NC State returns to action tonight on the road at Miami. Here are some pregame notes on the Wolfpack.

Tipoff at the Watsco Center is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be televised on ESPNU.

Pack Tracks

- NC State dropped its third consecutive game with an 84-70 loss to Wright State on Dec. 21. The loss snapped NC State’s 29-game home winning streak over non-conference regular season opponents.

- Freshman guard Terquavion Smith led the Pack with 27 points on 12-of-24 shooting. The 27 points are a season-best for the Greenville, N.C. native and the 24 field goal attempts are the most in a single game by an ACC player this season.

- Smith has been on a scoring tear in the month of December. He has scored in double figures in five consecutive games and is averaging 19.4 points per game over that stretch. His 27 points are the second-most by an ACC freshman this season and his three 20-point performances this season and the second-most for an ACC freshman.

- Senior forward Jericole Hellems added 14 points, a season-high tying seven rebounds and two steals against Wright State. Hellems has now scored in double figures in nine consecutive games and ranks second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game.

- Redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron is leading NC State in scoring (19.0 ppg.), rebounding (10.3), assists (3.1 apg) and steals (1.8 spg). His 50.9 percent field goal shooting is also the best on the team. Seabron is the only player in the ACC to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists and steals.

Wednesday Storylines

- Pack is looking for its sixth consecutive ACC road win. NC State ended the 2021-22 regular season winning its last five conference road games. The current five-game road winning streak is the longest for NC State since an 11-game road ACC win streak from 1972-1974.

- NC State is seeking to avoid just its second four-game losing streak of the Kevin Keatts era on Wednesday. Last season, NC State lost its first four games of January (including a 10-day COVID pause in the middle of the losing streak) before beating Wake Forest on Jan. 27 to end its skid.

- Senior forward Jericole Hellems enters Wednesday's game needing just 20 points to become the 55th player in NC State history to score 1,000 career points. He'd be the third player under head coach Kevin Keatts to go over 1,000 career points (Markell Johnson and Braxton Beverly).

- 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 five games, Smith is averaging 19.4 points per game and has hit 13 three-pointers (2.6 per game) during this stretch. Smith has been named ACC Freshman of the Week in back-to-back weeks and scored a then career-high 21 points in the loss to top-ranked Purdue on Dec. 12. In his most recent outing, the Greenville, N.C. native scored a season-high 27 points against Wright State.

- Two of the best teams in the nation at valuing the basketball face-off on Wednesday night. NC State has had single digit turnovers in eight of 12 games this season and rank third in the ACC and 16th in the NCAA with an average of 10.1 turnovers per game. Miami has had single digit turnovers in six of 12 games this season and ranks second in the ACC and 12th in the NCAA with an average of 9.9 per game. The Pack has had less turnovers than its opponents in 10 of 12 games this season and Miami has had less turnovers than its opponents in 11 of 12 games this season. In the Kevin Keatts era, NC State is 71-28 (71.7%) when it has the same or fewer turnovers than its opponent, but just 6-4 this season. Sophomore point guard Cam Hayes has had one turnover or less in eight of 12 games this season and is averaging just one turnover for every 28.8 minutes played.
- The Pack leads the ACC in offensive rebounding with an average of 12.8 per game. Dereon Seabron averages 3.5 offensive rebounds per game to lead the ACC and rank 18th in the NCAA. Miami is last in the ACC in offensive rebounding and ranks 14th in the ACC in rebounding margin at -2.8 per game.

Experience vs. Youth

Miami is one of the most veteran teams in the country, with three sixth-year seniors in their starting lineup. Out of the 10 players that play regularly this season for Miami, only two are in their first or second season of playing college basketball.

NC State has grizzled veteran Jericole Hellems (105th career game on Wednesday), but six of NC State’s regular rotation players are freshmen or sophomores. Redshirt sophomore Dereon Seabron has the second-most appearances in an NC State uniform this season and he’ll be playing his 37th collegiate game on Wednesday.

NC State - Miami Series

- Wednesday is the 27th meeting between the two programs. NC State leads the all-time series, 14-12.

- Kevin Keatts has a 3-2 record against Miami as head coach of NC State, including a 2-0 record in games played at the Watsco Center.

- Miami won last season’s only meeting, 64-59, inside PNC Arena. The Pack led 51-45 with 6:45 to play, but Miami outscored NC State 19-8 the rest of the way to win. Thomas Allen led NC State with 14 points while Isaiah Wong had 24 points and nine rebounds for the Hurricanes. 

* Notes provided by NC State Athletics.