Joshua S. Kelly/USAToday sports
Wolfpack Tipoff: Game 18, Clemson
NC State (12-5, 3-3 ACC) vs. Clemson (9-7, 3-3)
PNC Arena (19,772)
2 p.m., Fox Sports South (PxP: Tom Werme; Analyst: Mike Gminski)
Streaming: WatchESPN; Satellite radio: Sirius XM 371; Live stats: GoPack.com
Series history: State leads 73-48 (35-14 in Raleigh)
Last meeting: State lost 81-70 at Littlejohn Coliseum, Jan. 4, 2020
Most recent game: State beat Miami 80-64; Clemson beat Duke 79-72
BetOnline line: State minus-6 1/2 | Over/Under 139 1/2
PROJECTED STARTERS
| NC STATE | Stats | CLEMSON | Stats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Markell Johnson | 6-1 Senior | 13.1 ppg 6.8 apg | Al-Amir Dawes | 6-2 Freshman | 8.7 ppg 2.9 apg |
Braxton Beverly | 6-0 Junior | 7.9 ppg 1.6 apg | John Newman | 6-5 Sophomore | 10.2 ppg 3.4 rpg |
Devon Daniels | 6-5 Redshirt Junior | 11.1 ppg 4.6 rpg | Tevin Mack | 6-6 Graduate | 12.2 ppg 5.3 rpg |
D.J. Funderburk | 6-10 Junior | 13.1 ppg 5.7 rpg | Clyde Trapp | 6-4 Junior | 5.3 ppg 3.2 rpg |
Manny Bates | 6-11 Freshman | 5.9 ppg 3.1 bpg | Aamir Simms | 6-8 Junior | 14.6 ppg 7.6 rpg |
THEY SAID IT
“I would obviously love to have at least one more guy in the rotation. When we started this season, I was hoping this team would have 10 guys that I could rotate in and out and be able to press the entire game and every time we scored. But I like what we have and I like the nine guys. If I can keep D.J. Funderburk at the four, I think it helps our team a little bit this year." Coach Kevin Keatts
"Obviously I'm ecstatic because of the way our kids are playing. The amount of effort and time that we spend working at it, when you lose it can be frustrating, disappointing, all of the above. You just want to see your players rewarded for all their hard work. So our guys have really been putting time in, They've been great to coach all year, even when we weren't playing as well. It's a long, long season and now we're just on a good little streak here over the last few weeks." Clemson coach Brad Brownell
"It’s great to be back with the guys, to be back in practice and compete with these guys," he said. "We have a great team. To be out on the floor with these guys and get a win like that is something special." Redshirt senior C.J. Bryce
NOTABLE
Playing without leading scorer and rebounder C.J. Bryce, fell behind early and never caught up in suffering an 81-70 loss at Clemson in the first meeting of the season between the teams. D.J. Funderburk led State with 14 points off the bench in the game. ...
Bryce returned to the lineup for the first time in four games on Wednesday. He contributed six points and two rebounds, along with a season-high five assists in the Wolfpack's 80-63 win against Miami. State was 2-2 in his absence as he recovered from a concussion suffered on Dec. 29
Clemson has beaten NC State, North Carolina and Duke in its last three games. The win in Chapel Hill was its first ever in 60 tries. It had been 30 years since the last time the Tigers defeated the Tar Heels and Blue Devils in consecutive games ...
In the first 46 games of his Wolfpack career, Funderburk only led the team in scoring one time. After scoring a team-high 19 points on Wednesday against Miami, the 6-foot-10 junior has now led State in scoring in four of the last five games. ...
State’s bench outscored Miami’s bench, 26-8 on Wednesday. The Wolfpack's bench has outscored the opponent’s bench in eight straight games and 15 of 17 this season. State’s bench has outscored the opposition’s bench in 22 of the last 26 games against ACC foes. ...
Junior guard Braxton Beverly has not committed a turnover in the last four games, a stretch of 119 minutes of game action. State is 9-0 this season when Beverly hits multiple 3-pointers in a game. The Wolfpack is 3-5 when he makes one of fewer....
Clemson made 26 free throws in the win over State on Jan. 4, the most made by a Wolfpack opponent this season. In its five losses this season, State is committing more than 20 fouls per game and sending its opponent to the line 27 times. In its 12 wins, the Wolfpack’s opponent is averaging only 16.4 free throw attempts a game.
