RALEIGH, N.C. -- Plenty of hype accompanied the arrival of point guard Dennis Smith Jr. at North Carolina State.

He showed why in his first Atlantic Coast Conference home game.

The freshman posted a triple-double as N.C. State trounced No. 21 Virginia Tech 104-78 on Wednesday night at PNC Arena.

"I don't think I need to hype him," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. "I just think it's natural."

Smith recorded 27 points, 11 rebounds and 11 assists for the first triple-double in team history in ACC play.

"Hey, I'm blessed," Smith said. "I'm so excited and so anxious to be (in these games)."

Smith churned out such a performance that the Hokies received an up-close view of his talents.

"He's worthy of the hype," Virginia Tech coach Buzz Williams said.

Terry Henderson's 22 points and Abdul-Malik Abu's 20 points and 11 rebounds also lifted the Wolfpack (12-3, 1-1 ACC). Abu was 9 of 9 from the field.

Maverick Rowan, who scored nine points in a 2 1/2-minute stretch in the first half, finished with 13 points off the bench for N.C. State, which shot 64.1 percent.

It was N.C. State's largest margin of victory against a ranked team in 26 seasons.

"We know that we can play like that," Henderson said. "I love our team. I love our depth."

Just four days after a breakthrough victory against preseason No. 1 Duke, Virginia Tech (12-2, 1-1) didn't build on that momentum in a frustration-filled performance.

Ahmed Hill scored 17 points and Zach LeDay had 16 for the Hokies. Chris Clarke added 15 and Justin Robinson 13.

The Hokies were denied a ninth consecutive victory, so their eight-game streak ended as the longest since 1981-82.

"The execution was near to zero," Williams said. "I just thought the mentality relative to the execution was bad from the start."

N.C. State had 97 or more points three times in the latter half of December, then finally reached 100 points for the first time in a dozen years in this game.

Meanwhile, it had been nearly 12 years since Virginia Tech surrendered 100 points in regulation.

"I trended toward being too individualistic at both ends of the floor," Williams said.

Adding to the woes, guard Seth Allen was sent to the locker room to be checked for a concussion late in the game.

"That didn't have anything to do with the outcome," Williams said.

N.C. State led 55-30 at halftime, shooting 69.7 percent.

Part of the success for the Wolfpack came because the team was credited with 32 first-half points in the paint.

Virginia Tech scored the first 10 points of the second half, with N.C. State stuck with seven consecutive empty possessions after the break. It barely mattered because the Wolfpack responded by pushing the ball inside for more baskets.

N.C. State had 10 dunks by shortly after the midway mark of the second half.

Henderson scored 11 points in the early burst as N.C. State claimed a 24-11 lead. He had 17 points by halftime.

The Hokies tried various lineup combinations early in the game, but all of those tended to result in significant defensive shortcomings.

NOTES: Virginia Tech is ranked for the first time since November 2010 after Saturday's victory over Duke. ... Virginia Tech F Khadim Sy, a freshman who had started every game this season, was out after suffering an ankle injury during a workout earlier in the day. ... Virginia Tech is 2-6 against N.C. State at PNC Arena. ... It was the first ACC home game for four of N.C. State's starters. ... Virginia Tech fell to 59-30 as a ranked team. ... N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried has 10 victories against Top 25 teams. ... In N.C. State's previous home game, against Rider, freshman G Dennis Smith Jr. set an arena record with 16 assists. ... Virginia Tech plays at No. 12 Florida State on Saturday. N.C. State is back in action Saturday night at rival North Carolina.