RPI of NC State’s 16-17 Basketball Schedule

The Wolfpack are coming off of a 16-17 season, which is the worst win total in head coach Mark Gottfried’s tenure at NC State. It was actually the worst win total at NC State since Sidney Lowe’s last year in 2010-11, when the Wolfpack won 15. The Wolfpack’s 13th finish in Conference play was the worst in school history. I fully understand that there haven’t always been 15 teams in the ACC, and it might not have been the worst, but after staring at the Media Guide for 15 minutes trying to figure it out…I quit. Let’s face it, last year wasn’t a booming success.

NC State released their 2016-17 Men’s Basketball schedule last week, and below I have broken down each of the Wolfpack’s opponents by their finish in the RPI at the end of last season. NC State finished last season ranked 119th in the RPI, but the expectations are much higher for the upcoming season. With Terry Henderson coming back from an injury, Torin Dorn now eligible after sitting out a year after transferring from UNC Charlotte, and the recruiting class of Dennis Smith Jr., Omer Yurtseven, Darius Hicks, and Ted Kapita, expectations of what this squad can do are high.

2016-17 Opponents with last years RPI Ranking
Georgia Southern – 244
Saint Francis – 263
Montana – 147
Creighton 94/Washington St. 217
Loyola-Chicago 237/Saint Joseph’s 21/Oral Roberts 155/Ole Miss 98
Illinois – 151
Boston University – 185
Tennessee St. – 160
Appalachian St. – 262
Fairfield – 150
Mcneese St. – 341
Rider – 246
Miami (FL) – 7 (2X)
Virginia Tech – 80
UNC – 5 (2X)
Boston College – 248
Georgia Tech – 51 (2X)
Pittsburgh – 54
Wake Forest – 154 (2X)
Duke – 15
Louisville – 16
Syracuse – 40
Florida St. – 75
Notre Dame – 24
Virginia – 3
Clemson – 127