NC State
The Wolfpack surprised a lot of people with their performance last season, returning to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in half a decade. This year has been a little different in Raleigh, as NC State hasn’t exactly done what they’ve needed to build a Tournament resume, but is it too late?
NC State’s NET is just 80 and they’ve yet to win a Quad 1 game, but we’re not throwing in the towel on the Wolfpack just yet. They haven’t really had a bad loss, though recent defeats at the hands of Syracuse and Pittsburgh were both Quad 2 defeats. NC State beat Miami and Georgia Tech before that loss to Pittsburgh earlier this week but have the schedule to get back on the bubble in these coming weeks.
Any chance of that kind of movement begins on Saturday. The Wolfpack have to go to Wake Forest and defeat a Demon Deacons team that has also been inconsistent in important games this season. While NC State’s chances don’t look ideal, this is a must-win game to salvage a chance at a return trip to the Big Dance, and frankly this isn’t the only upset they’ve have to score in the coming weeks.