NC State Basketball wiggling their way into the NCAA Tournament and avoiding the First Four was definitely one of the biggest shockers on Selection Sunday. The Wolfpack are slated to face off against Creighton in the first round as an 11-seed.
They come into this tournament like a car going in reverse. They’ve lost three of their last four, including a 26-point loss to Clemson in the ACC Tournament. But that’s not the only reason college basketball fans are puzzled by the acceptance of their resume. They lack the quad one wins that teams like Vanderbilt and Oklahoma State had and their three double-digit losses to Clemson (a team in the first four out) can be enough for the reasonable mind to place them over NC State if it came down between those teams for a spot in the Big Dance.
NC State was 1-6 in Quad 1 games, one of the worst of all the teams in the tournament, and their admission has flustered some on Twitter.
So, I guess the Quad-1s didn’t mean nearly as much at the bottom of the at-larges. Utah State and NC State are the proof.
— Erik Haslam (@haslametrics) March 12, 2023
In the Nashville market, many feel Vanderbilt was snubbed. One Vanderbilt fan made a bet that the Commodores’ resume stood up with all of the bubble teams, including NC State. The Tennessean’s Aria Gerson made the comparison of all the bubble teams and their Q1 and Q2 records.
Among the first four teams...
— Aria Gerson (@aria_gerson) March 12, 2023
Mississippi State: 4-8 Q1, 4-3 Q2, 8-11 combined
Arizona State: 5-6 Q1, 4-5 Q2, 9-11 combined
Pitt: 4-4 Q1, 3-5 Q2, 7-9 combined
NC State: 1-6 Q1, 7-4 Q2, 8-10 combined
Vanderbilt: 5-11 Q1, 5-0 Q2, 10-11 combined https://t.co/ynA7TvRvcG
In terms of fan reaction, the most fired-up fan reaction came from the Clemson fanbase. Fans of the Tigers were not pleased with the Wolfpack getting in over Clemson due to the Tigers’ three double-digit wins against them.
If only there were some way to determine if Clemson was better than NC State and Penn State
— Shakin the Southland (@STSouthland) March 12, 2023
NC State’s selection even stumped the Schwab!
I see bracketology projecting NC State in and Clemson out. Tigers have bad losses like Louisville. BC, Loyola-Chicago and SC. NC State has one quad one win and lost to Clemson three times—by 26, 25 and 14. Why doesn’t this matter?
— Howie Schwab (@howieschwab) March 12, 2023
It’s not all pessimism, however, as Fox’s John Fanta chooses to focus on the fun guard match-up between NC State and Creighton.
Creighton is the 6 seed in the South Region. The Bluejays will meet 11th seeded NC State in Denver on Friday. Tremendous backcourt matchup.
— John Fanta (@John_Fanta) March 12, 2023
NC State has a chance to prove the doubters wrong and the committee right on Friday at 4:00 PM Eastern at Ball Arena in Denver against Creighton.