Evan Pike/USAToday sports
Wolfpack Tipoff: Game 10, UNC Greensboro
NC State (7-2, 1-1 ACC) vs. UNC Greensboro (8-2)
Greensboro Coliseum (21,021)
3 p.m., My48 (PxP: Scott Pryzwanski; Analyst: Darryl Kosciak)
Streaming: WatchESPN; Live stats: GoPack.com
Series history: State leads 10-1 (2-0 in Greensboro)
Last meeting: UNCG won 81-76 in Raleigh, Dec. 16, 2017
Most recent game: State beat Wake Forest 91-82, UNCG beat Radford 60-58
BetOnline line: State minus 2 1/2 | Over/Under 136 1/2
PROJECTED STARTERS
| NC STATE | Stats | UNCG | Stats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Markell Johnson | 6-1 Senior | 12.3 ppg 6.1 apg | Isaiah Miller | 6-0 Junior | 16.6 ppg 3.1 apg |
Braxton Beverly | 6-0 Junior | 9.7 ppg 2.1 rpg | Malik Massey | 6-3 Senior | 6.1 ppg 1.8 rpg |
Devon Daniels | 6-5 Redshirt Junior | 11.9 ppg 3.9 rpg | Angelo Algeri | 6-7 Sophomore | 5.3 ppg 2.6 rpg |
Jericole Hellems | 6-7 Sophomore | 12.3 ppg 4.0 rpg | Kyrin Galloway | 6-8 Senior | 8.5 ppg 4.5 rpg |
Manny Bates | 6-10 Freshman | 6.7 ppg 3.4 bpt | James Dickey | 6-10 Senior | 7.7 ppg 7.5 rpg |
THEY SAID IT
"You’ve got to break the week up. It’s almost like when you get to the middle of the week, you’ve got to simulate that you’re having a game like a game week. We took a day off and then we concentrated on our own selves early in the week. As we got to the middle of the week, and even to the latter part of it, we started concentrating on UNCG.
"It’s an opportunity to work on the things that you’ve really got to work on. For us, we had to be careful. When you get into a long week without games, you can actually wear your guys down. Especially when we don’t have that many guys playing. We wanted to make sure it was a great balance. We didn’t stay in the gym too much, understanding that the priority is academics, study halls and all that other stuff." Coach Kevin Keatts
"It’s something I remember. I’m the only one (still on the team) that actually played, because Markell (Johnson) didn’t play. I guess I’m the only one that still carries that around. They don’t have to worry about that. At the same time, I still remember it and how upsetting it was." Junior guard Braxton Beverly on State's loss to UNCG in 2017
NOTABLE
Sophomore forward Jericole Hellems suffered a "low grade concussion" in last Saturday's win at Wake Forest. His availability for Sunday's game in Greensboro will be a gametime decision. ...
Coach Kevin Keatts earned his first victory as a Division I head coach against UNCG at Greensboro Coliseum. It came on Nov. 18, 2014 when his UNC Wilmington team defeated the Spartans 84-72, ,,,
UNCG leads the Southern Conference and is among the nation's top teams in scoring defense, limiting its opponents to 54.6 points per game and 37.2 percent shooting. Only four of the Spartans' first 10 opponents have managed as many as 60 points. Only Kansas has scored more than 70 on it this season. State, meanwhile, is averaging 81.8 points and hasn't scored fewer than 69 in a game. ...
The Wolfpack can also play a little defense.. In its most recent game against Wake Forest, it recorded a season-high 12 steals. That ties for the most against an ACC opponent in Keatts' three seasons. Seven of the eight players that saw action against the Deacons. Devon Daniels led the way with three. ...
Devon Daniels goes to the basket against Wake Forest last Saturday
UNCG' is one of the nation's top shot-blocking teams. The Spartans' 55 blocks rank 17th in all of Division I programs, with James Dickey (24) and Kyrin Galloway (21) ranking 25th and 36th individually. State's Manny Bates is ninth with 31 blocks. ...
Both teams lead their respective conferences in turnover margin and rank among the nation's best in that category. UNCG leads the Southern and is fifth in the NCAA at plus-7.0, The Wolfpack leads the ACC and is 22nd nationally at plus-5.0. Both teams have had fewer turnovers than its opponent in every game this season.
