NC State To Host South Carolina State In A Matinee

Early to bed early to rise !

NC State tips off first in the triangle Saturday as they host South Carolina State of the South Eastern Conference.

The NC State men's basketball team hosts South Carolina State Saturday at noon inside PNC Arena. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball

The game will begin at noon and will be televised locally on FOX Sports South with Wes Durham and Mike Gminski on the call. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball

The game will also be shown on FOX Sports Sun, FOX Sports Midwest, NBC Sports Washington, NESN Plus, AT&T Sportsnet Pittsburgh, SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports Detroit, FOX Sports North, FOX Sports Wisconsin, FOX Sports Southwest Plus, FOX Sports West, AT&T Sportsnet Rocky Mtn (Delay Broadcast - 6pm ET/4pm MT), Root Sports Northwest (Delay Broadcast - 6pm ET/3pm PT) and YES Network (Delay Broadcast - 6pm). "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball

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/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball

Saturday's game will be NC State's annual Coca-Cola Toys for Tots collection game. Doors will open at 10:30 a.m. for the game and fans are encouraged to bring unwrapped, new toys valued at five dollars or more to the game to donate. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
Fans can also enjoy brick-building fun and free activities in the Arena Club (2nd floor) at PNC Arena from 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM. The first 1,000 kids receive a free NC State Basketball OYO Figure. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
Pack Tracks
- NC State defeated Penn State, 85-78, in the Big Ten-ACC Challenge on Wednesday night. The Pack's win contributed to the ACC's 11-3 win over the Big Ten. It's the best winning percentage for either conference in the 19-year history of the challenge.
- Omer Yurtseven had another solid outing off-the-bench in the win over the Nittany Lions. The sophomore scored a career-high 19 points and added 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season/ Yurtseven was 3-for-3 from three-point range and is now 6-for-7 on the season from long range. In the last three games, Yurtseven is averaging 15. 3 points per game on 68 percent shooting (17-for-25). He is also averaging 10.0 rebounds per contest over the last three outings.
- Over the last four outings, NC State's bench has outscored the opposition, 121-39, in points off-the-bench. The Pack outscored Penn State's bench 39-9 in Wednesday's win. In NC State's win over No. 2 Arizona on 11/22, the Pack outscored Arizona's bench 39-6. In the last four games, NC State's bench players are averaging to shoot 52.6 percent from the field (41-for-78), including 50 percent (16-for-32) from three-point range. "according tohttp://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
NC State-South Carolina State Series
-  Saturday's meeting marks the 3rd meeting all-time between the two programs.
-  The Pack leads the all-time series 2-0. The two programs met previously in the 1997-98 season and 2007-08 season.
-  The Pack has an all-time record of 29-1 against teams from the MEAC. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
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 seven 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. For the season, NC State opponents have turned the ball over 147 times, while connecting on 189 field goals.
- In eight games, the Pack has forced 147 turnovers. The 18.4 turnovers forced per game ranks 24th in NCAA Dl and are the 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 71 steals in eight games this season, a mark that ranks third in the ACC and 33rd overall in NCAA DI. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
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 eight games this season.
- The Pack is +49 in turnover margin. Pack has forced 147 turnovers and only turned it over themselves 98 times. +49 turnover margin is the seventh best TO margin in NCAA Dl this season.
- 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/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
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 12.3 points per game through seven 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 71.4 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 35 field goals in 8 games (4.4 field goals per game).
- The senior is connecting on a team-best 82.4 percent of his foul shots (28-of-34). 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 5 of 8 games this season. 
- 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, 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/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
 
Bench Production
-  NC State's bench has been very productive in its last four outings.
-  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. 
-  In the last four outings, NC State's bench is shooting 52.6 percent (41-for-78) from the field, including 50 percent (16-for-32) from three-point range. "according to
 http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball
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 not played 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/2017/12/1/mens-basketball-pack-hosts-south-carolina-state-in-saturday-matinee.aspx?path=mbball

As for NC State they have a record of 6-2 coming into their game with South Carolina State.

First year head coach Kevin Keatts recored his first win in the ACC / Big Ten Challenge as NC State beat Penn State Wednesday.

NC State remained unbeaten at home this season with an 85-78 win over the Penn State Nittany Lions Wednesday night at PNC Arena. Omer Yurtseven came off the bench and posted a double-double, scoring a career-high 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds to lead the Wolfpack. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

Yurtseven, who had only hit four three-pointers in his career coming into the game, was 3-of-3 from beyond the arc. Sam Hunt was also lights out from deep, going 4-of-5 as he posted a season-high 14 points for the Pack. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

Grad transfer Allerik Freeman was the Pack's second-leading scorer, dropping 17 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field. The Charlotte, N.C. native has scored in double digits every game this season. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

Lennard Freeman added 10 points for the Pack, continuing his consistency at the line as he made 4-of-5 free throws. Redshirt-junior Torin Dorn pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds and added a career-high three blocks to lead all Wolfpack players."according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

NC State finished the game with a 10-of-16 mark from three-point range. The 10 made triples and .625 three-point field goal percentage were both season-highs for the Pack."according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

The Pack's bench was especially efficient in the win, going 9-of-10 from beyond the arc and outscoring the Penn State bench 39-9 for the game."according tohttp://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

The Nittany Lions jumped out to an 11-0 lead early on in the first half, but the Pack held its composure as NC State nailed four-straight three-pointers to cut the Nittany Lions' lead to 18-14 with 11:22 remaining in the period. The Wolfpack took its first lead of the game on a Yurtseven pick-and-roll slam to make it 25-24. Penn State went 0-of-10 from the field over the final 6:04 of the half as NC State closed the period on a 12-2 run and headed to the locker room with a 37-30 advantage. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

NC State led by as much as 13 in the second half, but Penn State would not go down without a fight. The Nittany Lions pulled within three points of the Pack with 1:49 remaining on a trey from Tony Carr, who led all scorers with 29 points on the night. Leading 77-74, Braxton Beverly and Markell Johnson collectively put the game away as the duo went 8-of-10 from the free throw line over the final 52 seconds of the game. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball

As for South Carolina State they have a record of 1-6 and also won their last game as they beat Morris.

Four Bulldog players scored in double-figures with sophomore forward Damani Applewhite tossing in a career-high 27 points and 10 rebounds to lead South Carolina State to a 100-91 victory over Morris Tuesday (Nov. 28th) at Smith-Hammond-Middleton Memorial Center. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

Senior guard James Richardson added a season-high 23 points, while graduate guard Donte Wright finished with 15 and Ty Solomon chipped in 11 in the victory. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

"It was great to get win tonight, I thought Applewhite played the best game of his young career, "said head coach Murray Garvin. "We also had four players in double figures tonight the first this season, so that show signs of improvement." "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

"It was good to see James "JJ" Richardson get his rhythm he had a good night shooting the ball and he played more aggressive and we need more of that from him moving forward," said Garvin.

Applewhite finished 12-of-13 from the field, while Richardson was 3-of-5 from behind the 3-point line. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

The Bulldogs dominated in every category along with rebounds (44-29), points in the paint (22-20), bench points (24-16) while shooting 52.4% (33-of-63) from the field on the night."according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

South Carolina State led 51-42 during intermission."according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

The Bulldogs opened the second-half on fire building a 20-point lead, 79-59, off a dunk by Applewhite at the 10:05 mark. Morris cut the lead in half and pulled within 10, 91-81, off a driving layup by Brian Jones with 1:54 remaining in regulation. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

A pair of free-throws by junior guard Janai Rayner-Powell and Richardson down the stretched sealed the victory for South Carolina State. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

Garvin stated, "We had a season-high 25 assists and that's an indication that we are sharing the ball getting other players involved. You need a win to get you going, but the road doesn't get in easier from here so we will enjoy it for a little while and get back to work." "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

Morris was led by Qu'Ran Tanner with a team-high 16 points, while Demetrius Holiday finished with 14 in the loss. "according to http://www.scsuathletics.com/news/2017/11/28/mens-basketball-mbb-four-bulldogs-score-double-figures-in-win-over-morris.aspx

Tip-off is set for 12:00pm from PNC Arena. The game will be televised on the Regional Sports Network. "according to http://www.gopack.com/news/2017/11/29/mens-basketball-pack-gets-back-on-track-with-win-over-penn-state-85-78.aspx?path=mbball