NOTEBOOK: Pack, Badgers Battle Tonight
NC State returns to action tonight at 9pm on the road at No. 22 Wisconsin in the 2018 ACC/Big Ten Challenge. Here are some pregame notes on the Wolfpack.
PACK TRACKS
NC State improved to 6-0 with a 78-74 win over Mercer on Saturday.
The Pack faced its biggest deficit of the season (seven points) early in the first half on Saturday before going on an extended 42-14 run that went for over 20 minutes of game time. Trailing by 21 with 13 minutes to go, the Bears were able to close within two points with seven seconds remaining before Eric Lockett sealed the win with two free throws.
* Torin Dorn led the Pack with 19 points, nine rebounds, and three steals. In six games this season, the Charlotte native has led NC State in scoring five times, in rebounding three times, and in steals three times. In games through November 25, Dorn is the only player in the ACC to rank in the top-10 in the conference in scoring, rebounding, and steals. He also ranks fourth in the ACC in field goal percentage.
* At 6-0, NC State is off to its best start since the 2014-15 team started 6-0. It’s only the second time in the last 10 seasons the Pack has gotten off to a 6-0 start.
* NC State is averaging 35.5 points per game from its bench this season. It has outscored the opponents’ bench by 135 points (213-66) this season.
* Through games of Nov. 25, NC State ranks 11th out of 351 NCAA Division l teams in scoring offense (90.8) and 15th in scoring defense (57.8). They are the only team in the country to rank in the top 15 of both categories. NC State’s scoring margin of 33.0 points per game ranks second in the NCAA.
NEWCOMERS TO NC STATE
NC State only has three returning players from last season and welcomed nine newcomers onto the roster this season. The Pack will only have 10 players in uniform this season.
* The Pack has three transfers that were with the program last season but sat out in order to satisfy NCAA transfer requirements: junior guard C.J. Bryce, sophomore guard Devon Daniels, and sophomore guard Blake Harris.
Bryce played for Keatts at UNCW for two seasons before transferring to NC State. Bryce was UNCW’s leading scorer in the 2016-17 season, averaging 17.4 points per game for a 29-6 team.
Daniels started 26 of 29 games as a freshman at Utah in the 2016-17 season. He averaged 9.9 points per game and shot 57.1 percent from the field. Harris started nine of 14 games at Missouri last season before electing to transfer at the beginning of January. The Chapel Hill native joined NC State in January and received a waiver to be immediately eligible with the Pack this season.
* Keatts brought in two grad transfers to this year’s team: Eric Lockett and Wyatt Walker. Lockett
averaged 14.3 points per game at Florida International last season. Walker only appeared in two games last year before being sidelined with an injury.
Walker averaged 12.9 points and 9.7 rebounds per game at Samford as a sophomore. The Jacksonville, Fla., native has two years of eligibility with the Pack.
* The final four newcomers to the program this season DJ Funderburk, Manny Bates, Jericole Hellems, and Sacha-Killeya Jones. Funderburk is a sophomore after playing last season at Northwest Florida State.
Bates and Hellems are true freshmen. Bates will miss this season after injuring his shoulder in August.
Killeya-Jones will sit out this season after transferring from Kentucky.
NC STATE-WISCONSIN SERIES
Tuesday marks the third all-time meeting between the two programs.
* Wisconsin won the two previous meetings. The Badgers defeated the Pack 65-56 in the Sweet 16 of the 2005 NCAA Tournament. In the only meeting between the programs in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge, Wisconsin defeated NC State 87-48 inside the Kohl Center on Dec. 1, 2010.
* The Pack has an all-time record of 7-11 in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
TUESDAY STORYLINES
A win on Tuesday would give NC State a 7-0 record and be the best start for the Pack since the 2004-05 team started 8-0. A win would also be the 100th victory of head coach Kevin Keatts’ collegiate coaching career.
Scoring Defense: The Pack and Badgers have both given up 347 points through six games this season.
The 57.8 points per game given up to opponents ties the team for 15th in the nation.
Three-Point Shooting: Wisconsin is shooting 42.1 percent from three-point range this season to rank second in the Big Ten in three-point percentage. NC State has not allowed an opponent to shoot over 30% from three-point range and ranks ninth in the country in opponent three-point field goal percentage.
NC State opponents are 25-107 (.234) from three-point range this season.
Turnovers: Through six games, the most turnovers Wisconsin has committed in a single game is 13.
Through six games, the fewest turnovers NC State has forced an opponent to commit in a single game is 15.
The Pack ranks eighth in the country in turnover margin and 16th in the country in turnovers forced.
Balanced scoring attack for the Pack: Torin Dorn is the only Pack player to score in double figures in all six games this season. In NC State’s six games there have been 24 double-digit performances by nine different players. Only Blake Harris (scored eight points against Mount St. Mary’s and UNC Asheville) has not reached double figures yet for the Pack.
HISTORICAL START FOR NC STATE
NC State’s 51-point victory over UNC Asheville on November 13th was historic for the Pack. With the win the Pack became the first team in ACC history to win each of its first three games of the season by 46 points or more.
NC State opened the season with a 50 point win over Mount St. Mary’s and had a 46 point win over Maryland Eastern Shore before defeating the Bulldogs by 51.
PACK DANGEROUS FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
The Pack has been hitting its three-pointers to start the season. NC State has had double-digit three-pointers in four of the six games this year. NC State ranks second in the ACC in three-pointers made per game (9.5) and fourth in three-point field goal percentage (39.6%).
* Nine of the 10 NC State players on the roster have hit at least one three-pointer this season.
Only Wyatt Walker (0-1) has not hit a three-pointer. Six of the 10 players (Braxton Beverly, CJ Bryce, Torin Dorn, Jericole Hellems, Markell Johnson, and Eric Lockett) have made two or more three-pointers in a game this season.
* Last season, NC State only had 10 or more three-pointers in two of the first 16 games of the season. The Pack has done it in four of six games to start this season.
JOHNSON A THREAT FROM THREE-POINT RANGE
Junior guard Markell Johnson is currently leading the ACC in three-point field goal percentage at 56.5% (13-of-23).
The reigning ACC assist champion (7.3 assists per game last season) is averaging 2.2 three-pointers per game this season and has hit three or more three-pointers in three games this season.
The Cleveland, Ohio native has worked on his shot and has developed into a player defenses have to respect from long range. In 30 games as a freshman, he shot 25% (12-of-48) from three-point range. Last season in 26 games he hit 27 three-pointers, shooting 40.9% from three-point range.
PACK LEADING THE ACC IN REBOUNDING MARGIN
With the departure of Abdul-Malik Abu, Lennard Freeman, and Omer Yurtseven, the Pack only returned 31.5 percent of its rebounding total from last season. Despite the loss of players that combined to average over 15 rebounds per game, NC State had its three best rebounding performances of the Kevin Keatts era to open the season.
* NC State has outrebounded three of its six opponents by more than 20 to open the season. The Pack was +22 against Mount St. Mary’s, +23 against Maryland Eastern Shore, and + 27 against UNC Asheville.
* The Pack leads the ACC and is sixth out of the 351 NCAA Division l teams with a +14.3 rebounding margin.
* NC State has a 41.8 percent offensive rebounding percentage, meaning when the Pack has missed a shot this season (it’s hitting 51.3% of its field goal attempts this season, which ties for the lead in the ACC), 41.8% of the time NC State has come down with the rebound.
* Seven of the 10 players on NC State’s team have had at least one game with five or more rebounds.
BENCH PRODUCTION
Through six games, NC State’s bench has scored 213 points and is averaging 35.5 points per game.
* The bench scored 50 points in the win over Maryland Eastern Shore on 11/10. The 50 bench points are the most for the Pack since the 1999-2000 season when NC State began playing at PNC Arena.
* NC State has outscored the opponents’ bench by 147 (213-66) points through six games this season.
* Last season, NC State’s bench averaged 21.8 points per game and outscored the opponents, 720-523.