Coming off a 92-72 battering of Florida State, which marked NC State men’s basketball’s fifth win over a top-25 team, the Wolfpack (20-9, 10-6 ACC) hopes to extend its win streak to five against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (11-18, 4-12 ACC) this Thursday.
The last time NC State played the Yellow Jackets in McCamish Pavilion it came down to the wire with the Pack taking a narrow 71-69 victory. That was one of only four losses Georgia Tech suffered on its home court last season, although the Jackets do post a less impressive home record this year, having gone 10-7 so far.
The Wolfpack has been on fire lately and is looking to improve its NCAA resume in hopes of becoming a single-digit NCAA seed for just the third time since 2005.
The Wolfpack’s four-game win streak has been fueled in particular by the experience of graduate transfers Al Freeman and Sam Hunt. Both players transferred to NC State after graduating from programs where they were among the top players on their respective teams. Both have been exposed to this late-season pressure before and their experience is as evident as ever.
The past two games have seen Hunt go 8 for 8 from 3-point range, while averaging 13 points per game, more than double his season average of 5.6. On the other hand, Freeman just picked up his second player of the week honor in the ACC after averaging 22.5 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 2.0 steals in the last two NC State victories. Freeman has been hot from the perimeter as well, going 6 of 12 from long range during that time.
The Wolfpack will be relying on these two to bring the offensive firepower, but defense has been a strong suit of the Pack during this stretch too. In conference play, NC State is holding opponents to just 31 percent from the 3-point line, while forcing 13.8 turnovers per game. This has been a byproduct of the system head coach Kevin Keatts has implemented, where the Wolfpack picks up full-court defense in order to force quick shots and create turnovers.
This defensive pressure will certainly be needed against Georgia Tech, as its main scoring comes from guard Josh Okogie. As a freshman, Okogie torched the Wolfpack averaging 26 points in two games against the Pack. He currently averages 18.2 points, while getting around 6 points from the line per game. His 6-foot-4, 213-pound frame poses a challenge for the smaller Wolfpack guards, so it will be up to junior Torin Dorn and Freeman to step up and stop his penetration ability.
The Pack has won its previous two road games and last four overall games, and is looking to add to its momentum before post-season play. Meanwhile, Georgia Tech is on the other end of the spectrum, as the Yellow Jackets have lost their last seven and have no hope of a postseason. NC State will attempt to take advantage of this by coming out with a fast start and will hope to bury the Yellow Jackets early.
Tipoff is set for Thursday at 8 p.m. at McCamish Pavilion in Atlanta.
