The Clemson men’s basketball team will face the NC State Wolfpack on Saturday night at Littlejohn Coliseum.
Clemson closes out their week at home with an in-conference foe, facing a struggling NC State squad who have only won two of their last seven games. This matchup has favored the Tigers as of late, who have won the last six against the Wolfpack.
The game will also see a familiar face return to Littlejohn on Saturday as well as a Clemson player playing his former squad. Over the summer, former Tigers center Ben Middlebrooks decided to join the Wolfpack, where he has seen more success this season. On the other hand, forward Jack Clark, who left NC State this past summer, has played for Clemson head coach Brad Brownell and his team over the course of this season.
“It’s going to be fun seeing everybody I played with last year, coaches and players, so it will be a great game,” Clark said about his former team.
The Tigers enter this game with a four-game win streak, their longest since their 11-game undefeated start to the season. With all wins over conference opponents during that stretch, Clemson is now in a four-way tie for fifth place in the ACC, joining their next opponent, NC State, in the tie. A win would take the opponent away from contending for a top spot, as well as give the team a higher seed in the ACC Tournament, which is only a few weeks away.
If Clemson is to win this weekend, it will have to come from their trio of stars: PJ Hall, Chase Hunter and Joe Girard III. Hall is continuing his incredible season, averaging 19.9 points per game and has scored ten or more points in every game this season. Most recently, the standout was named to the Naismith Trophy Midseason Team, which is the shortlist of the best college basketball players this season.
Hunter is coming off a season-high 20-point game in their win over Miami, hitting shots from all over the court on Wednesday night. He averages 12.3 points and 3.0 assists a night as well.
Meanwhile, Girard, the reigning ACC Player of the Week, is averaging 19 points across Clemson’s three-game win streak, shooting 40% from three-point range throughout the entire season.
NC State is led by guard DJ Horne, an Arizona State transfer this season, who averages 16.3 points per game. The senior is coming off of a 31-point performance in their loss to Wake Forest earlier this week and he will look to continue that form against Hunter and Girard on Saturday.
Two other faces to know on the opposing squad are guard Casey Morsell and forward DJ Burns Jr. Morsell joins Horne in the starting backcourt and scores an average of 11.8 points per game. In the front court, the 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward uses his size to his advantage, averaging 11.9 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.
Tipoff is set for 7:45 p.m. and the game will be broadcasted on the CW Network.
