We’re back from our PI summer sabatical and wow did we miss a lot. Football is right around the corner, guys are winning gold medals and basketball is starting to ramp up. One thing we were excited to hear was Mark Gottfried give this summer update on the team.
Gott talks about how they’ve worked on individual improvement, team improvement, and also team culture. Culture is not something you hear a ton about from coaches, but its something they try very hard to establish in the offseason. The culture created can dictate the way a team practices, the way a team gels, and the way a team plays when they get on the floor in November.
The segment also sheds a little light on the roster and says Dennis Smith Jr is almost ready to go, Terry Henderson is ready to go and Lenard Freeman has not worked out with the team because of his knee surgery. Gottfried mentions that the 3 freshmen are not enrolled yet so they too have not participated.
#11 seed NC State will play #6 seed Texas Tech on Thursday night in the 1st Round of the 2024 NCAA Tournament, and the game will be held in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
I’m a fan of the Wolfpack playing in Pittsburgh for a couple of reasons.
For starters, after playing 5 games in 5 days to win the ACC Tournament, it is beneficial for these players to get as much rest as possible before tipoff. Being able to play this game somewhere where the clocks are set to Eastern Standard Time is a plus.
Secondly, NC State is familiar with playing in Pittsburgh. Under Kevin Keatts, the Wolfpack has played at Pitt 5 times, going 3-2 in Pittsburgh. The game on Thursday will be played in PPG Arena, where the Pittsburgh Penguins play hockey, and not the Petersen Events Center, where the Panthers play basketball, but nonetheless Keatts and crew are used to winning in this city.
Finally, the only other time that NC State played NCAA Tournament games in Pittsburgh was in 2015, when the Wolfpack went 2-0 (also in PPG Arena). As the #8 seed, the Wolfpack defeated #9 seed LSU 66-65 in the 1st round, which was followed up by a major win over #1 seed Villanova 71-68 in the 2nd round, advancing to the Sweet 16.
The Bracket for the 2024 NCAA Tournament is out, and NC State is 1 of 8 ACC schools to make the Big Dance.
Check out when the Wolfpack and the rest of the ACC will be playing in the 1st Round of the NCAA Tournament, and plan your schedules accordingly.
#3 seed NC State and #14 Chattanooga will tipoff on Saturday at 2:30pm on ESPNU.
#8 seed UNC and #9 Michigan St. will tipoff on Friday at 11:30am on ESPN2.
#6 seed Louisville and #11 Middle Tennessee will tipoff on Friday at 1:30pm on ESPN2.
#7 seed Duke and #10 Richmond will tipoff on Friday at 2:30pm on ESPNN.
#4 seed Virginia Tech and #13 Marshall will tipoff on Friday at 3:30pm on ESPN2.
#9 seed FSU and #8 Alabama will tipoff on Friday at 5:30pm on ESPN2.
#2 seed Notre Dame and #15 Kent State will tipoff on Saturday at 2:15 on ESPN.
#6 seed Syracuse and #11 Auburn/#11 Arizona will tipoff on Saturday at 3:30pm on ESPN2.
NC State is 1 of 11 schools to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams earn spots in the NCAA Tournament, while also having a Division-I Football team that played a game in the postseason.
The Wolfpack Women’s Basketball team is a #3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, and the Men are an #11 seed. The Football team lost to Kansas St. 19-28 in the Pop-Tarts Bowl.
Here’s a look at the other the 11 schools who have pulled off the trifecta.
NC State
Tennessee
Texas
Texas A&M
Kansas
Alabama
Arizona
Auburn
Duke
Iowa St.
UNC
NC State is the only school in the nation, to have both their Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams play in their Conference’s Championship game.