NC State Looks To Bounce Back As They Host Robert Morris

NC State who has a record of 8-3 "according to http://www.gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball last time out suffered their first  home loss of the  season will look to bounce back as they host Robert Morris who is a member of the North East Conference.

 The NC State men's basketball team looks to bounce back from its first home non-conference loss in over two years Tuesday as it hosts Robert Morris at PNC Arena. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx

The game will begin at 7 p.m. and will be shown on ACC Network Extra with Andrew Sanders and Chucky Brown on the call. Fans can also listen on the Wolfpack Sports Network with Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes calling the action. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx

Tickets for the game at PNC Arena are still available and can be bought online at GoPack.com/BuyTickets or by calling the ticket office at (919) 865-1510.
NC State-Robert Morris Series
-  Tuesday's meeting marks the 2nd meeting all-time between the two programs
-  The Pack defeated Robert Morris, 90-88, on Feb. 13, 1991 in the only previous meeting between the programs.
-  NC State has an all-time record of 10-1 against teams from the Northeast Conference, including a 95-72 win over NEC member Bryant on Nov. 14 this season. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Pack Tracks
- NC State dropped an 81-76 decision to UNCG on Saturday. The loss snapped the Pack's 20 game non-conference home win streak. Allerik Freeman led NC State with 17 points, while Lennard Freeman (16 points on 6-of-6 shooting) and Braxton Beverly (16 points) also reached double figures.
- Beverly leads the ACC with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 4.25. He ranks 11th in NCAA Dl and has the best assist-to-turnover ratio of any freshman in the country. Through the first five games, Beverly had just seven assists against four turnovers, but as he has gotten more comfortable directing the NC State offense his assists have risen. Beverly has 27 assists and just four turnovers in the last four games for the Pack. For the season, he is averaging 1 turnover for every 31.6 minutes played.
- Omer Yurtseven is shooting 83.3 percent (25-of-30) from the field over the last five games. For the season, he is shooting 64.6 percent from the field. He would rank second in the ACC in field goal percentage, but falls just short of the minimum number of field goal makes to qualify.  
- Allerik Freeman scored his 1,000th career point in Saturday's game against UNCG. He joins Abdul-Malik Abu and Sam Hunt to score 1,000 points in their career. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Constant Defensive Pressure leading to Opponent Turnovers
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts came to Raleigh promising that his program would pressure the opponents full court and create turnovers. Through seven games his inaugural Wolfpack team is living up to his promise.
- The Pack has forced four of its 10 opponents this season into 20+-turnovers. The last NC State team to force opponents into 20 or more turnovers four times in a season was the 2009-10 team. The last seven NC State teams (2010-11 team through 2016-17 team) only twice forced opponents into 20 turnovers (2010-11 team forced East Carolina into 20 turnovers on 11/18/10 and 2016-17 team forced Virginia Tech into 20 turnovers on 1/4/17). In Keatts first four games at NC State, his teams forced opponents into 21 (VMI), 24 (Charleston Southern), 27 (Bryant) and 22 (Presbyterian) turnovers.
- The 27 turnovers NC State forced Bryant into on Nov. 14 are the most turnovers the Pack has forced an opponent to commit since Mount St. Mary's had 27 on Nov. 22, 2002.
- In the first four games this season, the Pack forced its opponents into more turnovers than made field goals.
- In 11 games, the Pack has forced 188 turnovers. The 17.1 turnovers forced per game ranks tied for 35th in NCAA Dl and are the second most forced turnovers by a team from the ACC.
- NC State recorded 14 steals in Tuesday's win over Bryant. It's the most steals in a game for NC State since the Pack had 16 steals in a win over Boston College on Jan. 19, 2012. It was a 192 game span between 14+-steal games for the Pack. NC State has 94 steals in 11 games this season, a mark that ranks third in the ACC and 31st overall in NCAA DI. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Winning the Turnover Battle
Not only have the Pack been forcing turnovers, but they have been protecting the basketball, too. NC State has had 10 or fewer turnovers in four of its 10 games this season.
- The Pack is +50 in turnover margin. Pack has forced 188 turnovers and only turned it over themselves 138 times. +50 turnover margin is tied for the 24th-best TO margin in NCAA Dl this season and is the best in the ACC. Virginia at +44 turnover margin is the second-best in the ACC.
- Major turnaround from last year's team. Last season, NC State finished the season -67 in turnover margin, including -14 mark in non-conference games. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Healthy Freeman Becoming an Offensive Force
NC State senior Lennard Freeman had offseason leg surgery prior to the 2015-16 season and after playing through pain that season, elected to have offseason leg surgery again prior to the 2016-17 season and sat out the year to recover.  Now fully healthy, Freeman has started his senior season with an offensive outburst.
- A career 3.6 points per game average coming into the season, Freeman has reset his career-high three times this season and is averaging 12.6 points per game through nine games. He opened the year with 15 points against VMI, had 20 against Bryant and then had 23 in the Pack's win against Presbyterian. 
- Freeman is shooting a team-best 73.9 percent from the field this season. Freeman would lead the ACC in field goal percentage, but falls just short of the minimum number of field goal makes to rank among ACC leaders. To be listed you have to average 5 made field goals per game, Freeman has made 51 field goals in 11 games (average of 4.6 per game).
- The senior is connecting on 78.7 percent of his foul shots (37-of-47). The Washington D.C. native, entered this season a career 47.9 percent free throw shooter.
- In 103 career games coming into this season, Freeman had only scored in double figures six times, he's scored in double figures in 7 of 11 games this season. 
- Has already scored 139 points this season, more than he scored in his entire junior season in 2015-16 season (107 points). The most points Freeman has scored in a season was 141 as a freshman in 2013-14.
- The game against Presbyterian on November 16 was the 107th career game in an NC State uniform for Freeman. It was the first time in those 107 games that Freeman led NC State in scoring. Freeman led the Pack in scoring for the second time in his career with 19 points in a 103-71 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 2.
- Freeman, who entered this season as a player best known for doing the gritty things that don't show up in the box score, has also set career-highs with three steals and three blocks this season, both set against Presbyterian. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Bench Production
-  NC State's bench is averaging to score 24.9 points per game this season. The Pack's bench has outscored the opponents bench, 274-186 this year.
-  NC State's bench has outscored the opponents bench in eight of 10 games this season. 
-  In the win over No. 2 Arizona at the Battle 4 Atlantis, NC State's bench outscored Arizona's, 39-6. Braxton Beverly had 20 points off-the-bench for the Pack in the win, while Omer Yurtseven had 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
-  In the game against Northern Iowa, NC State's bench outscored the Panther's, 30-2. Yurtseven led the team in points (17) and rebounds (13) in the game against UNI.
-  In the most recent outing against Penn State, NC State's bench outscored the Nittany Lions, 39-9. The Pack's bench consisting of Yurtseven, Sam Hunt and Lavar Batts, Jr., combined to shoot 12-for-15 from the field (80 percent), including 9-for-10 from three-point range. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx
 
Noting NC State's Returning and Lost
- Senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu is NC State's leading returning scorer (11.8 ppg.) and rebounder (7.0 rpg.). The Boston, Mass., native has led NC State in rebounding the last two seasons and is aiming to be the first NC State player to lead the Pack in rebounding in three consecutive seasons since Todd Fuller did it from 1993-96. Abu suffered a Grade 2 MCL Sprain in October and has only appeared in five games this season.
- Torin Dorn (18 starts) and Omer Yurtseven (14 starts) also return for the Pack. Dorn averaged 9.5 points & 4.6 rebounds per game last season, while Yurtseven added 5.9 points & 4.4 rebounds per game.
-  NC State must replace its top three scorers from last season in Dennis Smith, Jr. (18.1), Terry Henderson (13.8) and Maverick Rowan (12.0). The Pack also lost the school's all-time shot block leader in BeeJay Anya (243 career blocks). Smith, Jr., was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, the first Pack player to accomplish this feat since Hawkeye Whitney in 1977. Smith was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the ninth pick of the NBA Draft. Henderson, after having his appeal denied to return to NC State, went through training camp with the Charlotte Hornets and is now on the Greensboro Swarm roster in the NBA G-League. Rowan was the third overall selection of the NBA G-League draft by the Lakeland Magic.
-  NC State joins Florida State and Pittsburgh as the only ACC teams to lose its top three scorers from last season."according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/18/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-robert-morris-tuesday-at-pnc-arena.aspx

As for NC State's last game they lost to UNCG who is a member of the Southern Conference. "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/team/_/id/2430/unc-greensboro-spartans

The Pack suffered its first home loss of the season Saturday afternoon as the UNCG Spartans downed NC State, 81-76, at PNC Arena. NC State drops to 8-3 overall in its first season under head coach Kevin Keatts. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

The Spartans knocked down 12-of-24 three-pointers in UNCG's first-ever win over the Wolfpack. The 12 made treys and .500 three-point field goal percentage were both season-best marks by an NC State opponent this season. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

Allerik Freeman led the Pack in scoring for the fifth time this season, dropping 17 points. Freeman has scored in double figures in all 11 games this season. Lennard Freeman added 16 points on a perfect 6-of-6 mark from the field, while grabbing a team-high seven boards for NC State. Braxton Beverly also notched 16 points for the Pack and led all players with eight assists on the afternoon. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

The Pack controlled the game early, leading by as much as 14 during the first half. Trailing 31-17, UNCG went on an 18-3 run to takes its first lead of the game, 35-34, with 2:13 remaining in the period. Allerik Freeman hit a buzzer-beating layup to give NC State a 40-38 advantage at the break. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

UNCG forward Marvin Smith opened the half with a three-pointer that started a 20-3 run for the Spartans. UNCG built its lead as high as 15 points in the second period, but NC State would not go down without a fight. The Pack pulled within three points of the Spartans following three-straight made free throws by Allerik Freeman with 11 seconds remaining, but could not overcome the deficit. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

Smith led UNCG with a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds, while Francis Alonso finished with a team-high 17 points for the Spartans. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-pack-drops-first-home-loss-of-season-to-uncg-81-76.aspx?path=mbball

As for Robert Morris who has a record of 6-5 "according to http://rmucolonials.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball  Like NC State they lost their last game but there is  one difference they were playing on the road instead of at home.

The Robert Morris University men's basketball team opened a two-game road swing Saturday with an 86-70 loss to Buffalo at Alumni Arena. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

Six different Bulls reached double figures, led by CJ Massinburg, who posted a double-double with 23 points and 10 rebounds. As a team, Buffalo shot 51.7 percent (30-for-58) from
The Colonials (6-5), who entered the game having hit at least 10 three-pointers in five of their last six games, finished 2-for-18 (11.1%) from deep on the afternoon. RMU didn't hit its first triple in the contest until freshman guard Jon Williams connected with 1:22 to play. Williams would hit another with 15.6 seconds left. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

"I just don't think we came out with the right energy or urgency today in order to win a Division I basketball game," Toole said. "We just didn't have the fight that I know I've seen from our guys this year, and that's the most frustrating part. Buffalo really hurt us in transition, and they did a really nice job of moving the ball around to get open looks from three." "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

The Bulls shot 62.1 percent (18-for-29) in the first half, including 50 percent (6-for-12) from beyond the arc, in grabbing a 46-30 edge at the break. Ikenna Smart gave Buffalo a spark, hitting all five of his shots in 13 minutes for 10 points, while Davonta Jordan led the way with 11 points and four steals. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

Freshman forward Koby Thomas pulled the Colonials to within 19-16 with 9:47 left before the break with a layup, but the Bulls used a 10-0 surge to grab a 29-16 edge. Jordan ignited the surge with a three-pointer, while James Reese capped it with a three-point play. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

RMU scored the next eight points of the contest to close to within 29-24, but a triple from Reese and a layup from Jeremy Harris got the lead back to double digits for Buffalo, 34-24. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

In the second half, Robert Morris twice tried to mount a charge, but the Bulls answered each time, with Buffalo grabbing its biggest advantage, 86-57, with 3:13 to play after a Massinburg three-pointer. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

Sophomore guard Dachon Burke paced the Colonials with 18 points and also added four rebounds, three assists and three steals. Robert Morris forced Buffalo into 25 turnovers, the second time this season an opponent has finished with at least 25 miscues. RMU posted 15 steals, as five different Colonials recorded at least a pair. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

Thomas added 13 points and five rebounds for Robert Morris, while off the bench graduate student Ronnie Gombe finished 4-for-6 from the field for a career-high eight points in 14 minutes. Junior forward Malik Petteway notched a team-high eight rebounds and also scored nine points. "according to http://rmucolonials.com/news/2017/12/16/mens-basketball-colonials-fall-at-buffalo-86-70.aspx

Tip-off is set for 7:00pm. The game will be televised on ACC Network Extra. "according to http://www.gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball