NC State Travels To Tallahassee To Take On Florida State

It has been six days since NC State last took the court against an opponent in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Florida State had a game earlier this week.

On Saturday NC State will visit the Sunshine State where they will visit Tallahassee where they will take on eighteenth ranked Florida State.

NC State comes into the game with a record of 20-8 while they’re 8-7 in the Atlantic Coast Conference while Florida State comes into the game with a record of 22-6 while they’re 10-5 in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

As for NC State’s previous game they defeated Wake Forest in North Carolina’s state capital.

The NC State men's basketball team defeated Wake Forest, 94-74, Sunday night inside PNC Arena, led by Markell Johnson's 25 points. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

The Pack moves to 20-8 (8-7 ACC) with the win, while the Demon Deacons drop to 10-16 (3-11 ACC). “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx
 
In the fifth 20-point game of his career, Johnson's 25 points is the most for the junior in an ACC contest and just two off of his career-high. Johnson shot 9-of-13 from the field, including 6-of-9 shooting from long range. The Cleveland, Ohio natives six three-pointers were a career-high and the most by an NC State player this season. Johnson added a season-best six rebounds. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

Johnson was joined in double figures by three other NC State players. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

Jericole Hellems contributed 14 points, the most for the freshman in conference play, Devon Daniels had 10 points and Torin Dorn recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 13 points and 10 rebounds. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

The Pack out-rebounded the Demon Deacons, 47-37. Fourteen of those boards came on the offensive glass. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

All nine players that entered the game for NC State filled the scoring column, aided by the Pack's 19 assists, tying its season-high in conference play. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx
 
NC State led the entirety of the game, but made a surge over a three-minute span in the second half to put the game away for good with a 10-0 run, giving NC State a 59-43 lead at the 12:07 mark. Wake Forest never got closer than 12 points the rest of the way. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx
  
The Pack got off a torrid start, jumping out to a 9-0 lead, but the Demon Deacons closed to within one, 18-17, at the 11:15 mark.  Sparked by a Johnson three-pointer, NC State would go on a 7-0 run. Wake Forest closed within three, 31-28, with 2:56 remaining in the first half, but the Pack closed the half on a 10-4 run to take a 41-32 lead into the break. “according to https://gopack.com/news/2019/2/24/mens-basketball-nc-state-defeats-wake-forest-94-74.aspx

Like NC State, Florida State also won their previous game as they topped Notre Dame earlier this week.

Florida State spent much of the second half against Notre Dame Monday night on the verge of a rally that would erase a seven-point deficit and provide a ninth win in 10 tries. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

When the Seminoles finally did pull ahead, they spent the remainder of the game treating the Fighting Irish in kind.”according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

FSU freshman Devin Vassell scored 13 points, including the go-ahead 3-pointer, and the No. 18 Seminoles held Notre Dame at arm’s length the rest of the way for a 68-61 victory in front of 9,519 fans at the Donald L. Tucker Center. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Notre Dame, now 13-15 and 3-12 in ACC play, led by as many as 10 points in the first half and eight in the second before giving way to the deeper, more capable Seminoles (22-6, 10-5). “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Florida State has won 10 ACC games for the eighth time in school history and sixth time under coach Leonard Hamilton. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“Just keep pushing,” senior Terance Mann said. “We knew eventually it would happen for us if we just (kept) doing what we do.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Which is to say that the Seminoles once again flexed the strength of its depth and wore down a weary opponent. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Florida State, as usual, saw 10 players check in to the game, with eight logging at least 12 minutes. Notre Dame’s rotation only went to seven, each of whom played at least 14 minutes. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

As a result, the Seminoles’ defense got more and more suffocating as the game went on. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Beginning at the 6:42 mark of the second half – just seconds before Vassell hit his fateful 3-pointer – the Fighting Irish made just two of their final 13 shots. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

And after making eight of their first 16 3-pointers, well above their season average of 31.5 percent, the Irish missed their next six from distance. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“I thought we ramped it up defensively late and in periods during the game,” Hamilton said. “We didn’t sustain that effort the entire game, but when we had to, I thought we got the deflections and steals and the stops.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Added Notre Dame coach Mike Brey: “I’m really impressed with Florida State. They’ve got great poise and they made plays when they had to because they’ve won a lot.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Indeed, on a night when the Seminoles weren’t always at their best, they still managed a handful of plays that looked as good on the highlight reel as they did in the box score. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

There were big dunks from Mann (eight points, six rebounds) and Christ Koumadje (12, five), slick, no-look feeds from M.J. Walker, and a handful of 3-point shots that came as the result of one more pass. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

None of those, though, quite stacked up with the sequence that Vassell and Mann combined for late in the second half. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

It began with Vassell emphatically throwing down a putback dunk that cut FSU’s deficit to just one. A moment later, he grabbed a defensive rebound, hustled down the floor and brought in a feed from Mann before pulling up for the breakthrough 3-pointer at the top of the key. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

It was yet another promising moment in a season full of them for Vassell, who became the team’s ninth different leading scorer of the season last week at Georgia Tech. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“He’s playing like a veteran now,” Hamilton said. “He’s very confident.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Even with their first lead in nearly 15 minutes of game time, the Seminoles couldn’t quite pull away from a Notre Dame team desperate for a win that might salvage something positive from a lost season. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

The Irish hung around, tying the game once and trailing by no more than five, for the next four-plus minutes. That’s when Mann finally slammed the door on the Irish with another second-chance dunk that might make for a late addition to “Sportscenter’s” nightly top-10 countdown: “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“That’s just a freak of nature play,” Brey said. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“I just saw an opportunity and took it,” Mann added. “When you’re in a game like that, you’ve just got to make winning plays. It’s not your own stats or whatever. You’ve just got to worry about winning.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

After the game, Hamilton said that veteran assistant Dennis Gates scouted the Irish, and that his pre-game report suggested that the best route for the Seminoles to have success would be for everyone to contribute a small part, rather than have one or two players do all the heavy lifting. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

And when Hamilton looked at the box score, that’s exactly what he saw: “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

No Seminole scored more than 13 points but no one who played at least five minutes scored fewer than three points, either. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Mfiondu Kabengele had 10, M.J. Walker nine, Mann and Trent Forrest eight, David Nichols five and P.J. Savoy three. “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

“We didn’t have anybody have a ‘lights-out’ game, but we had a lot of guys contributing,” Hamilton said. “That’s kind of who we are.” “according to https://seminoles.com/vassell-mann-lead-fsu-men-past-notre-dame-68-61/

Tip-off is set for 12:00pm from Donald L Tucker Center. The game will be televised on ESPN2.