NC State returns to action today at 2pm at Duke.  Here are some pregame notes on the Wolfpack and a preview of the Blue Devils.

NC STATE NOTEBOOK

Pack Tracks

- NC State shot a season-high 56.1 percent - including 66.7% in the second half - to go into the KFC Yum! Center and knock off Louisville, 79-63, Wednesday night. The Pack shot a season-high 48 percent (12-of-25) from three-point range and tied its season-high with 12 three-pointers made.

- Freshman guard Terquavion Smith scored 24 points, his high against an ACC opponent, on 9-of-13 shooting. He was 6-of-9 from three-point range. Smith scored 15 of his 24 points in the second half on 6-of-7 shooting.

- Smith has now started the last 10 games for NC State. He is averaging 17.7 points per game since joining the starting lineup and has hit at least three three-pointers in eight of the 10 games. He is averaging 3.83 three-pointers per game in ACC play which is the most of any player in the conference.

- Senior forward Jericole Hellems added 19 points on 7-of-10 shooting, 5-of-7 from three-point range. Hellems and Smith combined to shoot 11-of-16 from three-point range. He added a career-high three blocks.

- Redshirt sophomore guard Dereon Seabron added 15 points on 6-of-9 shooting and led the team with seven rebounds and five assists. Seabron has now led NC State in scoring nine times, in rebounding 16 times, and in assists 12 times this season. He is the only player in the ACC to lead his team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals.

Saturday Storylines

- NC State head coach Kevin Keatts is in his fifth season with the program and has led the Pack to nine wins over ranked opponents in his tenure. Keatts has a 5-8 record at NC State against teams ranked in the top-10. He has led NC State to victories over No. 2 Arizona (90-84 on 11/27/17), No. 2 Duke (96-85 on 1/6/18), No. 6 Duke (88-66 on 2/19/20), No. 7 Auburn (78-71 on 12/19/18), and No. 10 North Carolina (95-91 on 1/27/18).

- NC State has won seven of its last eight ACC road games. The Pack ended last season by winning its final five conference road games. The five-game conference road winning streak was the most since the 1973-74 season. NC State dropped its ACC road opener this season to Miami, 91-83, but won at Virginia Tech (68-63) and Louisville (79-63) in its last two road outings.

- Saturday’s game will be the first for NC State on ABC since Jan. 31, 2009, when the Pack hosted North Carolina. NC State is 4-14 all-time on ABC.

Thomas Allen Stepping Up

Senior guard Thomas Allen missed the final eight games of last season because of an ankle injury, and his senior season got off to a slow start as well. Through the first 10 games he played in this season, Allen had made only six field goals and scored 18 points total. But Allen has been a different player since coming back from Christmas break. In the first game after the break, Allen was 6-of-10 shooting and scored 13 points off the bench for NC State.

Overall, in 10 games before Christmas, Allen averaged 1.8 points per game. In the five games since coming back from Christmas break, Allen is averaging 9.0 points per game and has passed out 14 assists while committing just two turnovers.

Freshman vs. Freshman

Saturday is a matchup of two of the highest scoring freshmen in the country. 

Duke’s Paolo Banchero leads all true freshmen in the NCAA in scoring at 17.7 points per game. NC State’s Terquavion Smith ranks third in the ACC among true freshmen in scoring (14.4 points per game) and is fifth in all of NCAA DI. Smith has started the last 10 games for NC State and since joining the starting lineup is averaging 17.7 points per game. With 46 three-pointers this season, Smith has hit the second-most three-pointers of any freshman in NCAA DI.

Pack Starting To Dial In From Long-Range

NC State has hit 42 three-pointers in its last four games and has hit at least nine in all of those games. In the first 13 games of the season, NC State only hit more than nine three-pointers in a game two times.

The Pack has twice hit 12 three-pointers in a game in the last four outings, including in Wednesday night’s win at Louisville when NC State shot a season-best 48.0% from long-range (12-of-25).

Terquavion Smith, with 23 three-pointers, has the most of any player in the ACC in conference play.

NC State - Duke Series

- Saturday is the 250th meeting between the two programs. Duke leads the all-time series, 148-100. The NCAA’s IARP ruled in December that the Pack must vacate the team’s 84-82 win inside Cameron Indoor Stadium on Jan. 23, 2017. With that win vacated, the Pack’s last win at Cameron Indoor Stadium is Jan. 18, 1995, when NC State defeated Duke, 77-60.

- Kevin Keatts is 2-3 against Duke as head coach of NC State. Both of his wins have come against the Blue Devils when they are ranked in the top-10. He is 2-1 against Duke when the Blue Devils are ranked in the top-10.

- Last Meeting: Duke defeated the Pack, 69-53, last season inside PNC Arena. Duke used a 14-0 run midway through the first half to take a 15-point lead, and NC State would never get closer than 13 points the rest of the way.

DUKE PREVIEW

• Duke Roster

• Duke Schedule

• Duke Stats

PROJECTED STARTING LINEUP
 

KEY RESERVES
 

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Forward Paolo Banchero: The 6-foot-10 forward is arguably the top freshman in the country, as he leads the Blue Devils in scoring and rebounding.

Banchero is sixth in the ACC and leads major conference true freshmen in scoring. His six 20-point games match Auburn’s Jabari Smith for the most among major conference true freshmen.  

Guard Wendell Moore Jr.: The junior wing is having a breakout season for the Blue Devils.

Moore is second on the team in scoring, and he leads the ACC in assists (5.0), is third in assist/turnover ratio (2.50), sixth in field goal percentage (.540), and 11th in scoring (15.4).

X-FACTOR

Center Mark Williams: The 7-foot-1 center hasn’t had the offensive breakout some projected, but he continues to be strong on the boards and as a rim protector.

Williams leads the ACC and ranks 10th nationally in blocked shots, averaging 3.1 per contest. Only six players in the nation have more total blocks this season than Williams’ 47.

NC State has to find a way to keep Williams off the offensive glass in this matchup.