GREENSBORO, N.C. – Coming off its second Sweet 16 run under Mark Gottfried, the NC State men’s basketball team will tackle a challenging 2015-16 slate that includes local rivals Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill as well as Louisville to highlight an 18-game ACC schedule.
The Wolfpack will play permanent home-and-home partners UNC-CH and Wake Forest twice in addition to this season’s partners Duke and Florida State.
“Like everybody in our league, we have a difficult conference schedule,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “We play Duke and North Carolina twice, Florida State has five starters back. And Wake Forest is a good rivalry game for us.
“When you look past that, we go to Virginia, Syracuse, Pitt and Notre Dame. Now our schedule becomes one of the most difficult schedule of the 15 teams in the league.”
After opening ACC play Saturday, Jan. 2 at Virginia Tech, NC State welcomes Louisville to PNC Arena Thursday, Jan. 7. Duke comes to PNC Arena Saturday, Jan. 23 in a game that will be carried on CBS. Other home games in January include Florida State, Georgia Tech and Miami.
The Pack opens the month of February at Florida State before a tilt at Cameron Indoor Stadium Saturday, Feb. 6. UNC-Chapel Hill visits NC State Wednesday, Feb. 24. Other February home contests are against Wake Forest and Clemson. Additionally, NC State will make its first ESPN Big Monday appearance when it plays at Virginia Monday, Feb. 15. State closes the month in the Carrier Dome at Syracuse, the site of last year’s Sweet 16 appearance.
A home game vs. Boston College and a CBS appearance at Notre Dame wrap up the regular season in early March. The 2016 ACC Tournament will be at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The Wolfpack has won at least one conference tourney game in each of Gottfried’s four seasons.
“At the end of the day, our goal is to be in the NCAA Tournament and have a high seed so we can have an opportunity to advance. If that means we have to play more games against the top teams, I’m all for it,” Gottfried said. “Sometimes your record isn’t as glamorous, but our goal is to be the best team we can be and have a chance to play for a national championship.”
In all, NC State will play 18 home games, a regular season tournament in Brooklyn and 16 contests against 12 teams that played in the 2015 college basketball postseason. For a breakdown of the non-ACC portion of the schedule, CLICK HERE.
Additional tip-off times and television information will be announced when final. For the complete composite ACC schedule, CLICK HERE.
NC State Basketball
NC State Makes Top-4 for Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe, Decision Coming Tuesday
This past week, NC State hosted Georgia Center Transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) for an Official Visit. According to Jeff Borzello, Anselem-Ibe is down to NC State, Georgia Tech, Louisville and Wisconsin, and he will be announcing his decision on Tuesday.
Georgia transfer Frank Anselem-Ibe is down to Georgia Tech, Louisville, NC State and Wisconsin, sources told ESPN. He’ll announce his decision on Tuesday. Began his career at Syracuse.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) May 10, 2024
Anselem-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.
Back in 2020, Anselem-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.
Anselem-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.
NC State has one scholarship available.
Former NC State Forward Ernest Ross has committed to UTSA for his final year of eligibility.
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Ross played in 14 games this year, averaging 3.4 minutes per contest. After playing in 34 games last season, averaging 11.4 minutes per contest, Ross saw his participation dip to a career low this season, but that didn’t for a second break his infectious personality. On the sideline, you could count on Ross every single game to be the heart and soul of the Wolfpack on the bench. To watch a player who played as little as he did, care as much as he did, makes me super proud that this young man represented NC State so well.
Ross was a consensus 4-star player in the 2021 recruiting class, with 247Sports ranking him as the #60 overall player nationally. ESPN ranked him as the #5 overall player in the state of Florida.
Georgia Transfer Center Frank Anselem-Ibe (6’10″/215) was in for a visit to NC State yesterday, according to a source.
Anselm-Ibe was at Georgia the past two seasons, and was at Syracuse the two before that.
Back in 2020, Anselm-Ibe was a 4-Star prospect out of Prolific Prep in Georgia. 247Sports ranked him as the #18 player in the state of Georgia.
Anselm-Ibe hit the Portal on April 30th.
ECU Power Forward Transfer Ezra Ausar took an Official Visit to NC State a little over a week ago, and while things were looking good at first, at this point, it seems like things have reached a point of radio silence. From what I’m hearing, NC State would definitely take Ausar, but they aren’t going to wait for him either.
NC State Basketball
NC State Women’s Basketball Ranks 8th in ESPN’s Way-Too-Early 2024-25 Preseason Top-25
