The Starting 5 – The Top 5 NC State vs. Tennessee Storylines

1. ‘GOTT’ HISTORY WITH TENNESSEE
Mark Gottfried is certainly familiar with the Tennessee Volunteers, having fashioned a 16-6 combined record against Tennessee as both a player and head coach. He was 9-5 against UT as coach at Alabama after winning six of seven vs. Tennessee as an Alabama player (1984-87). Gottfried captured two important wins over Tennessee when UT was highly-ranked. His Bama squad beat No. 7 Tennessee 80-75 on Feb. 26, 2000. When Bruce Pearl had Tennessee ranked No. 8, Gottfried defeated the Vols 92-79 in Tuscaloosa. Gottfried had a 6-0 record vs. Tennessee when UT was coached by Buzz Peterson. Last season, Gottfried’s team won 65-58 in Knoxville,
a key road win that bolstered NC State’s tournament profile in March.

2. #TLACEY BOUNCED BACK
NC State’s leading scorer, Trevor Lacey, missed last Friday’s game vs. Charleston Southern with an ankle injury. He returned two days later vs. Wofford and scored 18
points on 8-for-12 shooting, with many of those shots being contested. He came less than a tenth of a second from finishing with 21 points and a game-winning buzzer
beater in the wild finish last Sunday vs. Wofford.

3. ACC FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK
Caleb Martin, a 6-6 freshman from Mocksville, N.C., was voted ACC Freshman of the Week after a career-best outing last Friday night. Martin posted career highs of
17 points and seven rebounds in NC State’s 86-50 win over Charleston Southern. For the week, Martin averaged 9.5 points and 3.5 rebounds in two games.

4. OPPONENTS FEELING REJECTED
NC State is among the national leaders in blocked shots. The Wolfpack is currently first in the ACC and sixth in the nation with 6.90 blocked shots per game. NCSU
is led in this area by BeeJay Anya, who stands fourth in the country with 3.7 blocks per game. Earlier this season, Anya set a school record with 10 rejections in the
Pack’s win over Jacksonville. The Pack blocked 14 shots in that game and have six additional outings with six or more blocks.

5. TAKING CARE OF THE BALL
NC State is fifth in the ACC committing just 10.9 turnovers per contest. What’s more is that the Wolfpack ranks 23rd in the nation in turnover percentage (16.2%).
That means NC State turns the ball over roughly once in every six possessions. That 16.2 percent mark ranks third in the ACC (behind Duke and Notre Dame).