Pack Back on the Road; Plays at No. 18 Clemson on Tuesday Night

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NC State Game Notes | Clemson Game Notes

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men's basketball (12-6, 3-2 ACC) starts a two-game road week with a trip to 18^th-ranked Clemson (16-3, 6-0 ACC) on Tuesday night.

Tipoff against the Tigers is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

Pack Notes
- NC State fell to Georgia Tech, 78-74, on Saturday. NC State shot 38.7 percent in the loss, the second-lowest field goal percentage of the season for the Pack and just the third time this season that NC State has shot below 40 percent from the field.
- Quadir Copeland led NC State with 16 points and six assists against the Yellow Jackets. He added three steals in the loss. The Philadelphia, Pa., native continues to stuff the stat sheet this season. Over the last 12 games, Copeland is averaging 14.9 points, 6.8 assists, and 2.0 steals per game while shooting 53.8 percent (64-of-119) from the field. The senior has led the Pack in scoring in six of the last 12 games, in assists in 11 of the last 12 games (including the last 10 games) and in steals in six of the last 12 games.
- NC State tied the program record with 19 made three-pointers in the win over Florida State on Jan. 10. It also tied an ACC record for most three-pointers by a single team in an ACC game. It's the third time in program history that NC State has made 19 three-pointers in a game and the second time this season (NC State also hit 19 three-pointers in the season-opening win over NC Central.) The Pack started the game 1-for-9 from long range, but then made seven straight three-pointers as it made 18 of its final 26 three-point attempts in the win at FSU.
- NC State has had double-digit three-pointers in 10 of 18 games this season. The Pack has had two games with 19 made three-pointers, a game with 17 made threes and another game with 16 made threes. The Pack currently ranks second in the ACC and 10th in the NCAA with an average of 11.1 three-pointers made per game. NC State leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the NCAA in three point percentage, making 39.8 percent of its attempts from long range this season.
- Ven-Allen Lubin has shot over 50 percent in every game except for one this season. The Orlando, Fla., native leads the ACC and ranks seventh in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 66.4 percent.
- Paul McNeil, Jr., has made multiple three-pointers in seven consecutive games and has made 31 three-pointers in the last seven games (4.4 per game) and is shooting 46.9% from long range in those contests. For the season, McNeil is averaging 3.1 three-pointers per game to rank second in the ACC and 35th in the NCAA.

Tuesday Storylines
- Tuesday marks the return of NC State head coach Will Wade and assistant coach Vernon Hamilton to their alma mater, Clemson. Wade graduated from Clemson in 2005 and served as a four-year student manager from 2001–05 before beginning his coaching career with the Tigers as a graduate assistant in 2005–06 and later as director of basketball operations from 2006–07. Hamilton is a two-time Clemson graduate, earning a Bachelor of Science degree in sports management in 2007 and a master's degree in youth development when he returned to Clemson as a graduate assistant from 2014–16. He remains Clemson's all-time leader in career steals (271) and career steals per game average (2.13). His 83 steals and 2.68 steals per game during the 2005–06 season—when he was named to the All-ACC Defensive Team—remain the best single-season marks in Clemson history.
- Tuesday's game at Clemson is the fourth ranked opponent the Pack has faced this season, and the second road game against a top-25 foe. NC State's last road win over a ranked opponent was Feb. 24, 2021 when it beat No. 21 Virginia, 68-61, in Charlottesville.
- Win the Boards, win the game? NC State was outrebounded by nine in its loss to Georgia Tech on Saturday. The Pack is 10-0 when it outrebounds its opponent this season, but just 2-6 when it is outrebounded.
- The Pack's offense has traveled well this season, as NC State has actually shot better away from Raleigh than at home. In seven road or neutral-site games, the Pack is shooting 48.7 percent, including 44.3 percent from three-point range, and averaging 84.7 points per game. Ven-Allen Lubin leads NC State in scoring in those contests, averaging 14.7 points while shooting 69.0 percent from the field (40-of-58) away from Raleigh. Quadir Copeland is close behind, averaging 14.0 points per game and shooting 62.5 percent (35-of-56) on the road. NC State will face its stiffest road test yet Tuesday at Clemson, as the Tigers lead the ACC in scoring defense at 64.5 points per game. In 10 home games this season, Clemson has held eight opponents to 61 points or fewer, with the most allowed being 70 points against SMU. NC State has scored 70 or more points in 17 of its 18 games this season.
- The Pack has a +29 turnover margin in its five ACC games this season and leads the ACC and ranks 14th in the NCAA with a +4.4 turnover margin. The only two power conference teams in the NCAA to have a better turnover margin than the Pack are Houston (+6.9) and Iowa State (+5.6). NC State has had the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent in 16 of 18 games this season. VCU and Ole Miss are the only two opponents to have less turnovers than the Pack. Clemson enters the game on Tuesday, seventh in the ACC in turnover margin at +2.5, but the Tigers lead the ACC in fewest turnovers per game, averaging to commit just 9.6 per contest. NC State is close behind Clemson, ranking third in the ACC as the Pack commits just 9.9 turnovers per game.
- NC State has had double digit steals in four of its five ACC games and has 54 overall in ACC play. Overall, the Pack is second in the ACC with an average of 8.8 steals per game. NC State has eight players that have double-digit steals on the season.
- The win at Florida State marked the fourth time this season NC State has gone over the century mark. It's the most 100 point games in a single season for NC State since the 1995-96 team had four. For the season, NC State averages 85.8 points per game which is fourth in the ACC and 32nd in the NCAA. The Pack is currently on pace to average its most points since Fire & Ice (Chris Corchiani and Rodney Monroe) led the Pack to an average of 89.3 points per game in the 1990-91 season.
- In its last three games, NC State passed out 56 assists and had just 22 turnovers. NC State leads the ACC and ranks 15^th in the NCAA with a 1.70 assist-to-turnover ratio this season.
Ven-Allen Lubin has been unstoppable in the second half of games this season: A missed shot midway through the second half against Liberty on Dec. 10 snapped a streak of 24 consecutive made second half field goals for Ven-Allen Lubin. In 18 games this season, Lubin is shooting 79.2 percent (57-of-72) from the field in the second half.

NC State series with Clemson
- Tuesday will be the 167th all-time meeting between NC State and Clemson. The Pack leads the series, 105-61, but is just 34-36 all-time in Clemson, including a 20-28 record at Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Last Meeting (February 1, 2025): The Tigers beat NC State, 68-58, last season in the Lenovo Center. Dontrez Styles led all players with 24 points as he made a career-high six three-pointers.
Clemson led 34-31 at halftime and scored the first four points of the second half to take a 38-31 lead, but NC State held the Tigers scoreless for over seven minutes to take a 39-38 lead. The Tigers responded with a 13-4 run though to take a 51-43 lead with 7:56 to play, NC State got as close as six with under four minutes to go but a 7-0 Tigers spurt put the game out of reach.

Pack Back on the Road; Plays at No. 18 Clemson on Tuesday Night

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Players Mentioned

Quadir Copeland

Ven-Allen Lubin

Paul McNeil, Jr.

Dontrez Styles

North Carolina State University Athletics