PREGAME NOTEBOOK: Eagles Up Next
Pack Tracks
NC State enters the ACC Tournament having won five of its last six games and eight of its last 11.
*- The Pack has won at least one game in five of the last six ACC Tournaments. Last season's first round defeat to Clemson, snapped a five-year streak of winning at least one game.
*- NC State is 1-0 all-time against Boston College in the ACC Tournament. Coincidentally, the only other ACC Tournament meeting between the two programs came when NC State was a five-seed and Boston College was a 12-seed. NC State won that tournament game, 78-57, on March 8, 2012 in Atlanta.
*- In the Pack's regular season finale, NC State defeated Louisville, 76-69. Allerik Freeman led the Pack with 16 points, while Torin Dorn (15), Braxton Beverly (13) and Omer Yurtseven (13) all scored in double figures off the bench.
*- Allerik Freeman has led NC State in scoring in six consecutive games. In the last six games, he is averaging 19.7 points on 45 percent shooting (36-of-80), including 48.4% (15-of-31) from three-point range., 4.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game.
*- Sam Hunt has hit 71.4% of his three-point attempts (15-of-21) over the last six games. He was 4-of-6 at Syracuse, 2-of-3 at Wake Forest and a perfect 4-of-4 in back-to-back games vs. Boston College and Florida State. He missed his first two attempts at Syracuse so he has hit 15 of his last 19 three-point attempts.
Trends
The Pack won 11 ACC games this season. It's the seventh double-digit ACC win season for NC State since NC State went 12-0 in back-to-back season (1972-73 & 1973-74).
*- The Pack's 11-7 record in the ACC this season is the best for the program since 2012-13 team went 11-7 in the ACC.
*- NC State had a 16-3 home record this season. It is the best home record since the 2012-13 team went 16-1 in Raleigh.
*- Head Coach Kevin Keatts won 21 regular season games this season, tying Keatts with legendary coach Everett Case (21-4 in 1946-47) for the most wins in the regular season in first season as head coach of the Pack.
*- The Pack has forced its opponent into an even or worse assist-to-turnover ratio in seven of the last nine games. Virginia Tech (12 assists/11 turnovers) on Feb. 7 and Georgia Tech (18 assists/14 turnovers) on March 1 are the only teams to have more assists than turnovers against the Pack.
*- In the last 10 games only one team *- Georgia Tech on March 1 *- has shot better than 36% from three-point range against the Pack.
*- In the last seven games, NC State is shooting 50% (67-of-134) from three-point range. During that same seven-game span, the Pack's opponents are shooting 25.8% (31-of-120).
*- During the last six games, NC State has outscored its opponents 180-75 from the three-point line.
*- The Pack ranks second in the ACC in opponent three point field goal percentage in overall games (31.5%) and ACC games (31.5%).
*- NC State has hit more three-pointers than its opponent in nine of the last 10 games (Notre Dame on Feb. 3 is only team to hit more 3-pointers than the Pack, 8-6).
*- NC State shot 50 percent or better in five consecutive games from 2/10-2/25. It is the first time the Pack has shot 50 percent or better in five consecutive ACC regular season games in the same season since the 1985-86 season when NC State shot 50 percent or better in five consecutive ACC games from 2/5/1986 to 2/23/1986.
*- NC State is 14-2 this season when Torin Dorn grabs 6+ rebounds. The Pack is 7-8 when he grabs less than six rebounds. The Pack is 17-4 this season when Dorn scores in double figures, 4-6 when he doesn't.
Yurtseven Named to All-ACC Third Team; Freeman & Johnson Honorable Mention
NC State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven was named to the All-ACC Third Team and graduate guard Allerik Freeman and sophomore guard Markell Johnson both received honorable mention in league awards that were announced on Sunday, March 4.
*- Yurtseven averaged 13.6 points, 6.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks per game in the regular season. He ranks 11th in the ACC in rebounding and eighth in blocked shots. He has also connected on 58.0 percent of his field goal attempts. He finished the regular season third in the ACC in field goal percentage and is on pace for the highest field goal percentage at NC State since TJ Warren shot 62.2 percent from the field in the 2012-13 season. Yurtseven and Duke's Wendell Carter, Jr., are the only players in the ACC to rank in the top-25 in scoring, the top-15 in rebounding, the top-10 in blocked shots and the top-5 in field goal percentage.
*- Freeman earned Honorable Mention honors after leading the Pack in scoring (15.3 ppg.) in his only season with NC State. The Charlotte, N.C. native ranked second on the team with 37 steals, third with 79 assists and fourth with 127 rebounds. Freeman led NC State in scoring 14 times this season, including the Pack's final six games of the regular season.
*- Johnson joined Freeman in earning All-ACC Honorable Mention honors. The sophomore guard led the ACC with an average of 7.5 assists per game. Johnson averages almost two more assists per game than the next closest player in the ACC. The Cleveland, Ohio native set an NC State record with five consecutive games of double-digit assists in the middle of the conference season. Johnson upped his assist average in ACC play, leading the conference with an average of 8.14 assists per outing. Johnson's season assist average of 7.5 is the highest at NC State since Chris Corchiani averaged 9.6 assists per game in the 1990-91 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. 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 (13.6) and leads in rebounding (6.8), field goal percentage (58.0%) and blocks (57). In 18 ACC games, leading the team in rebounding (6.8), blocks (37) and field goal percentage (54.2%) and ranks second in scoring (14.9)
*- The sophomore finished 5th in blocked shots, 7th in field goal percentage 15th in rebounding and 16th in scoring in ACC regular season games only.
*- 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.
*- Named Co-ACC Player of the Week on Jan. 22 after averaging 25 points on 65.7 percent shooting in a win over Wake Forest (Jan. 18) and a loss to No. 25 Miami (Jan. 21)
Another Sophomore making impact for the Pack
Omer Yurtseven's fellow sophomore teammate Markell Johnson has also seen his impact on this year's Pack team increase as well.
*- Johnson leads the Pack in assists (180 / 7.5 per game) and steals (42 / 1.75 per game) this season. He's currently on pace to finish with the highest assist per game average at NC State since Chris Corchiani averaged 9.6 assists per game in the 1990-91 season.
*- Johnson leads the ACC in assists and ranks third in steals. His 2.25 assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 7th in the ACC.
*- Has had three or more steals in seven of 24 games and seven or more assists in 14 of 24 games.
*- Johnson had a career-high 20 points in the win at No. 10 UNC-Chapel Hill on 1/27. He added 11 assists for his second career double-double. He scored or assisted on 15 straight NC State points from the 2:58 mark of regulation through the 2:25 mark of overtime. He clinched the win with two free throws with :04 seconds remaining in overtime.
*- The Cleveland, Ohio native has been a more effective long range threat this season. As a freshman last season, he was 12-of-48 (25.0%) from three-point range in 30 games. This season, Johnson is 25-of-60 (41.7%) from three in 24 games. In 14 ACC games, Johnson is 16-of-36 (44.4%) from three.
*- Johnson had a career-high 14 assists vs. Miami on Jan. 21. It's the most assists in a game by an ACC player this season.
*- Johnson had double-digit assists in five straight games from 1/21 to 2/7. He's the first player in NC State history to have five straight games of double-digit assists.
*- The Pack has a +2.97 turnover margin this season which ranks second in the ACC.
*- In ACC play, the Pack went 9-2 when it had less turnovers than its opponents and 2-5 when it had more turnovers than its opponents.
Allerik Freeman: Two-Time ACC Player of the Week
NC State guard Allerik Freeman was named ACC Player of the Week on Feb. 26 after averaging 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in two wins. The Charlotte, North Carolina, native led the Wolfpack in scoring with 20 points on 6-for-14 shooting with six rebounds and three assists in an 82-66 win over Boston College on Tuesday night. He then scored a game-high 25 points on 7-of-13 shooting and added four rebounds, three assists and tied his career-high with four steals in a 92-72 win over No. 25 Florida State on Sunday evening.
*- Freeman was previously honored on Jan. 29 after his record-setting performance in the Pack's win over No. 10 UNC-Chapel Hill on Saturday, Jan. 27. Freeman set an ACC record for three-pointers made without a miss, connecting on all seven of his attempts.
*- He joins Duke's Marvin Bagley III and Grayson Allen and UNC-Chapel Hill's Luke Maye as players to be honored as ACC Player of the Week multiple times this season.