The NC State men’s basketball team (6-1, 2-0) plays its first road ACC contest of the season when it travels to Clemson to face the Tigers (7-1, 2-1) inside Littlejohn Coliseum.
The game is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be televised on the ACC Network with Roy Philpott and Paul Biancardi calling all the action. NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
About NC State:
- NC State is off to its first 2-0 start in ACC play since the 2014-15 season after back-to-back 79-76 wins over 17th-ranked North Carolina and Boston College to open conference play.
- The Pack held off Boston College, 79-76, last Wednesday. The game marked the return of senior forward D.J. Funderburk to the lineup after not playing since Dec. 3. Funderburk scored 17 of his 21 points in the first half as NC State opened up a 15-point lead in the first period. The senior finished with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting.
- After Boston College had taken a 76-75 lead, freshman Shakeel Moore hit the game-winning basket, hitting a jumper from the top of the key with 26 seconds remaining to put NC State back in front. Moore later scored the final points of the game with a slam in the final seconds to finish with 12 points on 5-of-8 shooting. He added a career-high tying four steals.
- Moore was named ACC Freshman of the Week on Dec. 28 for his efforts in the win over the Tar Heels. The Greensboro native scored 17 points, the first double figure scoring game of his young career. He hit 3-of-4 shots from three-point range and added two steals in the win.
- NC State ranks second in the ACC – sixth in NCAA DI – in steals per game with an average of 11.0 per contest. The Pack has had double-digit steals in four games this season, including 18 against Charleston Southern, which was the most for NC State with Kevin Keatts as head coach. The Pack has six players averaging at least one steal per game. Senior Devon Daniels and freshman Shakeel Moore lead NC State with 16 steals, ranking third in the ACC with an average of 2.29 steals per game.
About Clemson:
- The Clemson Tigers opened the season with five straight wins, including four against Power 5 opponents for the first time since 1934-35. Clemson, 7-1, won its first league game of the season 77-67 over No. 18/19 Florida State.
- Clemson will look to use as many as 12 players in most games as it attempts to utilize its depth as one of its main strengths this season. The Tigers’ bench has produced 25+ points in seven-of-eight games. Clemson has also had as many as 14 different scorers this season with six averaging over 5.0 points per game.
- Amir Simms was named to the Karl Malone Watch List (Top 20 PF in the country) and became the first Tiger to earn recognition from the Basketball Hall of Fame’s preseason award watch lists.
- Clemson boasted a Top-20 recruiting class in the country for 2020 with the additions of PJ Hall, Olivier-Maxence Prosper and Lynn Kidd. It marked the program’s highest recruiting ranking since 2009, according to 247Sports.
Wolfpack Storylines:
- A win on Tuesday would give NC State a 3-0 start in ACC play for the first time since the 2012-13 season.
- Clemson leads the ACC (and ranks third in the NCAA) in scoring defense, limiting opponents to an average of 56.2 points per game. NC State ranks second in the ACC (and 49th in the ACC) in scoring offense, averaging 81.0 points per game. NC State has scored 70 points or less in five of the six games against Clemson.
- Last Wednesday’s game against Boston College marked the first time since Dec. 3 that the Pack had every player available. In the four games this season where NC State has had its full time available, the Pack’s bench is averaging 34.8 points per game (139 points in four games).
- Tuesday’s game pits the top-two teams in the NCAA in turnover margin. The Pack leads the NCAA in turnover margin at +8.6 while Clemson ranks second in the ACC and 20th in the NCAA at +5.0. The Pack leads the ACC at turnovers forced, getting its opponents to cough up the ball over 20 times a game while Clemson ranks third in the ACC with 18.33 forced turnovers an outing.
- The Pack leads the ACC in field goal percentage at 49.2 percent while Clemson enters the game second in the ACC in field goal percentage defense, limiting opponents to 38.6 percent shooting. Last season, the Tigers held NC State to combined 41.8 percent shooting in the two meetings between the teams.
The Series
- Tuesday marks the 159th all-time meeting between the two programs.
- NC State leads the all-time series, 104-54. Clemson has a 26-19 advantage in games played at Littlejohn Coliseum.
- Last season: The two teams split the season series with each team winning on its home court. The Pack lost at Clemson, 81-70, (1/4/20) and NC State won at PNC Arena, 60-54 (1/18/20).
- Kevin Keatts is 4-2 against Clemson as head coach of NC State, but is 0-2 against the Tigers in Littlejohn Coliseum. He is 4-0 against Clemson at home or at a neutral site.
