NC State @ Boston College preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 20, 2019 ) Boston College 80, NC State 89

North Carolina State is in danger of playing its way out of the NCAA Tournament picture and will be desperate for a win Saturday in an ACC matchup at Boston College. The Wolfpack enter their regular-season finale having lost two straight, including a stunning 63-61 setback against a sub-.500 Georgia Tech team on Wednesday at home.

The loss left them in an eighth-place tie in the ACC with Clemson - their opponent in the second round of the upcoming league tournament - and was a sure sign that the team is not playing its best basketball down the stretch. "Coming into this game, I was a little concerned because the last couple of days I didn't think we practiced well," coach Kevin Keatts told reporters Wednesday. "It's unfortunate because we had a great opportunity here." The Eagles have also lost two in a row and can do no better than the 11th seed for the ACC tourney next week. They fell 89-80 at North Carolina State earlier this season, one of their four overtime losses.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, RSN

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (20-10, 8-9 ACC): Guards C.J. Bryce and Braxton Beverly - the team's third- and fourth-ranked scorers, respectively -combined to make 1-of-16 shots in the loss to the Yellow Jackets while missing all 11 of their 3-point attempts. Senior guard Torin Dorn scored 12 points on 5-of-17 shooting and leads the team with 13.8 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. Sophomore guard Devon Daniels had 19 points, a career high-tying 11 rebounds and a personal-best five steals in the win over Boston College on Feb. 20.

ABOUT BOSTON COLLEGE (14-15, 5-12): Junior guard Ky Bowman had 23 points in Tuesday's 79-66 home loss to No. 3 North Carolina and he enters the final weekend of the regular season ranked third in the ACC in scoring (19.3). Junior forward Nik Popovic finished with 20 points and seven rebounds against the Tar Heels and is averaging 17.5 and 7.8, respectively, over his last six contests. Junior guard Jared Hamilton had 16 points - more than 10 over his average - at N.C. State last month but went 0-for-4 from long range and is 0-for-11 over a six-game stretch.

TIP-INS

1. Wolfpack junior G Markell Johnson leads his team in assists (4.2) and is 13-for-26 from 3-point range over a three-game stretch.

2. Bowman is shooting 26.7 percent on shots inside the arc over his last seven contests.

3. N.C. State has won nine of the last 12 meetings.

PREDICTION: N.C. State 76, Boston College 74