Read below for a full NC State vs SMU prediction and preview.
NC State are returning to the court after a seven-day layoff, facing off against another ACC newcomer in SMU. This is just the third ever meeting between the two schools, with the last meeting occurring in December 1988. That match-up, an 59-57 victory by the Mustangs, was the only loss in the first 14 games of the Wolfpack’s 1988-89 campaign. SMU will make just their second trip to Raleigh since an overtime loss in 1985.
General Information:
Teams: NC State (9-9, 2-5) and SMU (14-4, 5-2)
Tip time: 12 p.m. EST
Watch: The CW Network
Listen: Wolfpack Sports Network
Latest on SMU basketball:
Andy Enfield’s team dropped to 0-2 at home against ACC opponents after falling to Louisville, ranked No. 25 in the latest CBB Review Top 25 rankings, by the score of 98-73. The loss snapped their three-game winning streak.
Gettin’ warm. Under an hour until we tipoff against Louisville! #PonyUp pic.twitter.com/d9rNNNWiIF
— SMU Basketball (@SMUBasketball) January 22, 2025
“We felt very confident and, as a coaching staff, we thought we were going to play very well offensively,” Enfield said after the game. “We missed so many easy shots, layups in the first half. When that happens and [Louisville is] making shots at the other end….it [is] very deflating.”
Matt Cross, a transfer from UMass, led the Mustangs with 18 points against Louisville. Cross was one of three players to notch double digit point totals.
Latest on NC State basketball:
Kevin Keatts’s squad has lost three straight games, and four of the last six times, where the winner was determined in the final possession.
“Our guys are playing really hard,” Keatts said during the weekly ACC press conference. “But 50/50 balls here and a bad foul here, and a bad shot here. No communication in defensive transition and you lose a one-point game.”
— NC State Men’s Basketball (@PackMensBball) January 19, 2025
Marcus Hill is looking to get his 12th straight game of scoring 10 or more points, but making the extra pass will also need to improve. The Wolfpack had a season-low five assists last Saturday against Cal, their lowest assist output since recording five against Notre Dame in January 2024.
[…] NC State Basketball returned to the court for the first time in a week, but the crowd at the Lenovo Center saw a familiar ending. For the fourth straight game, the Wolfpack (9-10, 2-6) lost a game by six or less points. Marcus Hill led the Wolfpack with 14 points to add to his 10 or more points scoring streak. […]