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GAME NOTES: The Virginia Tech Hokies will try to keep pace in the ACC standings when they visit the RBC Center in Raleigh for tonight's bout with the NC State Wolfpack.

Virginia Tech is 18-4 on the season, but the Hokies hover at 5-3 in ACC play. Still, they've won two straight and five of their last six overall, including Saturday's 70-59 triumph over Clemson. Following tonight's action, they'll return home to face Virginia and Wake Forest in the coming week.

Meanwhile, the Wolfpack's season continues to spiral downward, as they've lost two straight and four of their last five overall. On Saturday, they fell on the road to 20th-ranked Georgia Tech in a 73-71 final. NC State plays at bitter rival North Carolina this Saturday.

NC State holds a 34-11 series edge over Virginia Tech, which includes a 23-6 mark at home.

Virginia Tech fell behind by nine points midway through the first half against Clemson last weekend, and the Hokies would finish the first half shooting an unsightly 4-of-26 (.154) from the floor. However, they eventually turned things around and held Clemson to 27.8 percent shooting in the second stanza. The biggest key was free throw shooting, as VaTech was able to overcome its struggles and swing the tide by knocking down 38-of-46 at the charity stripe. Malcolm Delaney shot a remarkable 20-of-23 from the foul line, finishing with a game-high 30 points. Jeff Allen added 13 in the win and Terrell Bell finished with 10. On the season, Delaney is putting up 20.3 ppg, while Dorenzo Hudson is scoring 13.3 ppg and Allen averages 11.4 ppg. In addition to holding foes to 39.8 percent shooting from the floor this year, the Hokies are +3.5 in rebounding margin, and +4.2 in turnover margin.

Despite shooting a rather poor 35.3 percent from the floor on Saturday, NC State hung with nationally-ranked Georgia Tech for virtually the entire game. But in the end, the Wolfpack simply didn't have the firepower to get over the edge. Tracy Smith scored a team-high 22 points to go along with nine rebounds and six steals in the loss. In fact, the Wolfpack had a whopping 17 steals in the game, but they shot themselves in the foot by committing 22 turnovers. Dennis Horner added 14 points off the bench, Javier Gonzalez scored 13, and Scott Wood finished with 12 points. Smith has been the main man for NC State all season long, as he shoots 55.8 percent from the floor and is averaging 17.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per contest. Horner (12.0) and Gonzalez (10.2) have also made steady contributions at the offensive end. However, losing close games has become somewhat of a habit this season for the Wolfpack, who have seen four of their last eight losses come by three points or less.

This won't be a cakewalk for Virginia Tech playing in Raleigh. Still, with Delaney, Hudson and company, NC State likely will struggle to keep pace on the scoreboard.