Seldom used in the early going of his first NC State basketball campaign while dealing with an elbow injury after arriving out of Laval College in Quebec, Ismael Diouf has gained favor off the bench of late.

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As the NC State Wolfpack (9-14, 2-10 ACC) has seen its losing streak extend to eight, the 6-foot-9, 215-pound junior big man has totaled 47 minutes between the past two outings. Those efforts include nine points and five rebounds in Saturday night’s 74-73 road defeat at the hands of Stanford.

Through 13 appearances as a Wolfpack player, the 22-year-old Diouf is averaging 2.8 points and 1.6 rebounds in 9.8 minutes per game.

He’s shooting 50.0 percent from the field, 16.7 percent from downtown (1-for-6), and 57.1 percent at the foul line (4-for-7).

Looking for an upset spark at home, Ismael Diouf and the eighth NC State Wolfpack collection under Kevin Keatts’ command are getting ready to welcome the Louisville Cardinals (18-6, 11-2 ACC) to the Lenovo Center at 7 p.m. ET Wednesday (ESPN2).

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