Pack Starts Road Stretch with Trip to Boston College

NC State Game Notes | Boston College Game Notes

 

RALEIGH, N.C. – The NC State men’s basketball team (10-5, 1-1) plays its first road contest on its Atlantic Coast Conference slate Tuesday night when it plays at Boston College.

 

Tipoff against the Eagles is scheduled for 9 p.m. and the game will be televised on the ACC Network. NC State fans can also listen to Matt Chazanow and Chucky Brown call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.

 

Pack Notes

– The Pack suffered a 76-61 defeat to No. 21 Virginia on Saturday to snap the Pack’s three-game win streak.

– NC State entered the game against the Cavaliers ranked near the top in ACC in numerous offensive categories – scoring (4th – 87.0 ppg), field goal percentage (4th – 48.7%), 3-point percentage (1st – 38.5%) and three-pointers made per game (3rd – 10.8) – but had season-lows in points (61), field goal percentage (36%), three-point field goals made (5) and three point percentage (25%) in the loss to UVA.

– Quadir Copeland led NC State in scoring (15 points) and assists (4) against UVA.  Over the last nine games, Copeland is averaging 16.2 points, 6.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game while shooting 56.7 percent (51-of-90) from the field. The Philadelphia, Pa., has led the Pack in scoring in five of the last nine games, in assists in eight of the last nine games and in steals in four of the last nine games.

– Copeland’s final season of eligibility is proving to be his best. The Philadelphia, Pa., native had never averaged double figures in a season prior to this year but is currently averaging 14.1 points per game. His current field goal percentage (56.9%) and three-point percentage (53.6%) would both be career bests. After entering the season having made just 16 three-pointers in 87 career games, Copeland has already knocked down 15 triples in 15 games this year. His 5.8 assists per game are also a career high, and his better than 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio would likewise mark the best of his career.

– Ven-Allen Lubin had his streak of shooting over 50 percent in every game this season snapped in the loss to Virginia on Saturday as he finished the game against the Cavaliers just 2-of-6 from the field. Despite the off-shooting performance, Lubin still leads the ACC and ranks eighth in the NCAA in field goal percentage at 66.4 percent. 

– The season is only a halfway through, but with a current 1.59 assist-to-turnover ratio, the Pack is on pace to post the best single-season mark in program history. NC State has had more turnovers than assists just twice this season and has recorded an assist-to-turnover ratio of 2.0 or better in six games. The Pack currently ranks 40th in the NCAA in assist-to-turnover ratio.

 

Tuesday Storylines

– Tuesday is the Pack’s first ACC road contest of the season. After starting the conference slate with two home games, NC State now enters a stretch of games where it will play six of its next eight games on the road. Last season, NC State did not win a road game in conference play (0-10) and they enter Tuesday’s game at BC having lost 15 consecutive true road games (13 straight in ACC play and two non-conference road games at Kansas and at Auburn). NC State’s  last road win was Feb. 17, 2024 when they won at Clemson, 78-77. This season, NC State is 2-3 in games played away from Raleigh. The Pack won one of three games in Maui, lost at Auburn and beat Ole Miss in a neutral site game in Greensboro.

– NC State freshman guard Matt Able’s dad, Doug Able, played for Boston College for four seasons from 1987-1991. Able scored over 1,000 career points in a BC uniform and was a team captain his final two seasons with the Eagles.

– Pack’s defense stepping up: After NC State’s 83-73 loss to Auburn on Wednesday, Dec. 3, the Pack’s defense was surrendering an average of 77.4 points per game while its opponents shot 44.3 percent from the field. In the seven games since the game against the Tigers, NC State is limiting opponents to a combined 39.9 percent shooting (30.5 percent from three-point range) while giving up just 64.6 points per game.

– Win the Boards, win the game? The Pack is 9-0 when it outrebounds its opponent and 1-5 when it is outrebounded this season.

– NC State leads the ACC in three-point percentage (37.9%) and averages 10.4 made three-pointers per game. Boston College paces the league in three-point percentage defense, limiting opponents to 27.7% from beyond the arc. The Eagles have allowed just 84 made threes this season (6.0 per game), the fewest by any team in the ACC.

– NC State ranks 37th in the most recent NET rankings through games of Jan. 4. NC State’s average opponent NET rank though 15 games is 127 which ranks as the toughest of any ACC team and 17th toughest schedule in the NCAA. Seven of the Pack’s 13 non-conference games this season are currently Q1 or Q2 games. The seven Q1/Q2 games are the most of any ACC team and the Pack’s four Q1 games are second only to Duke for the most of any ACC team. The ACC has positioned itself well in non-conference play this season. As of the current NET rankings, NC State will have nine Q1 and three Q2 opportunities in conference action.

– Pick Your Poison: NC State has had five different players score 20-plus points in a game this season, tied for the most in the ACC. Four Wolfpack players (Quadir Copeland, Ven-Allen Lubin, Paul McNeil, Jr., and Darrion Williams) have reached the 20-point mark in multiple games—tied with Cal for the most of any team in the ACC. NC State is the only school in the ACC that has had two different players score over 30 points in a game this season (Darrion Williams and Paul McNeil, Jr.)

– Ven has been unstoppable in second half of games this season: A missed shot midway through the second half against Liberty on Dec. 10 snapped a streak of 24 consecutive made second half field goals for Ven-Allen Lubin. His streak started with two makes against Boise State in the second half on Nov. 25, the next day he was 6-6 against Texas in the second half, he then went 3-3 at Auburn, 9-9 against UNC Asheville and made his first four second half field goal attempts against Liberty before finally missing a second half shot. In 15 games this season, Lubin is shooting 77.4 percent (48-of-62) from the field in the second half.

 

NC State series with Boston College

– Tuesday will be the 33rd all-time meeting between NC State and Boston College and the Pack leads the series, 19-13.

– NC State has won six of the last seven games in the series.

– The Pack has won its last three games in Conte Forum and four of the last five overall.

– Last Meeting (February 15, 2025): NC State never trailed and led by 15 points in halftime in beating Boston College, 70-62, in Raleigh last season. The Pack jumped out to an 8-0 lead and BC never got closer than seven the rest of the way. Jayden Taylor led NC State with 19 points and four steals.