Radio Broadcast

NC State Game Notes | North Carolina Game Notes | Media Media Central

RALEIGH, N.C. – The No. 10/11 NC State women's basketball team is set to play in a highly anticipated matchup at rival No. 12/12 North Carolina for the 120th time of the all-time series. NC State and UNC will tipoff at 2 p.m. at Carmichael Arena, with the game being aired on ESPN.

ABOUT NC STATE

The Wolfpack is coming off a tight win over Miami, 76-74, on Thursday after coming up with back-to-back stops on defense and holding the Canes scoreless for the remaining 3:45 of the game
NC State entered back into the AP Top 10 for the first time since the preseason poll (NC State was ranked No. 9). This marks the 217th week in school history the Pack has been in the AP Top 10
Three of the Pack's four losses have come to AP Top 15 teams: South Carolina (4), LSU (5) and TCU (11)
NC State is on a nine-game winning streak and has won 16 of the last 17 with three ranked wins
NC State is 14-0 at home and on an 19-game home winning streak (stretching back from last season), as well as has won five straight road contests going into Sunday's game in Chapel Hill
NC State's 19-game home winning streak is the longest active streak in the ACC and sixth longest home streak in the country
The Pack is second in the ACC standings with a 12-1 conference mark. UNC is currently at No. 5 at 10-3
The Pack entered Thursday's game with its best NET of the season at No. 17 and is now at No. 19. NC State has an average opponent NET opponent ranking at No. 75, which is the fourth best in the country (trailing just South Carolina- 64, Iowa- 70 and Duke- 72), as well as the 26th toughest strength of schedule in the country (not accounting for all of NC State's tough February schedule)
NC State is one of 15 schools in the country to have picked up at least four Quad 1 NET wins. The Pack is one of nine schools to have at least 13 top 100 wins
Aziaha James is coming off an incredible week of averaging 29.0 points on 64.9 percent shooting, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game vs. No. 10/10 Duke and No. 22/22 Florida State. She was named Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy National Player of the Week, USBWA Ann Meyers Drysdale National Player of the Week and ACC Player of the week, the first league honors for a member of the Pack this season
Madison Hayes surpassed 1,000 career points vs. Miami, finishing that game with a team-high 19. The Pack now has three players who have surpassed 1,000 career points this season (Hayes, James and Saniya Rivers)
The Pack has four players who average double digits in scoring
James leads NC State with 17.8 points per game, which is No. 6 in the ACC, and 48 made 3-pointers. The senior was one of 20 named to the Wooden Late Midseason Watch List and one of 30 on the Jersey Mike's Naismith Trophy Midseason Player of the Year Team
Hayes paces the Pack with 6.9 rebounds per game and has a team's most 48 offensive rebounds
Saniya Rivers leads the Pack in steals per game (1.6) and blocks per game (1.2). She is on the USBWA Midseason Player of the Year Watch List and Cheryl Miller Midseason Top 10 Watch List
Zoe Brooks has a team-leading 4.2 assists per game
Mallory Collier has a team's best .592 field goal percentage (42-71)
Head coach Wes Moore achieved 850 career wins at Florida State (2/13). He has coached over 1,100 games in his 36-year coaching career
The Pack leads the ACC and the country in least fouls per game (11.9). NC State is second in the ACC in turnovers per game (11.9) and defensive rebounds per game (28.9), which are 11th and 16th in the country, respectively. The Pack is also third in the ACC in rebounds per game (40.96), which is 22nd in the NCAA

SCOUTING NORTH CAROLINA

UNC was picked to finish sixth in the ACC Preseason Poll after finishing 20-13, 11-7 in the ACC, last season. The Tar Heels were the No. 8 seed in the NCAA Tournament, playing in the Columbia Regional to beat Michigan State in the first round, 59-56, before falling to the No. 1 overall seed, eventual NCAA Champion, South Carolina, 88-41
Alyssa Ustby was named to the 10-person Preseason All-ACC Team. She averaged 12.5 points and a team-leading 9.5 rebounds per game, while adding a team's best 118 assists, 55 steals and 44 blocks last season
This season, Ustby is having a great year averaging a near double-double of 11.2 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, while pacing the Tar Heels with 81 assists and tied with Maria Gakdeng with a team's best 26 blocks
Indya Nivar leads UNC with 48 steals
Seven players log 6.8 points per game or more

SERIES HISTORY (NC STATE LEADS 64-55)

The Pack and Tar Heels meet for the 120th time of the series, the longest series NC State has with another opponent in program history
The first meeting was in 1975 and resulted in a 74-47 loss for the Pack
NC State is 20-31 in games played on the road in the series and has won six of the last 10 vs. UNC
The Pack and Tar Heels split the games last year, as NC State won at home (63-59) before losing on the road (80-70)
NC State hasn't won in Chapel Hill since 2022 (two game losing streak in away games vs. UNC)
When NC State is ranked, the Pack is 39-12 vs. UNC and when both teams are ranked, UNC has the edge, 12-7

LAST TIME OUT

The Pack is coming off its ninth straight win and 19th straight at home to improve to 14-0 at Reynolds this season by gutting out a 76-74 win over Miami
NC State won the battle in points off turnovers (20-12), points in the paint (40-34) and second chance points (7-2), while winning the rebounding battle, 37-34, with 12 offensive boards compared to the Canes' three
Hayes surpassed 1,000 career points in the first quarter and finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and two blocks. She had 16 of those points in the second half
James registered 15 points, six rebounds, three assists and one block
Tilda Trygger recorded 10 points, six boards, two assists and one block
Brooks delivered the go-ahead basket and finished with eight points and four assists, while Rivers logged seven points, six boards and five assists
The bench contributed 17 points including seven from Lorena Awou and five each from Zamareya Jones and Devyn Quigley

UPCOMING
The Pack will hit the road to play at Georgia Tech on Thursday, Feb. 20 for a 7 p.m. tipoff at McCamish Pavilion. The game will be aired on ACC Network Extra.