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I know, it’s not a big time media source but the SB Nation Tarheel Blog has come out with their own Power Ranking for the ACC (Full Article) and it’s always interesting to see how other teams view yours coming into the season.

They have Duke at #1 and Carolina at #2 with NC State coming in 6th, which is actually better than what a few of the other media outlets have thought.

Here is what they had written up about the Pack:

6) NC State- The Wolfpack are one of the most talented teams in the ACC, if not the country. Dennis Smith Jr. is on the short list of potential number 1 picks in the NBA draft, and Turkish Center Omer Yurtseven is a supremely talented big man who scored 91 points in a Turkish league game this past season. Mark Gottfried also brings back Malik Abu and BeeJay Anya to solidify their post presence. We would have the Wolfpack higher, but Mark Gottfried seems to always find a way to get his talent to underperform.

Now, wait a second. Gottfried took over a Wolfpack team that hadn’t sniffed the tournament since 2005. He took over a group that finished 15-16 the year prior. He then proceeded to take that team to the Sweet 16. In fact, in his first four season which most coaches would be writing off as ‘building’ years, Gottfried took NC State to the tournament 4 years in a row, two of which ended up being Sweet 16 runs, something NC State has only done once since 1988.

The point of this article is not to pick on a single write-up by some SB Nation blog, but to start the conversation about this idea that is floating around that somehow Gottfried’s teams underachieve. What is expected of Gottfried and the Wolfpack? If the media fails to really even notice them in rankings year after year, and then when they don’t make the elite eight or win a national championship, somehow Gott has underachieived? Sure the the one team he had with Leslie and Brown as juniors had high expectations that weren’t met, but aside from that his teams have always overachieved over the course of a full season.

At the very least, this is another article to hang in the locker room and remind them that there are still a lot of non-believers out there left to convert.

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NC State Basketball

An NC State Win Over Marquette in the Sweet 16 Would Be…

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Awesome. Obviously.

#11 seed NC State will play #2 seed Marquette tomorrow night in the Sweet 16. What would a win mean for the Wolfpack? Many things, but here’s just a few:

It would give NC State 25 wins on the year (25-14), which would be the most wins since 1982-83, when the Wolfpack went 26-10, winning the National Championship.

It would mark the 12th time in school history that NC State has won 25+ games in a single season.

1982-83 – 26-10 

1973-74 – 30-1 

1972-73 – 27-0 

1954-55 – 28-4 

1953-54 – 26-7

1952-53 – 26-6 

1950-51 – 30-7 

1949-50 – 27-6 

1948-49 – 25-8 

1947-48 – 29-3

1946-47- 26-5

It would be the 7th time NC State has advanced to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.

1950

1951

1974

1983

1985

1986

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NC State Basketball

NC State has Won 5 ACC Championships this Year

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NC State has won 5 ACC Championships this year, which is the most of any athletic program in the conference this year.

The Wolfpack has won ACC Titles in Women’s Cross Country, Men’s Swimming & Diving, Wrestling, Men’s Basketball and Gymnastics.

The last time NC State won 5 ACC Championships in one year was 1979-80.

As far as I can tell, here’s a look at the Wolfpack Conference Titles from 1979-80:

Football
Women’s Basketball
Women’s Cross Country
Men’s Swimming & Diving
Men’s Tennis

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NC State Basketball

NC State is 1 of 4 Schools to Have Both Men & Women’s Basketball Teams in Sweet 16

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NC State is 1 of 4 schools to have their Men and Women’s Basketball teams BOTH advance to the Sweet 16, along with Duke, Gonzaga and UCONN.

NC State and Duke are the only two schools in the country to send both Basketball teams to the Sweet 16, and also send the Football team to a bowl game.

This marks only the third time in school history that BOTH teams made the Sweet 16.

Years NC State’s Men & Women’s Teams Made the Sweet 16

1985
1989
2024

Despite the fact that the Men’s team has made the Elite 8 six times (1950, 1951, 1974, 1983, 1985, 1986), and the Women have made it 2 times (1998 & 2022), in the three occasions they both went to the Sweet 16 in the same year, neither team advanced to the Elite 8.

In 2024, Why Not Us?

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NC State Basketball

#3 seed NC State Holds on Against #6 Seed Tennessee, Defeating the Vols 79-72 to Advance to the Sweet 16

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#3 seed NC State held on last night, defeating #6 seed Tennessee 79-72 in Reynolds Coliseum to advance to the Sweet 16 for the 5th time in the last 6 tournaments.

The Wolfpack led by only 1 after the 1st Quarter, but they looked like they had things under control at halftime, leading by 18 points.

At one point, NC State led by as much as 20 points in the 3rd Quarter, but the Lady Volunteers weren’t about to give up.

With 4:19 left in the 4th, Tennessee cut the lead to 2 points, but NC State might have bent, but they wouldn’t break.

Junior Guard Aziaha James led the way with 22 points and 7 assists, which were both team highs. She scored 7 points in the final 3.5 minutes, helping to squash tue Last Vols’ comeback attempt.

Junior Guard Saniya Rivers had 20 points (6-14 FG) and 6 boards.

Freshman Zoe Brooks was clutch off the bench, chipping in 16 points and 6 boards.

This marks the 16th time the NC State Women’s Basketball team has advanced to the Sweet 16.

The Wolfpack will play #2 seed Stanford on Friday night at 7:30pm on ESPN in Portland.

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