NOTEBOOK: Canes Up Next
NC State returns to action today at noon against No. 25 Miami in PNC Arena. Here are some pregame notes on the Wolfpack.
Pack Tracks
NC State scored the final 11 points of the game, holding Wake Forest scoreless over the final 4:30 to beat the Demon Deacons, 72-63, on Thursday evening. Sophomore Omer Yurtseven led the Pack with a game-high 22 points and a team-best eight rebounds.
* NC State limited Wake Forest to 27.8 percent shooting (10-of-36) in the second half of Thursday’s win. It’s the lowest opponent field goal percentage in the second half by an ACC opponent since Virginia shot 22.2% (4-of-18) in the second half against the Pack on Jan. 28, 2012. The span between those games is 104 regular season ACC games.
* The 63 points Wake Forest scored is the fewest allowed in an ACC game by the Pack since defeating Pittsburgh, 76-61, on Jan. 20, 2016.
* The Pack is 3-1 this season against ranked teams. NC State has defeated No. 2 Arizona (90-84), No. 2 Duke (96-85) and No. 19 Clemson (78-77). This year’s team is the first in program history to secure two wins in the regular season over teams ranked second or better. A win on Sunday would make this year’s squad the first since the 2003-04 team to win four games over ranked opponents in the regular season.
Yurtseven Finding Comfort Level in Sophomore Season
NC State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven came to college last season as a consensus five-star player, but the Istanbul, Turkey native had an up-and-down season as a freshman.
After a 12-point, 16-rebound performance against Pittsburgh on Jan. 17, the seven-footer never scored more than 10 points or had more than five rebounds in a game the rest of his rookie season. Now, as a sophomore a confident Yurtseven is becoming the No. 1 priority on opposing team’s scouting reports.
* On the season, ranks third on the team in scoring (12.8), second in rebounding (6.8) and field goal percentage (60.2%) and first in blocks (34).
* In six ACC games, leading the team in scoring (14.8), rebounding (6.8), blocks (14) and field goal percentage (52.6%).
* The sophomore has been more involved in offensive end of floor this season. As a freshman, Yurtseven averaged 5.3 field goal attempts per game. This season he is averaging 9.0 field goal attempts per game.
* Yurtseven has 76 field goal attempts in six ACC games this season. He only had 83 field goal attempts in 17 ACC games as a freshman.
* In three ACC home games, Yurtseven is averaging 22.3 points on 60.4% shooting (29-of-48), including 53.8% (7-of-13) from three-point range. Also averaging 7.0 rebounds and 2.7 blocks.
* Yurtseven had a career-high 29 points on 12-of-18 shooting, including 5-of-6 from three-point range in win over #19 Clemson on 1/11.
* One of 20 student-athletes to the preseason watch list for this year’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award.
Constant Defensive Pressure leading to Opponent Turnovers
NC State head coach Kevin Keatts came to Raleigh promising that his program would pressure the opponents full court and create turnovers.
* The Pack has forced 10 of its 19 opponents this season into 16+-turnovers. Four times, the Pack has forced opponents into 20 or more turnovers in a single game. The last NC State team to force opponents into 20 or more turnovers four times in a season was the 2009-10 team.
The last seven NC State teams (2010-11 team through 2016-17 team) only twice forced opponents into 20 turnovers (2010-11 team forced East Carolina into 20 turnovers on 11/18/10 and 2016-17 team forced Virginia Tech into 20 turnovers on 1/4/17).
In Keatts first four games at NC State, his teams forced opponents into 21 (VMI), 24 (Charleston Southern), 27 (Bryant) and 22 (Presbyterian) turnovers.
* The 27 turnovers NC State forced Bryant into on Nov. 14 are the most turnovers the Pack has forced an opponent to commit since Mount St. Mary’s had 27 on Nov. 22, 2002.
* In the first four games this season, the Pack forced its opponents into more turnovers than made field goals.
* In 19 games, the Pack has forced 302 turnovers. The 15.9 turnovers forced per game ranks 42nd in NCAA Dl and are the most forced turnovers by a team from the ACC.
* NC State recorded 14 steals in the win over Bryant on Nov. 14. It’s the most steals in a game for NC State since the Pack had 16 steals in a win over Boston College on Jan. 19, 2012. It was a 192 game span between 14+-steal games for the Pack. NC State has 155 steals in 19 games this season, a mark that ranks second in the ACC and 32nd overall in NCAA DI.
Healthy Freeman Having Best Offensive Season of Career
NC State senior Lennard Freeman had offseason leg surgery prior to the 2015-16 season and after playing through pain, elected to have offseason leg surgery again prior to the 2016-17 season and sat out the year to recover.
* A career 3.6 points per game average coming into the season, Freeman has reset his career-high three times this season and is averaging 10.7 points per game through 19 games. He opened the year with 15 points against VMI, had 20 against Bryant and then had 23 in the Pack’s win against Presbyterian.
* Freeman is shooting a team-best 68.2 percent from the field this season. Freeman would lead the ACC in FG percentage, but falls short of the minimum number of field goal makes to rank among ACC leaders.
* In 103 career games coming into this season, Freeman had only scored in double figures six times, he’s scored in double figures in 10 of 189 games this season.
* The game against Presbyterian on Nov. 16 was the 107th career game for Freeman. It was the first time in those 107 games that Freeman led NC State in scoring. Freeman led the Pack in scoring for the second time in his career with 19 points in a 103-71 win over South Carolina State on Dec. 2.
Bench Production
NC State’s bench is averaging to score 22.9 points per game this season. The Pack’s bench has outscored the opponents bench, 435-300 this year.
* NC State’s bench has outscored the opponents bench in 12 of 19 games this season.
* In the win over No. 2 Arizona at the Battle 4 Atlantis, NC State’s bench outscored Arizona’s, 39-6. Braxton Beverly had 20 points off-the-bench for the Pack in the win, while Omer Yurtseven had 11 points and a team-best nine rebounds.
* Against Penn State, NC State’s bench outscored the Nittany Lions, 39-9. The Pack’s bench consisting of Yurtseven, Sam Hunt and Lavar Batts, Jr., combined to shoot 12-for-15 from the field (80 percent), including 9-for-10 from three-point range.
Winning The Turnover Battle
The Pack is +72 in turnover margin. Pack has forced 302 turnovers and only turned it over themselves 230 times. +72 turnover margin is the second-best in the ACC. Major turnaround from last year. Last season, NC State finished the season -67 in turnover margin.
Pack Rewriting NC State/PNC Arena Record Books in Kevin Keatts First Season
NC State has already broke three PNC Arena records and one program record in the first few months of the Kevin Keatts era. This season marks the 19th season NC State has called PNC Arena home. The arena opened on October 29, 1999.
* NC State’s 116 points against Jacksonville on Dec. 22 is the most in PNC Arena history. (Previous mark was 113 set by UNC-Chapel Hill against Mount St. Mary’s on March 21, 2008.) It is the most points in a game for NC State since defeating UNC Asheville, 120-71, on Dec. 20, 1995.
* NC State’s 19 three-pointers against Jacksonville on Dec. 22 are the most in PNC Arena history and the most in program history. The previous high in PNC Arena was 17 three-pointers by ECU on Nov. 15, 2011 against Northwestern. The previous program high was 18 against Florida State on Feb. 10, 1992.
* NC State’s 31 assists against South Carolina State on Dec. 2 are the most in PNC Arena history. The previous high was 28 set twice prior to this season. The Pack had 28 assists in the win over Jacksonville on Dec. 22. In two of the first nine games at PNC Arena in the Kevin Keatts era, the Pack had the most and tied-for-second most assists in a game in the 19-year old arena.
* NC State’s 52-point win over Jacksonville on Dec. 22 (116-64) is the second-largest margin of victory in PNC Arena history (55; NC State 99-44 over Campbell on Nov. 26, 2004 is largest). It’s the largest margin of victory for NC State since Dec. 1, 1998 vs. Army (+61, 94-33).
* NC State forced Bryant into 27 turnovers on Nov. 14. It ranks as the third-most turnovers in a game in PNC Arena history. It’s the most turnovers the Pack has forced an opponent to commit since Mount St. Mary’s had 27 on Nov. 22, 2002.
Braxton Beverly Shining in Freshman Season
* Freshman guard Braxton Beverly has seen his production go up as the Hazard, Ky. native has gotten more comfortable playing at the college level this season. Beverly wasn’t cleared to play for NC State this season until Tuesday, Nov. 14 after initially being declared ineligible by the NCAA.
* Beverly currently ranks second in the ACC with a 2.92 assist-to-turnover ratio. The freshman guard has had only two games this season with more turnovers than assists and has had one turnover or fewer in nine of the 17 games he’s played in this season.
* After only having 10 assists in the first six games of the season (1.7 per game), Beverly has 66 assists in the last 11 games (6.0 per game)
* For the season, Beverly is shooting 35.1 percent from three-point range, but he has been feast or famine from three-point range this season. He has not connected on a three-pointer in six of 16 games this season. In those six games he is a combined 0-for-19 from three-point range. In the 11 games he’s made a three-pointer, he is averaging to hit 2.6 per game and is shooting 46.8% (29-for-62) from long-range.
Clutch Free Throw Shooting for Freshman Beverly
Freshman guard Braxton Beverly has been Mr. Clutch at the foul line late in close games this season. The Hazard, Ky., native is 24-of-27 (88.9%) from the foul line with less than four minutes left in the second half.
* In the win over No. 2 Arizona, Beverly went 7-for-9 from the foul line in the closing minutes. He knocked down two free throws with 3:21 left to give the Pack an 80-75 lead, made two more with 2:02 left to go up 84-76 and knocked down two more free throws with 1:48 to play to give NC State an 86-76 lead.
* In the win over Penn State, Beverly made two free throws with :52 seconds left to give the Pack a 79-74 lead. He made two more with :30 seconds left to give NC State an 82-76 lead.
* In the win over Clemson, Beverly made two free throws with :09 seconds remaining to give NC State a 78-73 lead. The Pack won the game 78-77 when Clemson missed a free throw with :01 second left.
* For the season, Beverly is shooting 89.5% (34-of-38) from the foul line and has hit 18 straight free throws.
70 Is The Magic Number
When the Pack scores 70 or more points this season, NC State is 13-1. When the Pack scores 69 or fewer points, NC State is 0-5.
Shooting Success For Pack Trio
* NC State’s Torin Dorn, Lennard Freeman and Omer Yurtseven have all been efficient scorers for the Pack this season.
* Dorn is shooting 54.6 percent from the field this season (95-for-174) and has shot 50 percent or better in 13 of 19 games, including eight of the last 10 games.
* Freeman is shooting 66.7 percent from the field this season (76-for-114) and has shot 50 percent or better in every game, but three this season.
* Yurtseven is shooting 60.2 percent from the field this season (103-for-171) and has shot 50 percent or better in 15 of 19 games, including 14 of the last 16 games.