Observations

N.C. State point guard Lorenzo Brown snapped out of his five-game mini-slump with 15 points and eight assists in a season-high 38 minutes.

It was the first time he scored in double digits since a 20-point performance Jan. 14 at Wake Forest. Brown hit six of 11 shots and only had two turnovers - his fewest in seven games.

"I'm proud of him," N.C. State guard C.J. Williams said. "He been down on himself but he picked himself up this game."

Just based on the parts in the lineup, Wake Forest is not in as bad of a position as coach Jeff Bzdelik's ACC record (3-22) would indicate, especially compared to the other teams at the bottom of the standings. Wings C.J. Harris and Travis McKie are legitimate ACC players and point guard Tony Chennault and big man Ty Walker are functional ACC players.

Still, there's something missing (depth? motivation? a pecking order?). McKie, who's sixth in the ACC in scoring (at 15.9 points per game), either needs to demand the ball more or have more plays run for him.

McKie (13 points) finished with nine shots Saturday, only one more than forward Nikita Mescheriakov and one less than shot-blocker Walker.

N.C. State forward C.J. Leslie decided to bypass the interior shooting woes he had against Boston College and North Carolina by just dunking the ball. Leslie had three dunks, including a spectacular alley-oop from Brown, in the first half Saturday.

Leslie finished with 18 points, five boards and three blocks in 31 minutes. He was six of 13 from the floor and 5 for 7 from the line. He also hit his third 3-pointer of the season.