The NC State men’s basketball team will head to Atlantic City this Saturday to take part in the Air Force Reserve Basketball Hall of Fame Boardwalk Classic as part of a four-game special. The Wolfpack was one of eight teams invited to the classic and will be featured in the second game of the day.
The Wolfpack (8-1) looks to build on their two-game winning streak as they head north to take on the Penn State Nittany Lions (5-4). The Wolfpack is entering the game with over a 50 percent field-goal percentage for the season, ranked 12th in the nation.
Head coach Kevin Keatts and his squad are coming off of a 10-day hiatus, playing their last game Dec. 5 against the Western Carolina Catamounts. The players will need to shake off the rust and come out strong to avoid getting down early, which shouldn’t be hard for them as they are going into Saturday’s matchup ranked fourth in first-half points averaging 45.1.
The Wolfpack will be leaning heavily on redshirt sophomore guard Devon Daniels, who put up a season-high 21 points against the Catamounts and hopes to continue his upward trajectory. Also, redshirt senior guard Torin Dorn, who is on track to increase in most of the major stat categories compared to his previous season averages.
The Nittany Lions are coming off of an 11-point win over the Colgate Raiders (7-4) thanks to the hot hands of Rasir Bolton, who scored a career-high 27 points, shooting 78 percent from beyond the arc. Their win was also supported by the Nittany Lions ability to out-rebound the Raiders 43-24 with junior forwards Mike Watkins and Lamar Stevens combining for a total of 26 rebounds.
Penn State already has one upset under its belt as it squeezed out a one-point victory over the 13th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies, so the Wolfpack will need to keep up the pressure on the Lions and not fall into autopilot if it finds an early lead.
Tipoff is Saturday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m. EST and will be broadcasted on ESPNU.
