NC State @ Pittsburgh preview

Last Meeting ( Jan 12, 2019 ) Pittsburgh 80, NC State 86

Teams in desperate need of a victory hook up Saturday when North Carolina State visits Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack have dropped three straight, including the ugly 47-24 setback against Virginia Tech on Feb. 2 that set several records for futility, while the Panthers dropped their sixth straight ACC contest in Tuesday's 78-76 overtime loss at Wake Forest.

North Carolina State, which shot 16.7 percent en route to scoring the fewest points by any ACC school in the shot-clock era, bounced back with 96 points and shot 50 percent against No. 8 North Carolina on Tuesday, but North Carolina shot 56.1 percent from the floor, connected on 31-of-37 free throws and outrebounded the Wolfpack 41-27 in the 113-96 win. "I don't know that it's frustrating. Going back to (Feb. 2), I think that was a once in a lifetime game - I hope it is," second-year coach Kevin Keatts said. "I thought we did some really good things offensively, unfortunately when you're playing another high-powered offensive team on their home floor, you've got to do a better job defensively and we weren't there tonight." Meanwhile, the Panthers dropped their 20th consecutive road contest and their 17th straight conference road game versus the Demon Deacons. N.C. State edged the Panthers 86-80 on Jan. 12 as reserves DJ Funderburk, Devon Daniels and Eric Lockett combined for 54 points and overcame 25 points from Pitt freshman sensation Xavier Johnson.

TV: 2 p.m. ET, Raycom

ABOUT NORTH CAROLINA STATE (16-7, 4-6 ACC): For the sixth time this season, the Pack had five players reach double figures in the scoring column; Braxton Beverly (17), C.J. Bryce (15), Funderburk (14), Torin Dorn (11) and Daniels (10). "We did some good things on the offensive end when you look at the fact that we shot fifty-something percent and were able to score 96 points but certainly giving up 113 was not what we envisioned to win the game," Keatts said. Dorn leads the team in scoring (13.7) and rebounding (6.6), Bryce averages 12.1 points and 4.9 rebounds and Markell Johnson chips in 11.2 points and 3.8 assists.

ABOUT PITTSBURGH (12-11, 2-8): Johnson (17.0 points, 4.5 assists, 3.7 rebounds) scored a game-high 23 points to go along with nine assists and six rebounds against Wake Forest, playing all but two seconds. Senior forward Jared Wilson-Frame (11.8 points, team-high 59 3-pointers) added 17 points, five 3-pointers, three assists, two blocks and three steals, and New Mexico transfer guard Sidy N'Dir scored a season-high 15 points off the bench - 13 in the second half. Since exploding for 127 points over a six-game span, freshman guard Trey McGowens (12.4 points) has scored just 41 points on 15-of-52 shooting over his last six games.

TIP-INS

1. The Wolfpack's last three games - all losses - have all been against Top-15 teams.

2. The Panthers haven't won since a 75-62 win against Florida State on Jan. 14.

3. N.C. State is fourth in the conference in scoring in league games at 73 points per game despite shooting 41 percent (12th best in ACC) and 31 percent beyond the arc (11th best). The Wolfpack have also allowed opponents to shoot 46 percent (12th best) and score 77 points per game - most in the conference.

PREDICTION: North Carolina State 87, Pittsburgh 74