If anyone needed a visual of how to start a basketball game, the NC State Wolfpack provided just that – showcasing pure dominance from the opening tip on the way to a convincing 94-66 win over the Florida State Seminoles late Wednesday night inside PNC Arena.
After giving up the opening basket, the Wolfpack went on to score the next nine points including back-to-back three-pointers from Terquavion Smith. The NC State offense stayed hot carrying a 15-4 lead into the first media timeout.
The Wolfpack lead grew to as many as 24-4 with 12:15 remaining in the half before reaching as many as 30 (44-14). NC State finished the half making just one of its last seven shots to allow FSU to go on a 13-5 run making the score 49-27 at halftime.
The Seminoles continued their fight back, cutting their deficit to 18 with DJ Burns picking up his fourth foul with just over 16 minutes left in the contest. NC State answered to put the game out of reach – pushing their lead back up to 20 for the remainder of the contest, allowing Coach Keatts to empty the bench for some walk-on action.
Smith led the offensive charge for the Pack with 32 points. Burns finished with 15 points in limited action, followed by Jarkel Joiner chipping in 14. Casey Morsell rounded out the double-figure scorers with 10 points.
The Wolfpack improve to 18-5 overall on the season and now sit in fourth place in the ACC standings. NC State remains at home as they host the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets Saturday, February 4th inside PNC Arena.