Raleigh, NC – The NC State men’s basketball team plays its third game in five days Tuesday evening as Bryant visits PNC Arena for a matchup with the Pack.
The game is scheduled to tipoff at 7 p.m. and will be shown on ACC Network Extra with Andrew Sanders and former Pack All-American Chris Corchiani on the call. Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes will call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Tickets for the game are still available by visiting GoPack.com/BuyTickets or call the ticket office at (919) 865-1510 to purchase tickets.
Pack Tracks
– NC State improved to 2-0 on the season with a 78-56 win over Charleston Southern on Sunday afternoon. For the second consecutive game, Allerik Freeman led the Pack in scoring with 18 points, while Markell Johnson added 12 points, nine assists and four steals. Also finishing in double figures scoring for the Pack, was Torin Dorn (14), Sam Hunt (11) and Omer Yurtseven (11).
– The Wolfpack has opened the season with a 35-point victory over VMI on Friday and a 22-point win over Charleston Southern on Sunday. It marks the first time since the 2005-06 season that NC State has opened the year with consecutive 20+-point wins.
– In the first two games of the season, NC State has forced more turnovers than the opponent has made field goals. VMI had 21 turnovers while connecting on 18 field goals, while Charleston Southern committed 24 turnovers and made 21 field goals.
– Prior to the two games this season, the Pack hadn’t forced an opponent into more turnovers than it had made field goals since Jan. 14, 2012 when Wake Forest had 16 field goals and 17 turnovers in a 76-40 NC State win.
Tuesday Storylines
– NC State is seeking a 3-0 start for the third time in the last four seasons.
– If the Pack wins the game by more than 20 points it would mark the first time since the 2004-05 season that NC State won its first three games of the season by 20+ points each time.
– With two players sitting out as transfers, freshman guard Braxton Beverly not cleared and senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu and redshirt freshmen Spencer Newman out with injury, NC State will only dress nine players for the third consecutive game.
– Forcing Opponent turnovers. With its constant defensive pressure, the Pack has forced 45 opponent turnovers this season. That is the most in two consecutive games dating back to at least the 2012-13 season.
NC State-Bryant Series
– Tuesday’s meeting will mark the first meeting ever between the two programs.
– NC State has an all-time record of 9-1 against teams from the Northeast Conference.
– The Pack will face another NEC foe later in the season when Robert Morris visits PNC Arena on Dec. 19.
Noting NC State’s Returning and Lost
– Senior forward Abdul-Malik Abu is NC State’s leading returning scorer (11.8 ppg.) and rebounder (7.0 rpg.). The Boston, Mass., native has led NC State in rebounding the last two seasons and is aiming to be the first NC State player to lead the Pack in rebounding in three consecutive seasons since Todd Fuller did it from 1993-96. Abu suffered a Grade 2 MCL Sprain in October and did not play in last week’s exhibition game against Mars Hill.
– Torin Dorn (18 starts) and Omer Yurtseven (14 starts) also return for the Pack. Dorn averaged 9.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game last season as a sophomore, while Yurtseven added 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per contest.
– NC State must replace its top three scorers from last season in Dennis Smith, Jr. (18.1), Terry Henderson (13.8) and Maverick Rowan (12.0). The Pack also lost the school’s all-time shot block leader in BeeJay Anya (243 career blocks). Smith, Jr., was named the ACC Freshman of the Year, the first Pack player to accomplish this feat since Hawkeye Whitney in 1977. Smith was selected by the Dallas Mavericks with the ninth pick of the NBA Draft. Henderson, after having his appeal denied to return to NC State, went through training camp with the Charlotte Hornets and is now on the Greensboro Swarm roster in the NBA G-League. Rowan was the third overall selection of the NBA G-League draft by the Lakeland Magic.
– NC State joins Florida State and Pittsburgh as the only ACC teams to lose its top three scorers from last season.
Yurtseven Selected to Preseason Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Watch List
NC State sophomore center Omer Yurtseven has been selected as one of 20 student-athletes to the preseason watch list for this year’s Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Center of the Year Award. Yurtseven was also on the preseason list that honors the nation’s top center last season. A former five-star recruit, Yurtseven averaged 5.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season.
NC State Roster Breakdown
The Wolfpack’s 2017-18 roster features 14 players representing seven states, the District of Columbia and one player from outside the United State (Istanbul, Turkey).
– Six of the 14 players on the NC State roster hail from North Carolina. Alabama, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Ohio and Washington, D.C. all have one.
– NC State has six players listed on the roster at 6’7” or taller. Omer Yurtseven is the tallest player at 7’0” and Braxton Beverly is the shortest at 6’0”.
NC State Adds Four Signees in Fall Signing Period
– NC State signed four-star recruits Manny Bates, Saddiq Bey, Jericole Hellems and Ian Steere in the fall signing period. The four players will be freshmen on the 2018-19 NC State basketball team.
– Manny Bates is regarded as one of the best shot blockers in the 2018 class. He plays for Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville, N.C. where he is teammates with fellow signee Ian Steere.
– Saddiq Bey hails from Washington D.C., where he plays for Sidwell Friends School. He averaged 14.2 points per game as a junior to lead Sidwell Friends to a conference championship.
– Jericole Hellems is from Hazelwood, Mo., and plays for Chaminade High School. As a junior, he averaged 22 points, seven rebounds, three assists and one steal per game to lead Chaminade to a second consecutive Class 5 State Semifinal berth.
– Ian Steere from Sanford, N.C., plays with Bates at Northwood Temple Academy in Fayetteville. Steere is a physical player that helped lead his former school, Wesleyan Christian Academy, to a runner-up finish in the North Carolina 3A State Championship last season.
– Signing class is ranked 15th overall and 5th in the ACC by 247Sports.com. Ranked 17th overall and 6th in the ACC by Rivals.com.