NC State is hoping for a little deja vu Wednesday in the Battle 4 Atlantis against No. 3-ranked Kansas.

NC State stunned then No. 2-ranked Arizona 90-84 in the Battle 4 Atlantis on Nov. 22, 2017, during Kevin Keatts’ first year.

NC State rode the hot shooting of newcomers Allerik Freeman and Braxton Beverly in the backcourt, with the duo combining for 44 points in the win. Arizona had future No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Deandre Ayton, plus future pro Allonzo Trier, and both had 27 points apiece.

The Wolfpack will play Kansas at 12 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN in the same event in the Bahamas. NC State will play either Dayton or Wisconsin on Thursday.

Kansas might not have a future No. 1 NBA Draft pick, but the Jayhawks are 4-0 and are reigning NCAA national champions.

Kansas went 34-6 last year and topped North Carolina 72-69 in the title game. The Jayhawks return two starters from the game — junior forward Jalen Wilson and junior point guard Dajuan Harris — plus sophomore reserve forward K.J. Adams.

Texas Tech transfer Kevin McCullar, a senior wing, and Rivals.com five-star freshman small forward Gradey Dick, round out the lineup. Dick was ranked No. 28 overall in the class of 2023.

Rankings

Kansas was No. 2 in the NET rankings last season, and NC State was No. 139.

ESPN’s College Basketball Power Index (BPI) has the Jayhawks ranked No. 17 overall, and the Wolfpack are No. 56.

KenPom.com has Kansas at No. 10, and NCSU checks in at No. 68.

RealtimeRPI.com has NC State ranked No. 58 in the country, and Kansas is 5.

Shooting

Kansas is averaging 80.5 points per game and are shooting 49.5 percent from the field, 32.9 percent on three-pointers but just 56.3 percent at he free-throw line.

Dick is an impressive shooter and is 10 of 20 on three-pointers, and Wilson has made 8 of 24. The Jayhawks were just 3 of 19 from three-point land against Duke in the 69-64 win Nov. 15.

Rebounding

The Jayhawks are averaging an impressive 41.3 rebounds per contest, with Wilson leading the way at 9.3 a game. McCullar is second at 6.0 rebounds and Adams has chipped in 4.8 boards.

Opposing teams are averaging 37.8 rebounds per contest and have grabbed 50 offensive rebounds in four contests.

Defense

Kansas is allowing 65.8 points per game, with opposing teams shooting 37.1 percent from the field and 25.5 percent on three-pointers. Duke made just 3 of 21 on three-pointers.

McCullar leads the way with 2.0 steals per game, and five players are averaging at least 1.3 blocks a contest. KU has 30 steal and 30 blocks this season.

Depth

Former Creedmoor (N.C.) South Granville star Bobby Pettiford, a sophomore point guard, and freshmen post players Zuby Ejiofor and Ernest Udeh Jr., and junior shooting guard Joseph Yesufu have been in the rotation this season.

Pettiford is averaging 4.3 points and 3.0 assists in 17.5 minutes per game. He played traveling team ball with NC State’s Terquavion Smith and Breon Pass. Udeh is chipping in 3.3 points, 3.0 rebounds and an impressive 1.5 blocks in 11.0 minutes a contest. Rivals.com

Freshman wing MJ Rice, who played his first two years at Durham (N.C.) Academy, didn’t play against Duke, but played in the last game against Southern Utah last Friday.

Rice was ranked No. 29 in the country by Rivals.com in the class of 2023, and Udeh was No. 33 and Ejiofor was No. 46.

Kansas junior combo forward Jalen Wilson is off to a dominating start.

The 6-foot-8, 225-pounder is averaging 24.5 points, 9.3 rebounds and 4.3 assists per game this season. The former Denton (Texas) Guyer standout had averaged 11.1 points and 7.4 rebounds a contest last year in helping the Jayhawks win the national title. Wilson had 15 points in the win over the UNC.

Wilson shredded Southern Utah for a season-high 33 points last Friday. He also led KU with 25 points, 11 rebounds and five assists in the 69-64 win over Duke on Nov. 15.

Rivals.com ranked Wilson the No. 47 overall player in the class of 2019. He originally picked Michigan, but after coach John Beilein left for the Cleveland Cavaliers, he opened up his recruitment. He picked Kansas over North Carolina on June 12.

Wilson only played two games his freshman year and redshirted, but he quickly made his mark in 2020-21. He averaged 11.8 points and 7.9 rebounds per game, and shot 33.3 percent on three-pointers.

Wilson couldn’t buy a three-pointer against Duke, going 0 of 7, but he’s 7 of 17 in his other three games this season.

NC State

PG — 1 Jarkel Joiner (6-1, 180, Sr., 17.0 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 5.0 apg, 1.5 spg)

SG — 0 Terquavion Smith (6-4, 165, Soph., 19.0 ppg, 2.5 rpg, 5.3 apg, 3.3 spg)

G — 14 Casey Morsell (6-3, 200, R-Jr., 14.8 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 1.0 apg, 1.8 spg)

PF — 5 Jack Clark (6-8, 200, R-Jr., 12.0 ppg, 6.3 rpg, 1.5 apg, 2.3 spg, 1.0 bpg)

C — 11 Dusan Mahorcic (6-10, 235, Sr., 9.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg, 0.3 apg, 1.0 bpg)

Kansas

PG — 3 Dajuan Harris Jr. (6-1, 175, Jr., 9.0 ppg, 3.5 rpg, 6.3 apg, 1.8 spg, 1.3 bpg)

SG — 4 Gradey Dick (6-8, 205, Fr., 16.8 ppg, 3.8 rpg, 1.8 apg, 1.3 spg)

SF — 15 Kevin McCullar (6-6, 210, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 6.0 rpg, 2.3 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.3 bpg)

F — 10 Jalen Wilson (6-8, 225, Jr., 24.5 ppg, 9.3 rpg, 4.3 apg)

PF — 24 K.J. Adams (6-7, 225, Soph., 6.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 2.5 apg, 1.5 bpg)

3: Players for Kansas, who have at least 45 career starts — Jalen Wilson (57), Kevin McCullar Jr. (53) and Dajuan Harris (45).

365 Weeks all-time ranked in the The Associated Press top five, with 160 of the weeks under coach Bill Self.

2,361 All-time victories for Kansas, which is No. 1 in college basketball history.

Kansas senior wing Kevin McCullar became a welcomed transfer to Kansas on May 19 last spring.

The 6-6, 210-pounder is doing a little of everything this season with 8.3 points, 6.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game, with 12 points and six rebounds against Duke.

McCullar was a Rivals.com four-star prospect in the class of 2019, but elected to graduate early and enroll at Texas Tech mid-semester during the 2018-19 season. He redshirted and watched the Red Raiders end up reaching the national title game, falling 85-77 in overtime to Virginia.

McCullar carved out a role off the bench in 2019-20, chipping in 6.0 points per game. He then averaged a little over 10 points a contest the next two years with the Red Raiders and went through a coaching transition after Chris Beard left for Texas.

Texas Tech fell 78-73 to Duke in the Sweet 16 last year, with McCullar scoring 17. He had a season-high 24 points and nine rebounds in a 88-62 win over Grambling State on Nov. 12, and he pumped in 21 points against Arkansas State on Dec. 14.

McCullar entered his name in the NBA Draft last spring, but kept the option of also entering the portal. Kansas came along and he made the move.

NC State redshirt junior wing Casey Morsell has been terrific the last two games with a combined 41 points and 9 of 13 on three-pointers. The 6-3, 200-pounder is averaging 14.8 points and 5.8 rebounds a contest and is shooting 52.4 percent from three-point land.

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