NC State Closes Out Road Trip With Louisville

On Thursday night NC State who is ranked twenty first in this weeks AP Top 25 poll will closeout their three game road trip at Louisville who is ranked twenty third in this weeks AP Top 25 poll.

NC State comes into the game with a record of 15-3 while they’re 3-2 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Louisville comes into the game with a record of 13-5 while they’re 4-1 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As for NC State’s previous game they bounced back with a win in South Bend over Notre Dame.

The 17th-ranked NC State men's basketball team never trailed in the second half and was able to hold off Notre Dame to win 77-73 Saturday afternoon inside the Joyce Center at Purcell Pavilion. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

CJ Bryce led the Pack with a season-best 23 points as NC State improved to 15-3, 3-2 in the ACC with the victory. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

The NC State junior finished the game shooting 9-of-14 from the field, including a career-best 5-of-5 from three-point range. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Devon Daniels added 15 points, six rebounds and a career-best three blocked shots for NC State. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Torin Dorn and DJ Funderburk both reached double figures off-the-bench as Dorn had 13 points and nine rebounds, while Funderburk finished with 11 points and six rebounds. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

The Pack led for 33:01 of game time, but could never shake the Fighting Irish as NC State's biggest lead in the game was eight points in the first half. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

After leading at halftime of every single non-conference game, the Pack finally took a lead into halftime of an ACC game as NC State led 35-33 at the break. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Notre Dame tied the game at 39 early in the second half, but back-to-back three-pointers by Braxton Beverly and Bryce push the Pack's lead out to six. The Fighting Irish would cut the Pack's lead to one on three different occasions the rest of the game, but could never get over the hump as NC State had an answer every time Notre Dame threatened to take the lead. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Notre Dame was within one, 62-61, after a John Mooney dunk with 8:26 to play, but the Pack responded by holding the Fighting Irish without a point for over four minutes and Notre Dame would not make it a one possession game again until 12 seconds remained. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Daniels was fouled twice in one-and-one situations in the final 35 seconds of the game and made all four free throws. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

The Pack only turned the ball over once in the second half and finished the game with a season-low seven turnovers. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Notre Dame (11-7, 1-4 ACC) was led by Mooney and Dane Goodwin who both scored 19 points. The Fighting Irish entered the game, averaging to hit over 10 three-pointers per game in conference play, but the Pack limited to Notre Dame to just 7-of-28 (25%) shooting from long range.”according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-no-17-pack-wins-at-notre-dame-77-73.aspx

Like NC State, Louisville won their previous game as they won at Georgia Tech.

- Jordan Nwora scored 25 points and continued his hot streak to lead Louisville to a 79-51 runaway win over short-handed Georgia Tech on Saturday. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

The sophomore forward entered the game as the Atlantic Coast Conference's most improved scorer, bumping his average from 5.7 points per game last season to 18.1. He surpassed that with 21 points in the first half as the Cardinals raced to a 43-16 lead. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

Steven Enoch scored 15 points off the bench for Louisville (13-5, 4-1 ACC). Malik Williams added 13 for the Cardinals, whose fans were loud in McCamish Pavilion. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

James Banks III paced Tech (10-8, 2-3) with a career-high 24 points and 11 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season, but he had little help. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

The Yellow Jackets were without starting point guard Jose Alvarado, their leading scorer who has a groin injury, starting forward Abdoulaye Gueye, who missed his second consecutive game with an undisclosed medical condition, and senior guard Brandon Alston, the team's third-leading scorer who missed his second game for personal reasons. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

Banks scored the game's first bucket, on a baby hook, but Louisville dominated from there beginning with a 14-2 run. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

The Cardinals beat the Jackets in a variety of ways, and Nwora was in the middle of most of it in the first half. He made three 3-point shots, threw down a dunk and had an old-fashioned 3-point play to give Louisville its biggest lead, 39-8, with 4:38 remaining.

Tech had fits offensively, turning the ball over on seven of its first 16 possessions and scoring just twice while struggling when Louisville double-teamed ballhandlers. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

The Jackets missed all six of their 3-point shots in the first half, when they had 10 turnovers. Beyond Banks scoring nine points on 4-of-8 shooting, all other Tech players combined to make 2 of 16. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

BIG PICTURE

Louisville: The Cardinals overwhelmed Tech, and their big men did the most damage, especially from beyond the 3-point arc. Center/forward Williams was just as effective in the first half as Nwora (8 of 12) although he shot the ball less. He scored 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including two 3-pointers. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

Georgia Tech: Without Alvarado to run the show, the Jackets were lost offensively and threatened the school record for fewest points scored in a half of an ACC game. Tech scored just 12 points at Virginia on Jan. 22, 2015. The Jackets had four assists in the first half, and players other than Banks made just 10 of 33 shots in the game. “according to https://gocards.com/news/2019/1/19/mens-basketball-nwora-leads-louisville-past-georgia-tech-79-51.aspx

Tip-off is set for 8:00pm from KFC Yum Center. The game will be televised on Raycom Sports.