NC State Visits Charlottesville To Take On Virginia
After knocking off a second ranked opponent in Clemson Thursday in Raleigh NC State visits Virginia who is ranked third in this weeks AP Top 25 poll. "according to http://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/rankings
The NC State men's basketball team plays a ranked opponent for the third consecutive game Sunday evening as the Pack travels to Charlottesville, Va., to play third-ranked Virginia. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/13/mens-basketball-pack-hits-road-to-play-at-no-3-virginia.aspx?path=mbball
NC State comes into the game with a record of 12-5 while they're 2-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference haven knocked 19th ranked Clemson their last time out.
A career night from Omer Yurtseven combined with a season best display of ball security buoyed the NC State men's basketball team to a 78-77 victory over No. 19 Clemson Thursday night inside PNC Arena. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
The win marked the first time since 2007 the Wolfpack won back-to-back ACC regular season games against ranked opponents. It defeated No. 16 Virginia 70-59 on Jan. 31, 2007 and No. 3 UNC-Chapel Hill 83-79 on Feb. 3, 2007. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
NC State also remains undefeated against ranked teams this season, as it defeated No. 2 Arizona 90-64 on Nov. 22, 2017 and No. 2 Duke 96-85 in its previous outing on Jan. 6. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
Yurtseven had career highs in points, field goals made and three-pointers made; he finished with 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting including 5-of-6 from three. His 29 points is the most by a Wolfpack player this season. Allerik Freeman added 14 points and also tied his career high in assists for the second straight game with five. Braxton Beverly logged five assists while Lennard Freeman led the team in rebounds with six. Lavar Batts Jr, continued to provide energy off the bench, finishing with a career-high five steals while Torin Dorn contributed three to tie his career high. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
The Wolfpack took care of the ball as it committed a season low four turnovers while forcing the Tigers to cough up the ball 17 times, resulting in 20 points off turnovers compared to just five for Clemson. NC State's four turnovers was the fewest for the squad since Feb. 21, 2012, when the Pack turned it over just four times against UNC-Chapel Hill. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
Allerik Freeman set the tone for NC State early, knocking down his first three-point attempt as he scored five unanswered points to give NC State a 5-0 lead two minutes into the game. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
Freeman put the Wolfpack in the drivers' seat early, but it was Yurtseven who then proceeded to torment the Tigers both inside and out; he knocked down a three from the top of the arc with 13:13 on the clock followed by a jumper from the short corner with 12:36 remaining in the half. He then turned over his right shoulder for a left-handed jump hook with 11:00 left to play followed by another three-pointer with 10:17 remaining. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
While the Tigers narrowed the Wolfpack's lead to 36-35 with 2:18 left in the half, three-pointers from Yurtseven and Beverly inside the final 2:30 of the half ensured NC State went into halftime with a 41-38 advantage. Yurtseven's dominant first half included 15 points on an efficient 7-of-8 shooting while the Wolfpack also shot an efficient 55 percent from three.
Clemson came out of halftime and made it a one point game with 18:36 left to play but NC State responded by playing the type of lock down defense emphasized by head coach Kevin Keatts . For a 5:39 stretch, from the time there was 13:43 on the clock to when there was 8:12 left in the half, the Wolfpack held the Tigers scoreless and went on a 10-0 run that extended the lead to 61-50. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77.aspx?path=mbball
The Tigers battled back in what was a dramatic final 1:30 of the contest. With NC State holding a 74-71 lead, Dorn stole the ball and found Yurtseven for an emphatic dunk with 25 seconds left to put NC State up 76-71. Despite the Wolfpack then holding a 78-75 lead with 0:01 second remaining, Clemson's Gabe DeVoe was fouled on a three-point attempt. He converted on the first two attempts to narrow the NC State lead to one. The Wolfpack took its final timeout prior to the third free throw and along with the help of an electric NC State crowd, Devoe missed the final free throw to ensure the NC State victory over the No. 19 team in the nation. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/1/11/mens-basketball-yurtseven-has-career-night-as-nc-state-upends-no-19-clemson-78-77. path=mbball
As for Virginia they come into this game with NC State with a record of 15-1 and 4-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference haven won their last outing against Syracuse. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/sched/va-m-baskbl-sched.html
Kyle Guy scored 22 points, De'Andre Hunter added 15 and No. 3 Virginia beat Syracuse 68-61 on Tuesday night. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
Guy made five 3-pointers for Virginia (15-1, 4-0 Atlantic Coast Conference). The Cavaliers attempted a season-high 27 3s and made nine. Devon Hall added 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds for Virginia. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
Frank Howard scored 18 points to lead the Orange (12-5, 1-3). Oshae Brissett added 16 points and Paschal Chukwu scored nine points and grabbed 16 rebounds, but the Orange shot under 40 percent against the nation's top scoring defense and managed just three assists on 23 baskets. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
Virginia led 29-26 at halftime and pushed the lead to 44-35 when Ty Jerome made three 3-pointers in a span of two minutes and Guy made his fourth with 12:17 left. Virginia eventually led by as many as 14 and won its seventh in a row. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
BIG PICTURE
Syracuse: The Orange essentially use only six players, and three of them - Tyus Battle (19.5), Howard (15.4) and Brissett (15.2) - account for most of the scoring. Seven-foot-two Chukwu averages 5.5 points but gets most of his scoring opportunities from collecting offensive rebounds. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
Virginia: The Cavaliers' offensive options continue to expand. Hunter scored eight points in a span of three minutes after checking in during the first half. Jerome missed his first five attempts from 3-point range, then made three in a row in a span of just over two minutes early in the second half. "according to http://www.virginiasports.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/010918aae.html
Tip-off is set for 6:00pm from John Paul Jones Arena. The game will be televised on ESPNU. "according to http://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball