There is a lot of basketball coming up in the coming days, and everyone is going to have their own take. We’ve got a big, juicy, easy to read bracket right here for you, but if you want pure game previews for each game, then we suggest heading over to ESPN. However, if you are looking at this tournament with your NC State goggles on, then we’ve got you covered.
Here is our preview of rounds 1 and 2 from from NC State’s side of the bracket. We’ve got game time, how to watch, and what each one means for the Wolfpack. Enjoy.
Games Today (3/6)
#12 Boston College vs. #13 Georgia Tech
Time: 12 Noon
How to watch: ESPN2
The NC State Spin: NC State plays the winner of this game tomorrow at 2pm. So who do they want to face?
The case for facing Boston College is that NC State beat them pretty good earlier this season. However, the Eagles were ice cold and the ACC’s leading scorer Jerome Robinson got hurt early. Robinson and Bowman are dangerous and capable of winning a game on their own if they get hot, but they have to exert a lot of energy to shoulder the load and get a win. With less than a 24-hour turnaround, these guys may be gassed for game 2 and if BC has to rely on their bigs, NC State would have a massive advantage.
The case for facing GT would be that, honestly, NC State matches up really well against the Jackets. The loss last week was strange. The flow and feel of that game were just bad (and I’m not going to mince words here, referee Ted Valentine 100% ruined that basketball game). NC State came out gangbusters and was set to pile it on GT, but then the whistles started and completely changed everything. It would be really tough for GT to pull of that kind of performance against NC State twice in two weeks, especially since NC State would be coming in fresh and GT would have less than a 24-hour turnaround.
Games Tomorrow (3/7)
#8 FSU vs. #9 Louisville
Time: 12 Noon
How to watch: ESPN
The NC State Spin: The question here is which of these teams can beat #1 Virginia. That’s the one you’ll want to root for. The winner of this game will go on to face the Cavs, and obviously, the Cavs are the toughest out on NC State’s side of the bracket. But what if FSU or Louisville could upset them and make things a heck of a lot easier on this side of the bracket.
Well, with that thinking I believe you’d probably want to root for Louisville. Sure, they just suffered one of the most debilitating losses ever seen against UVA less than a week ago, but the game proved to the Cardinals that they can compete against the pack-line defense and if it weren’t for a bank 3 at the buzzer, they would have beaten them. Whatever blueprint they followed in that game, let’s hope they still have it.
#5 NC State vs. #12 BC /#13 GT
Time: 2pm
How to watch: ESPN
The NC State Spin: We kind of already broke this down in the BC vs GT spin section, but we’ll reiterate. BC has the type of scorers that seem to thrive in the ‘nothing to lose’ situations. Robinson and Bowman are two guys that we’d rather not see if they start to get hot.
Meanwhile, the Pack just lost to GT less than a week ago and this team hasn’t lost to any team twice this season. I think the Georgia Tech less was more a matter of circumstances than GT it being any type of matchup problem. In fact, I think NC State matches up better against Georgia Tech…there I said it.
Check back in Thursday morning for our Rounds 3 and 4 preview…
