NC State Has Been to the 25th Most Sweet 16’s

After defeating Oakland 79-73 in Overtime on Saturday night, NC State has now advanced to their 12th Sweet 16, which is tied for the 25th most in the history of College Basketball.

The Wolfpack’s first Sweet 16, in the format we are accustomed to, was in 1983, when there were 52 schools in the NCAA Tournament.

Prior to that, the Wolfpack finished as one of the Final 16 teams in the NCAA Tournament in 1954, 1965, 1970 and 1974. In those years, not only was their less teams (between 23-25), but there were also consolation games. The NCAA Tournament didn’t expand to 64 teams until 1985.

As a result, it’s hard to provide NC State’s record in the Sweet 16 prior to the 1983 Championship run.

Here’s a look at how NC State has done in the Sweet 16 since 1983:

1983 –  #2 seed NC State 64 #3 seed Ohio St. 51 (NC State would win the next three to win the NCAA Championship.)
1985 – #3 seed NC State 61 #7 Alabama 55 (The Wolfpack would go on to lose to #1 seed St. John’s 60-69 in the Elite 8.)
1986 – #6 seed NC State 70 #7 seed Iowa St. 66 (NC State would go on to lose to #1 seed Kansas 67-75 in the Elite 8.)
1989 – #5 seed NC State 61 #1 seed Georgetown 69
2005 – #10 seed NC State 56 #6 seed Wisconsin 65
2012 – #11 seed NC State 57 #2 seed Kansas 60
2015 – #8 seed NC State 65 #4 seed Louisville 75