NC State Takes On Boston College In The Second Round Of The Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament

After completing his first regular season as the head coach of NC State Kevin Keatts will make his first appearance at the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament in Brooklyn at the Barclays Center where NC State will face Boston College Wednesday afternoon.

NC State comes into the ACC Tournament with a record of 21-10 and finished the the regular season in the Atlantic Coast Conference with a record of 11-7. "according to http://gopack.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball and is coming off a win in their regular season finale against Louisville on Saturday.

 The NC State men's basketball team's depth was on display Saturday night as its bench poured in a season-high 41 points to help the Wolfpack defeat Louisville, 76-69, in the final game inside PNC Arena for Abdul Malik Abu, Lennard Freeman, Allerik Freeman and Sam Hunt. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
The win moved the Pack to 21-10 overall and 11-7 in the ACC, the best ACC record for NC State since 2012-13 and tied head coach Kevin Keatts for the most regular season wins as a first-year head coach. His 21 wins ties Everett Case, who went 21-4 in the 1946-47 season. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
With the Pack now holding a 16-3 home record, it ties the most home wins since 2012-13 when it went 16-1 in Raleigh."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
NC State featured a balanced attack with four double-figure scorers; Allerik Freeman added 16 points, Torin Dorn finished with 15 on 7-for-11 shooting, Braxton Beverly had 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting, including a 3-for-4 performance from beyond the arc. and Omer Yurtseven also had 13, going 5-for-12. Dorn also led the Pack in rebounding with eight while Allerik Freeman's six assists led the team in that category. Yurtseven turned away five shots to tie his career-high in blocks."according tohttp://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball 

NC State finished the game with nine steals. Yurtseven led the team with a career-high three. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
Along with outscoring the Cardinals' bench 41-12, the Wolfpack also took care of the ball and committed a season-low four turnovers compared to Louisville's 15. "according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
In a back-and-forth battle that featured 14 lead changes and seven ties, the Pack was first on the scoreboard after an Abu layup with 19:09 the clock. While the first half saw the score tied five times and the lead change six, the Pack went into the half with a 33-32 advantage."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball
 
The second half started off as the first ended with neither the Wolfpack or Cardinals gaining a clear advantage. Louisville had a 48-44 lead with 14:37 to go, but the Pack responded with a 13-0 run to take a 57-48 lead on a Beverly three-pointer with 10:03 to play."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball

The Cardinals would not go away though as a Darius Perry three-pointer brought Louisville to within two points, 64-62, with 4:30 to go. The Pack scored the next six points though to take a 70-62 lead."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball

The Pack shot just 16-of-26 from the foul line for the game, but hit 8-of-9 free throws in the final 1:33 to prevent the Cardinals from gaining any momentum for a comeback."according to http://gopack.com/news/2018/3/3/mens-basketball-wolfpack-downs-louisville-on-senior-night.aspx?path=mbball

Boston College meanwhile has a record of 18-14 and is coming off a win in their Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament opener Tuesday where they beat Georgia Tech.

How It Happened
Boston College advanced to the second round of the 2018 New York Life ACC Tournament with an 87-77 win over Georgia Tech on Tuesday afternoon.  The 12th seeded Eagles will take on No. 5 seed N.C. State on Wednesday at 2 p.m. at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
 
The Eagles were in control of the game from the start, holding the lead for 38:09 on the afternoon.  Knotted at 4-4 early on, BC went on a 9-0 run over the next 5:15 to take a 13-4 lead with 13:28 left in the half.  Four BC players had at least seven points in the opening frame, helping the squad take a 10-point lead at the break at 36-26. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

BC's defensive effort held Georgia Tech without a field goal for close to seven minutes to start the second half.  The Yellow Jackets missed their first nine attempts from the floor as Boston College built as much as a 20-point lead - at 51-31, with 13:37 to go. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball
 
A Nik Popovic layup with 7:00 to go made it 66-47 before Georgia Tech began to press and chip away at the deficit.  The Yellow Jackets got as close as six points, outscoring BC 28-15 over a 6:15 stretch. The Eagles sealed the win, making 11-of-13 from the charity stripe over the final 2:00 of regulation."according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Inside the Box Score

• Ky Bowman led BC with 26 points and notched his sixth double-double of the season with 10 rebounds.  The sophomore point guard was 8-of-13 from the floor and 10-of-13 from the charity stripe. He added six assists and two steals in 40 minutes.
• At the 12:22 mark of the second half, Bowman became the 43rd member of the Boston College 1,000 point club.  He reached the statistical milestone in 64 games, tying teammate Jerome Robinson for ninth-fastest to four figures scoring.
• Nik Popovic poured in a career-high 20 points, making 8-of-11 shots from the floor.  The sophomore grabbed five rebounds, an assist and a steal in 32 minutes of play.
• Jerome Robinson added 19 points, connecting on 8-of-9 from the charity stripe.  He added seven boards, two assists, and block and steal.
• Jordan Chatman had 13 points, four rebounds and two assists.
• Steffon Mitchell put forth his 11th game with double-figure rebounds.  The freshman returned to the starting lineup and corralled 11 boards to go along with three points, two steals, and an assist.
• The Boston College reserves - Ervins Meznieks, Vin Baker Jr., and Johncarlos Reyes - combined for six points and eight boards and provided solid minutes for the Eagles on the afternoon.
• BC shot 46.7% from the floor (28-60) despite struggling from beyond the arc - connecting on 2-of-14 from 3-point land.  The Eagles made 29-of-37 from the free throw line. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Notables

• Forty of BC's 58 points scored off of made field goals came in the paint.
• The Eagles tallied 51 points in the second half - the second-highest single-half scoring total of the season (56, second half - Colgate).
• The two made 3-pointers in the game were a season-low.  The previous low for 3-pointers was three against Texas Tech on Nov. 19.
• BC finished 29-of-37 from the charity stripe, the most foul shots made and attempted in a game this season. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Stat of the Game
39 - Boston College grabbed a season-high 39 defensive rebounds versus Georgia Tech.  BC's defensive rebounding percentage was an outstanding 81.3%. "according to http://bceagles.com/index.aspx?path=mbball

Tip-off is set for 2:00pm from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn New York . The game will be televised on ESPN/ ACC Network. "according to http://bceagles.com/schedule.aspx?path=mbball