NC State @ Memphis preview

No. 20 Memphis and North Carolina State will get a good idea of where each of them stands as November comes to a close, when they meet in the Barclays Center Classic on Thursday afternoon in Brooklyn, N.Y. Memphis won’t have All-American candidate James Wiseman due to suspension, but the Tigers have won three in a row, and the Wolfpack own five straight victories since opening with an overtime loss to Georgia Tech.

The Tigers, who brought in the consensus top recruiting class in the country this season, will not have Wiseman until mid-January and lost freshman guard Lester Quinones for about three weeks with a hand injury, but there is plenty of talent left for them to be competitive. “It makes the other guys step up and they did a pretty good job against an Ole Miss team at home,” Memphis coach Penny Hardaway told reporters. N.C. State did not have senior point guard Markell Johnson and junior forward DJ Funderburk in the season opener and have knocked off five straight mid-majors since with a deep roster that includes seven players averaging at least 8.8 points. “I feel like we’ve gotten better,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts told reporters. “When we played Georgia Tech in the first game, we were out two of our really good players. Each step of the way, each game, we’ve gotten a little bit better in a lot of areas. I’m happy where we’re at.”

TV: 4 p.m. ET, ESPN2

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (5-1): Senior guard C.J. Bryce is off to a strong start, leading the team in scoring (17.7), rebounds (7.2), and shooting 60.9 percent from the field after scoring 18 in Saturday’s 74-58 win over Little Rock. Junior guard Devon Daniels has given the Wolfpack a boost off the bench, scoring 14.2 per contest and shooting 51.5 percent from the floor, while Funderburk is averaging 11.5 points on 73.9 percent from the field. Johnson is contributing 10 points, along with a team-best 6.8 assists per game, and 6-11 freshman Manny Bates is among the national leaders with 3.7 blocks per contest.

ABOUT MEMPHIS (5-1): Freshman forward Precious Achiuwa was named American Athletic Conference player of the week Monday after recording a pair of double-doubles against Little Rock (16 points, 12 rebounds) and Ole Miss (25, 11). Achiuwa, who will be playing close to his home in Queens, N.Y., leads the active players at 15 points and 8.3 boards per game and freshman forward D.J. Jeffries scored 23 versus Ole Miss to push his season average to 14 on 56.7 percent shooting. Sophomore guard Tyler Harris poured in a season-high 15 points last time out and is averaging 8.2 with a team-best 11 made 3-pointers.

TIP-INS

1. Memphis sophomore G Alex Lomax leads the AAC in assists (4.8) and is third in field goal percentage (64.3).

2. Johnson needs five assists to pass Ishua Benjamin (435) for sixth on the team’s all-time list.

3. The Wolfpack have won three of the previous four meetings, including the last one 71-60 in 1998.

PREDICTION: Memphis 82, N.C. State 78