Raleigh, NC – The NC State men’s basketball team (8-7, 4-6 ACC) hosts Syracuse (10-6, 4-5 ACC) on Tuesday evening inside PNC Arena.
The game will be televised on the ACC Network with Wes Durham and Cory Alexander on the call. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Tracks
– NC State got back in the win column on Saturday afternoon with an 81-65 win over Boston College. After spotting the Eagles a 5-0 lead, the Pack went on a 37-3 run to take control of the game. The Pack led by as many as 32 points late in the second half before pulling its main rotation players in the final eight minutes of the game.
– Freshman Shakeel Moore led the Pack with 19 points on 8-of-12 shooting. Manny Bates and D.J. Funderburk both added 14 points and seven rebounds while Jericole Hellems added 11 points as he scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive game.
– Hellems has stepped up for the Pack since Devon Daniels tore his ACL in the second half of the win over Wake Forest on Jan. 27. In the first game without Daniels, Hellems registered his first career double-double with career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (10) against Syracuse on Jan. 31. In the three games since Daniels was injured, Hellems is averaging 19.3 points on 53.5% shooting (23-of-43) and 6.0 rebounds per game.
– The Pack will play the rest of the season without senior guard Devon Daniels. Daniels was the team leader in points (16.5), assists (3.1) and steals (1.7) when he went down with a torn ACL. He was also tied for the team-lead with 19 three-pointers this season. His field goal percentage of 48.1 ranks ninth in the ACC and he ranked third in the team in rebounding at 5.1 per game.
– NC State leads the ACC in forcing turnovers (16.47) and is tied for first in steals (9.13). The Pack has four players (Daniels, Shakeel Moore, Braxton Beverly & Thomas Allen) rank in the top-15 in the ACC in steals.
Earlier Meeting this Season
– In a game that featured 19 lead changes and seven ties, Syracuse defeated NC State, 76-73, on Jan. 31.
– The Pack made six three-pointers and shot 57% in the first half en route to a 47-38 halftime lead. In the second half, NC State did not make a three-pointer and shot 32% from the field as Syracuse outscored the Pack 38-26 in the final 20 minutes to win.
– Junior forward Jericole Hellems had career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (10) as he posted his first career double-double. Sophomore forward Manny Bates added 17 points and a career-high 14 rebounds for the Pack.
– It was the first game NC State played after losing leading scorer Devon Daniels for the season because of an ACL tear. D.J. Funderburk also did not play in the game for NC State so the Pack was without its two leading scorers against the Orange.
Tuesday Storylines
– NC State is still trying to find the right combination of players this season, in large part due to two program stops that have led to a total of seven canceled or postponed games. NC State has only had three players (Thomas Allen, Jericole Hellems, Shakeel Moore) on its 14-man roster appear in every game this season. The Pack has had nine different starting lineup combinations in 15 games this season and has had at least one change in the starting five for nine straight games. In the 2018-19 season, the Pack played 36 games and only had seven different starting lineup combinations the entire season. Last season in 32 games, NC State had 10 different starting lineup combinations in 32 games.
– Force at least 15 turnovers. When NC State forces an opponent into 15 or more turnovers this season the Pack is 8-1. When its opponent has less than 15 turnovers, NC State is 0-6.
– When the Pack’s defense is stealing the ball and converting it into points NC State is much tougher to beat. The Pack is 7-0 when it scores 19 or more points off opponent turnovers this season, but just 1-7 when it scores 18 points or less off opponent turnovers.
– In the three games since Devon Daniels was injured, sophomore forward Manny Bates is averaging 13.3 points on 66.7% shooting (16-of-24) and 8.3 rebounds per game. The ACC’s blocked shot leader has now gone back-to-back games without a block. Its only the second and third time in 43 career games that Bates hasn’t posted a blocked shot.
– With the loss of Devon Daniels, NC State’s top-three scorers remaining are all forwards. The Pack has more of an emphasis on getting the ball into the paint and to its low-post players. In the three games without Daniels, NC State is averaging 37.3 points in the paint per game. After being outscored in points in the paint in five of its first six ACC games, the Pack has outscored each of its opponents since Daniels was injured in points in the paint. (+32 in points in the paint in three games)
– In the three games since Devon Daniels was injured, forwards Manny Bates, D.J. Funderburk and Jericole Hellems have combined to score 121 points and are shooting 47-of-83 (56.6%) from the field.
NC State – Syracuse Series
– Tuesday marks the 15th all-time meeting between the two programs.
– Syracuse leads the all-time series, 8-6. The Pack has a 2-3 record inside PNC Arena against the Orange.