Wolfpack Tipoff: Game 20, At Georgia Tech
NC State (14-5, 5-3 ACC) vs. Georgia Tech (8-11, 3-6)
McCamish Pavillion (8,600)
4 p.m., Fox Sports South (PxP: Bob Rathbun; Analyst: Brian Oliver)
Streaming: WatchESPN; Satellite radio: Sirius XM 382; Live stats: GoPack.com
Series history: State leads 57-42 (18-22 in Atlanta)
Last meeting: State lost 82-81 in overtime at PNC Arena, Nov. 5, 2019
Most recent game: State beat Virginia 53-51; Georgia Tech lost to Loiusville 68-64
BetOnline line: State minus-1 | Over/Under 141 1/2
PROJECTED STARTERS
NC State stats | Georgia Tech stats
Markell Johnson | 6-1 Senior | 12.8 ppg 6.6 apg | Jose Alvarado | 6-0 Senior | 11.4 ppg 4.8 apg |
Devon Daniels | 6-5 Redshirt Junior | 11.0 ppg 4.7 rpg | Michael Devoe | 6-5 Sophomore | 16.2 ppg 3.8 rpg |
C.J. Bryce | 6-5 Redshirt Senior | 14.9 ppg 6.3 rpg | Jordan Usher | 6-7 Junior | 8.4 ppg 3.5 rpg |
Jericole Hellems | 6-7 Sophomore | 9.7 ppg 3.7 rpg | Moses Wright | 6-9 Junior | 13.3 ppg 7.6 rpg |
D.J. Funderburk | 6-10 Junior | 13.1 ppg 5.9 rpg | James Banks III | 6-10 Redshirt Senior | 10.4 ppg 7.5 rpg |
THEY SAID IT
"They’re good. Their front line, and they don’t get a lot of credit, but James Banks is about as good as you can be. (Jose) Alvarado makes them go. They’ve got young players that can score the basketball. They’re a really good team. They’re not playing a lot of guys, but they’re a little different than us because they can get away with playing seven or eight guys because they drop back into a matchup zone and play a little man-to-man. They’re a dangerous basketball team. They’re fighting just like everybody else." Coach Kevin Keatts
"A lot of our losses could easily have gone the other way. They could have been wins. Now, I'm sure NC State might have been saying the same thing against us the first time. But the point is we easily could be conpeting for first place right now. We're at the door. We just have to be able to get through the door." Georgia Tech coach Josh Pastner
"It's a lot of momentum for us. We're moving in the right direction right now, so we just want to build off of that." C.J. Bryce on the win at Virgina and the Wolfpack's three-game winning streak.
NOTABLE
The status of redshirt freshman big man Manny Bates (concussion protocol) and graduate forward Pat Andree (ankle) are still up in the air and likely won't be announced until just before game time. Both missed Monday's win at Virginia, becoming the fifth and sixth Wolfpack players this season to miss at least one game because of injury. ...
Tech has won three straight against State, the last two of which were decided on the game's final possession and both on points by the Yellow Jackets' James Banks III. Banks scored on a feed from teammate Jose Alvarado with one second left to spoil the Wolfpack's Senior Night game last season before scoring on a rebound in the final seconds of overtime to win this season's opener on Nov. 5 at PNC Arena. ...
State's win against Virginia on Monday snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Cavaliers. It was the team's longest ACC losing streak against an ACC opponent. The Wolfpack’s longest losing streak to an ACC team is now three games held by Georgia Tech (along with North Carolina and Virginia Tech).
Coach Kevin Keatts has a 25-19 record in ACC regular season games. Georgia Tech is one of two teams (Virginia Tech is the other) that Keatts has yet to beat in his time his three seasons at State.
In the three losses to Georgia Tech under Keatts, State has led at halftime of all three games and has had the lead with under two minutes to play in all three games. Overall, the Wolfpack has led for a total of 74:12 minutes of game action in the last three games against the Yellow Jackets. The total margin of defeat in the three games for the Pack is six points. ...
Senior guard Markell Johnson enters Saturday's game with 995 career points. When he reaches 1,000 points, he'll become the 53rd player in program history to score 1,000 points and just the fourth to record 1,000 points, 500 assists and 125 steals in their career. ...
State has held its last four opponents under 40-percent shooting from the field. This is the first time in at least 30 years that the Wolfpack has done that against four straight ACC oppooents. ...
In its last two games, State has held Clemson to 54 points and Virginia to 51 points. It’s the first time since February 2015 that the Wolfpack has held consecutive ACC opponents to under 60 points (2/21/15 69-53 win over Virginia Tech and 2/24/15 58-46 win at North Carolina). State hasn't held three consecutive ACC opponents under 60 points since a three-game stretch from Jan. 22, 2000-to-February 2, 2000. ....
