Feb 4, 2025
Berkeley, California- NC State fans better get their coffee ready as the Wolfpack take their losing streak to Berkeley where they face the California Golden Bears on Wednesday February 5th at 11 pm EST.
BOTTOM LINE: NC State visits Cal after Dontrez Styles scored 24 points in NC State’s 68-58 loss to the Clemson Tigers.
The Golden Bears have gone 9-4 in home games. Cal has a 6-9 record against opponents above .500.
The Wolfpack are 2-8 in ACC play. NC State is fifth in the ACC giving up 67.4 points while holding opponents to 44.0% shooting.
Cal is shooting 42.4% from the field this season, 1.6 percentage points lower than the 44.0% NC State allows to opponents. NC State averages 6.0 made 3-pointers per game this season, 1.3 fewer made shots on average than the 7.3 per game Cal allows.
TOP PERFORMERS: Andrej Stojakovic is scoring 18.9 points per game and averaging 4.4 rebounds for the Golden Bears. Jovan Blacksher Jr. is averaging 1.6 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games.
Jayden Taylor averages 1.5 made 3-pointers per game for the Wolfpack, scoring 12.1 points while shooting 34.1% from beyond the arc. Marcus Hill is averaging 12.3 points over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Golden Bears: 4-6, averaging 70.9 points, 32.6 rebounds, 9.9 assists, 6.0 steals and 2.9 blocks per game while shooting 38.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 75.2 points per game.
Wolfpack: 2-8, averaging 65.9 points, 28.8 rebounds, 12.0 assists, 6.1 steals and 4.1 blocks per game while shooting 41.8% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 68.7 points.
Storylines:
In eight of the Pack’s 10 ACC games they have been in a one-possession game in the final five minutes of regulation. Four of its eight losses have also come down to the last possession. The Pack has led in the second half of seven of their eight conference losses this season.
1. Win the turnover battle: Kevin Keatts and the Pack’s winning percentage is almost exactly double when the Pack wins the turnover battle (70.55%) vs. when it loses the turnover battle (35.29%).
2. Marcus Hill Bounceback: His streak of 12 straight games scoring in double figures was snapped. He was held to just four points against Duke and eight points against Clemson. The Rockford, Ill., native continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 12.5 points per game. Hill is second on the team with 43 assists.
3. Opponent Turnovers into Points: In the Wolfpack’s nine wins this season, it is averaging 19.3 points per game off opponents turnovers and has outscored the opponents in points off turnovers by 102 points. In the Pack’s 12 losses it averages just 11.3 points off opponent turnovers and has outscored its opponents in points off turnovers by just 11 points (136-to-125).
NC State series with California
-Wednesday will mark the fourth all-time meeting between NC State and California. Cal leads the all-time series, 2-1. Their last meeting was earlier this year where the Golden Bears beat the Wolfpack 65-62 back in Raleigh on Jan 18th.
– Last Meeting (Jan. 18, 2025): Cal scored the final four points of the game to beat NC State, 65-62, in Raleigh less than three weeks ago. In that loss,- NC State had a season-low five assists and made just one three-pointer.
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