NC State’s 80-62 victory at Wake Forest Saturday marked the first time the Wolfpack has won three consecutive conference road games in a single season since the 2001-02 campaign.

The Pack (10-9, 6-8 ACC) will have an opportunity to string together three-straight wins for the first time since December Wednesday when it travels up to Charlottesville to take on Virginia.

A big factor in NC State’s recent turnaround is the apparent growth of the freshman guards.

Freshman guards Cam Hayes and Shakeel Moore along with redshirt freshman wing Dereon Seabron have a combined average of 27 points, 11.5 assists with seven turnovers per game in the Pack’s last two wins.

The signs of development are reflective of both learned skills through on-court experience as well as increased confidence in the ability to compete night in and night out at the ACC level according to Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts.

“In order to advance as a freshman, because they're coming in and playing high school and AAU basketball, you have to be able to get out on the floor and get some actual playing time in some actual really tough games,” Keatts said. “The other part of it is we've drilled with them in practice on the things that we need them to get better on. Obviously, taking care of the basketball, being consistent. A lot of times when I go back and watch tape, the freshmen will just stand around instead of sprinting to spots on all dribble penetration.

"They don't know what they don't know, and they don't know how to play hard for 40 minutes yet. A lot of times they think that they're playing hard, but when you have to show them, then they understand. It's a combination of a lot of things.”

The freshman guards will once again have to carry most of the weight in the backcourt Wednesday considering redshirt junior guard Thomas Allen’s status is still questionable.

Allen has missed the last two games due to an ankle sprain and while Keatts was able to provide some positive updates on his status Monday, a specific return date is still unknown.

“He's doing better, but I have no idea when he will be available,” Keatts said. “I joke with him and asked him if he was going to be available for Wednesday, and he said he hoped so. But I don't have a timetable at all. I actually haven't spoken to the trainer, the trainer was running around because we had to get COVID tested this morning. I've only talked to Thomas, but he's in a better place. He hasn't done anything on the floor, any type of shooting or any type of cutting at this moment.”

One player that has really helped the Pack on both ends of the floor during its two-game winning streak is Seabron.

The 6-7 guard just came off of a career performance in the win over Wake Forest Saturday, finishing with 14 points, nine rebounds, four steals and three assists in 34 minutes, all for career-highs.

Prior to playing 30 minutes in the road win over Pittsburgh last Wednesday, Seabron had yet to play more than 20 minutes in any single contest in a Wolfpack uniform.

“In the past, we've always had bigger wings,” Keats said. “When I say bigger, I'm saying 6-4, 6-5, when we had C.J. Bryce, Devon Daniels and those guys. When Devon went down this year, we didn't have that guy. Even going back to Torin Dorn, who was kind of a three-four, those guys are the ones who really have always led us in rebounding. Those are the guys who have always been great in the transition, they would guard the best players on the floor.

“What we need from [Seabron] is to play not exactly like those guys, but we do need him to play with some toughness, athletic ability and his size. It has helped us because we've been able to put a bigger guard on the floor than we would normally have without Devon Daniels, so it's made a difference a little bit more on the defensive end.”

NC State will have its hands full on Wednesday with Virginia, who was in first place of the ACC standings for most of the season before losing its past two games on the road to Florida State and Duke.

The Wolfpack played tough in the first meeting in Raleigh and led the Cavaliers with 6:22 remaining but ultimately fell short, losing 64-57.

Senior forward Sam Hauser led Virginia in scoring with 18 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 2-of-6 mark from three, against the Pack in the first meeting in early February. He also added five rebounds and one assist.

“He's a tough matchup,” Keatts said. “Anytime you got a guy who shoots the ball as effectively as he does and with his ability to score around the basket, he moves well without the basketball. If a smaller guy is on him, he has the ability to shoot over him. If it's a taller guy, he has the ability to put the ball on the floor.

"When you look at them, their guards are very capable of making shots, but the strength of the outside shooting is coming this year from their three, four and five.

“Hauser's a big part of it, he makes tough shots. Some people would say they're bad shots, but they're not bad shots for him. They're good shots, and he makes them. That's the biggest problem. Who do you put on him? With us, we switch a lot of screens, so we give him a lot of different looks, but he's able to expose a lot of different people.”

Senior center Jay Huff also made his presence felt in the first meeting.

The 7-1, 240-pound Durham native finished with 12 points, six rebounds, three assists, two steals and one block. His presence around the rim on defense also played a big role in holding NC State to shoot just 48.7 percent on two-point attempts in the low-scoring affair.

“Very seldom do you play against pick-and-pop fives,” Keatts said. “When they get you on a naked pick-and-roll and cut guys through, he's able to step out and make threes. You're almost at his mercy hoping that he's not having a great night shooting the basketball. He's so much more than just a three-point shooter, but that's a weapon of his game.

"He's long, he's athletic, he's great around the rim, good touch, and he gives you some problems with your post guys because you got to be able to shoot over the top of him, and he's got great size.

“Those guys are tough matchups. There are a few guys in our league, when you talk about Huff and Matthew Hurt, those guys can pick-and-pop, and they can score inside and out. That's always a tough matchup for anybody.”

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