NC State returns to action this evening at 6:30pm against Richmond in Charlotte. Here are some pregame notes on the Wolfpack and a preview of the Spiders.

NC STATE NOTEBOOK

Pack Tracks

NC State dropped an 82-72 heartbreaker to top-ranked Purdue in its last outing. NC State never trailed in regulation, leading for 38:33 of game time. The Pack had a lead as large as 13 points in the second half and led by eight minutes at the final media timeout, but the Boilers outscored NC State 10-2 the rest of the way to end regulation tied at 66. Purdue hit a three-pointer on its first possession of overtime for its first lead of the game and connected on nine free throws in the five minute bonus period to defeat the Pack.

* Freshman Terquavion Smith continued his strong play with a team-high 21 points against Purdue. The Greenville, N.C., native shot 6-of-13 from the field, hit three three-pointers and was 6-of-8 from the foul line.

* Smith was named Co-ACC Freshman of the Week honors for his efforts in games against Purdue and Bethune-Cookman last week. Smith has now won ACC honors in back-to-back weeks. Smith and Duke’s Paolo Banchero are the only freshmen in the ACC to win multiple freshman of the week honors this season.

* Redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron added 18 points and a team-best six rebounds in the loss to Purdue. Seabron has led NC State in rebounding in every game this season, in addition to leading it in scoring in five games this season.

* Senior forward Jericole Hellems added 12 points in the loss to Purdue and now has scored in double figures in seven consecutive games. The St. Louis native is just 46 points shy of 1,000 for his career.

Noting NC State

Between COVID pauses and injuries, Kevin Keatts was constantly juggling the lineup last season. In 25 games, eight players started at least eight games. Five of those eight players return this season.

* Kevin Keatts is entering his fifth season as head coach of NC State and for the fifth consecutive season he will have to replace the previous season’s leading scorer. Devon Daniels led the team in scoring last season at 16.5 points per game. Jericole Hellems is the leading returning scorer at 12.9 points per game.

* North Carolina’s team? Nine of NC State’s 14 players are from the state of North Carolina. That’s the most of the four ACC programs based in North Carolina. UNC has six of its 17 players from the state. Duke has five of its 14 players from the state and Wake Forest has four of its 19 players from the state.

* NC State only has two players (Thomas Allen and Jericole Hellems) who will complete their eligibility this season. Allen is a redshirt senior, who played his first two seasons at Nebraska before transfering home to NC State. Hellems is the only four-year senior on the team. He and redshirt junior Manny Bates have each been in the program four years. Nine of NC State’s 14 players are either in their first or second seasons with the program.

* After not adding any transfers last season for the first time since he became head coach, Kevin Keatts added two transfers this offseason in Providence transfer Greg Gantt and Virginia transfer Casey Morsell. Keatts has now added 13 transfers to the program in his five seasons as head coach.

Friday Storylines

Through 10 games, the Pack’s shooting statistics from the field and three-point percentage are nearly identical as its opponent. In 10 games, NC State is 266-for-634 (.420) and its opponents are 266-for-633 (.420).

From three-point range, NC State is 71-for-234 (.303) and its opponents are 71-for-226 (.314). NC State has outscored its opponent by 52 points at the foul line this (173-121).

* Terquavion Smith continues to have a breakout December. Smith scored 20 points in his collegiate debut against Bucknell on 11/9 and scored in double figures in the next two games for NC State to start the season, but then went four straight games without a double figure scoring game. In the last three games, Smith is averaging 17.3 points per game and has hit three three-pointers in all three contests. Smith has been named ACC Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks and scored a career-high 21 points in the loss to top-ranked Purdue on Sunday.

* NC State has valued the basketball this season. They’ve had single digit turnovers in six of 10 games this season and rank 29th in the NCAA with an average of 10.5 turnovers per game. The Pack has won the turnover battle in eight games this season and has a 6-2 record when it has less turnovers than its opponents.

In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 71-26 (73.2%) when it has the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent. Friday’s opponent, Richmond ranks 17th in the NCAA and averages just 10.1 turnovers per game.

Both teams are tied in turnover margin at +3.4 on the season to rank 53rd in the NCAA.

* NC State has not found its mark from three-point range yet this season, shooting just 30.3 percent from long-range through 10 games, but the Pack has plenty of capable three-point shooters on its roster. Senior forward Jericole Hellems and freshman guard Terquavion Smith both have connected on 22 three-pointers this season. Smith has made multiple three-pointers in nine of 10 games this season, and has hit three three-pointers in three consecutive games entering Friday.

Richmond averages 10.2 made three-pointers per game this season and ranks 22nd in the NCAA in three-pointers per game.

* For the season, NC State has made five more free throws (173) than its opponents have attempted (168) and has outscored its opponents by 52 points at the foul line. The Pack’s last opponent, Purdue, was the first team to shoot more free throws in a game than NC State this season (aided by a 13-2 advantage for Purdue in free throw attempts in overtime).

Block Party

After losing two-time defending ACC block shot champion Manny Bates in the opening minute of the season, it would be understandable to expect NC State to take a step back in shot blocking. And thru the first three games of the season this held true. The Pack only blocked seven shots total in the first three games of the season. But NC State has begun swatting shots with regularity over the last six games, blocking 38 and now ranks second in the ACC in blocks with an average of 5.0 per game.

Sophomore forward Ebenezer Dowuona has taken full advantage of the minutes created with Bates out for the season. The Accra, Ghana native has settled in as the season has gone along. He blocked just five shots in the first five games of the season, but has blocked 22 in the last five games and has had multiple blocks in five consecutive games entering Friday’s game against Richmond.

He ranks third in the ACC in blocks with a 2.7 blocks per game average. His eight blocks in the win over Nebraska on 12/1 are the most by an ACC player this season.

Find Scoring Off The Bench

Throughout the Kevin Keatts era, NC State has been one of the deepest teams in the ACC and has routinely averaged 25 points per game from its bench. This season, the Pack's bench is averaging just 13.9 points per game. In NC State's three losses, the Pack's bench has been outscored by 109 points (123-14).

Entering this season, NC State had outscored the opponent's bench by 850 points in the Keatts era.

NC State-Richmond Series

Friday marks the fifth meeting all-time between the two programs in a series that stretches all the way back to 1925.

* NC State has won all four previous meetings, but the two programs have only met twice in the modern era.

* NC State won the last meeting between the teams, 84-72, on Nov. 26, 2014. The two teams exchanged the lead 15 times, but the Pack ended the game on a 22-9 run over the final 9:16 to pull away for the victory. Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner combined to score 49 points for the Pack.

RICHMOND PREVIEW

• Richmond Roster

• Richmond Schedule

• Richmond Stats

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
 

KEY RESERVES
 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Forward Tyler Burton: One of the best mid-major players in the country, Burton is having a breakout year.

He leads Richmond in scoring and rebounding, and he's shooting 53% from the field and 46% from three-point range this season. 

It’s going to be interesting to see how State looks to defend him... will it be Dereon Seabron or Jericole Hellems?

Forward Grant Golden: Listed as a forward, the 6-foot-10, 255-pounder can score inside and out.  He's averaging 15.5 points per game and is shooting 45% from three-point range.

He's going to space out the floor for Richmond's offense and pull Ebe Dowouna away from the basket.

X-FACTOR

Point Guard Jacob Gilyard: At just 5-foot-9, he's an elite defensive player.  

Gilyard has led the NCAA in steals each of the last two seasons, and he now holds the NCAA career steals record.

He is the engine for Richmond, offensively and defensively.

QUOTEBOARD

Richmond Head Coach Chris Mooney On NC State:

“Some of the things you'd anticipate... elite athleticism, length, great rebounding, highlight plays. They have all of those in abundance.”

“They are a very good team. Seabron is a pro, and such a terrific dribbler and ballhandler for a player his size.”

“Their athleticism and length are scary.”