As the calendar turns to 2023, NC State Basketball is sitting firmly on the bubble of the NCAA Tournament with work to do if it has aspirations to be a part of the madness come March. The Wolfpack currently holds a record of 11-4 overall, but they find themselves 1-3 in ACC play.
Looking ahead to the upcoming schedule, the month of January likely will decide the tournament fate for the Wolfpack. They have home games against Duke and Miami that would boost their resume greatly, as well as road games against Virginia Tech, North Carolina, and Wake Forest, 3 teams that are also looking for quality wins to put them in a good spot come March. The Wolfpack will need to take advantage of these opportunities to build quality wins that the committee will have to acknowledge when putting the tournament field together.
NC State was able to put together good results in the non-conference but has struggled thus far in ACC play. With the ACC being down this year in terms of elite teams the Wolfpack will have to stack wins against opponents they should handle, and get quality wins against fellow bubble teams.
Let’s take a look at a couple of specific areas that the NC State Wolfpack needs to focus on as January starts in order for them to get off the bubble, a place they have lived so far during the Kevin Keatts era.