Clemson @ NC State preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 11, 2018 ) Clemson 77, NC State 78

No. 19 North Carolina State is facing adversity for the first time this season after losing three of its last five contests and looks to steady the ship when struggling Clemson visits for an ACC matchup Saturday afternoon. The Wolfpack have dropped two of three since Markell Johnson (11.6 points, team-best 4.1 assists) went down with a back injury and the junior point guard is questionable for the game against Clemson.

N.C. State was behind two with under a minute left Thursday at 24th-ranked Louisville before suffering an 84-77 setback despite getting 19 points from sophomore guard Braxton Beverly, including 5-of-8 from behind the arc. “As I told my team after the game, what another tough ACC battle and what a great game it was,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts told reporters. “I thought both teams played extremely hard. … The story of the game for us, the telltale for us, is we turned the ball over 23 times, which is really not characteristic of us.” The Tigers come to Raleigh with four losses in their last five games after leading by six at halftime against No. 23 Florida State on Tuesday before shooting 38.5 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes and falling 77-68. “Disappointed with the way we defended in the second half,” Clemson coach Brad Brownell told reporters. “I thought our offensive struggles affected our defense. We just didn’t play the way we needed to play.”

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Raycom Sports, ACC Network

ABOUT CLEMSON (11-7, 1-4 ACC): Senior guard Marcquise Reed, who leads the team at 19.3 points per game, scored 30 in the win over Georgia Tech on Jan. 16 before connecting on 4-of-11 from the field in the loss at Florida State. Senior forward Elijah Thomas is the top inside threat for the Tigers, averaging 13.3 points and team highs of 7.9 rebounds (10.7 over the last three games) along with 26 blocks. Sophomore forward Aamir Simms scored 18 on 7-of-13 shooting against Florida State - his second-highest total of the season - to push his season average to 9.6.

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (15-4, 3-3): Johnson, who is shooting 56.8 percent from the field - 46.0 from behind the 3-point arc - went through the shoot-around Thursday but Keatts told reporters the senior looked about “65 percent.” Senior guard Torin Dorn leads a balanced offense at 14.5 points per game and junior guard C.J. Bryce is next at 12.3, but has poured in 55 total (18.3) in the past three contests. Sophomore guard Devon Daniels is the fourth player averaging in double figures (10.5) after contributing 12.8 per game over the last four.

TIP-INS

1. Clemson senior G Shelton Mitchell averages 11.6 points, but managed just 18 total on 7-of-34 shooting in the past four contests.

2. Beverly’s five 3-pointers Thursday matched a career high after connecting on just 6-of-24 in the previous three games.

3. The Tigers and Wolfpack split two games last season and the home team has won the last four in the series.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 76, Clemson 66