The NC State men’s basketball team will travel north to face ACC opponent Pittsburgh Wednesday at 9 p.m. The Wolfpack is 13-7 overall and 3-4 in the ACC while the Panthers are 8-12 overall and 0-7 in conference play.
Head coach Kevin Keatts and the rest of the NC State squad are coming off of a difficult home loss to the Miami Hurricanes. The 86-81 defeat dropped the Wolfpack to eighth place in the ACC, and the No. 25 ranked Hurricanes are now in sixth.
Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven continues to shine for NC State, posting a stellar 28-point and six-rebound performance on 12-of-16 shooting. It is his third-straight game inside PNC Arena with more than 20 points, as his offensive game has really been rounding into form.
The Wolfpack played well, outrebounding Miami 29-24 and shooting 54.4 percent from the field. The solid play from Yurtseven and effort inside the paint was not enough to deter the Hurricanes as they shot 57.6 percent from the field including a red-hot 10 for 19 from three-point range.
The Hurricanes had the lead for most of the game, and had an answer for any kind of run that the Wolfpack managed to initiate. The most intense moment of the game came at the 0:51 mark, when the Wolfpack cut the lead to 84-81. But the Hurricanes remained composed, and quickly got a dunk to end the game at 86-81.
Miami was led by sophomore guard Bruce Brown Jr. who had a strong 19-point and nine-assist performance. His composure breaking the Pack’s backcourt pressure and ability to hit big time threes led his team to an impressive win in a hostile environment.
There have not been many bright spots for the Panthers so far this season. Winless in the ACC, their best nonconference performance came in an overtime victory over Mount Saint Mary’s. Panthers senior forward Ryan Luther is the bright spot for the struggling squad; he averages a team-high 12.7 points per game along with 10.1 rebounds.
Pitt continues to be on the fast track to a last-place ACC finish. In the Panthers’ fifth season as a member of the ACC, they now have their first 0-7 start in a conference since losing to Louisville for an 0-7 Big East mark in January 2012.
After the road trip to Pitt, the Wolfpack will return to a highly anticipated matchup against No. 15 UNC-Chapel Hill at the Dean Dome Saturday.
