Raleigh, NC – The NC State men’s basketball team (18-5, 8-4) won its third-straight game, and seventh in its last eight outings, with a decisive 94-66 victory over Florida State Wednesday evening inside PNC Arena.
The night was highlighted by Terquavion Smith tallying his fourth-career 30-point performance as he finished the evening with 32 points and tied a season-high with six three-pointers.
DJ Burns posted 15 points and matched Smith’s mark of a team-high three assists. 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.
After surrendering an early basket on the game’s opening possession to give the Seminoles a 2-0 edge, back-to-back three-pointers from Smith moved the Pack ahead 6-2, with NC State never looking back and leading throughout the game’s entirety from that point forward.
The Wolfpack used spurts of 12-0 and 18-0 to jump out to a 30-4 lead less than 10 minutes in, with Smith, Joiner, Morsell, and Burns scoring each of the Pack’s first 33 points.
The Pack fired a 69.2% (9-for-13) clip from beyond-the-arc in the first half, its highest percentage from three in a half during any game this season and the highest in a half since NC State hit a 71.4% (5-for-7) mark against Richmond on Dec. 17, 2021.
A dominant showing from wire-to-wire, the Seminoles never brought the score back within single digits after the Wolfpack moved ahead 14-4. NC State’s lead grew to as much as 33 points in the second half, with that margin marking the most points Florida State has trailed by at any point this season.
After carrying a 22-point advantage, 49-27, into the halftime locker room, the second half was smooth sailing for the Pack, with NC State outscoring the Seminoles 45-39 in the final frame and 13 members of the Wolfpack’s roster seeing action on the floor.
The 28-point defeat of Florida State marked the highest margin of victory ever for the Pack over the Seminoles, eclipsing the previous record of 25 points that was hit on Feb. 25, 2001 (71-46) and Dec. 1, 1955 (88-63). The win also served as NC State’s first victory over Florida State since a 92-72 win on Feb. 25, 2018, snapping a five-game losing streak in the series.
Now sitting at 18-5 on the season, the Pack has posted its best record through 23 games since the 2005-06 season when NC State sat at 19-4, while the 8-4 mark in league play is also the best record the Wolfpack have posted through 12 ACC games since the 2005-06 team.
The second leg of NC State’s two-game homestand comes on Saturday, Feb. 4 as the Pack is set to host Georgia Tech in PNC Arena. The game will be broadcast on the ACC Network and tipoff is slated for 1 p.m.