NC State Basketball
Lunardi has NC State down to a 10 seed. Is Wednesday night’s ACC Tourny game a must win?
NC State was an 8 seed, teetering on moving up to a 7th seed just a couple of weeks ago.
Now, after being blown out by Clemson and losing to Duke, the Pack finds themselves looking at a 10 seed according to Joe Lunardi. In fact, he has them as one of the final 8 teams in. 
What NC State has going for them is that they really don’t have any bad losses, and neither Notre Dame or VT is going to crush them in the NET, but this is NC State we’re talking about. There are no guarantees. That’s why they really need to win on Wednesday night to lock themselves in.
On the same token, they could make a run in the tournament and get back near that 8-seed territory . That’s where this Pack team currently is. Some days you wonder who could even beat them, and others where you aren’t sure how this team got to 22 wins.
NC State Basketball
Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State
ECU Transfer Power Forward Ezra Ausar (6’9″/240) was on an Official Visit to NC State yesterday, and according to analysts at ON3 and 247Sports, things are trending in the right direction for the Wolfpack.
Jamie Shaw of ON3 submitted a prediction for Ausar to eventually commit to NC State yesterday morning.
Cory Smith of 247Sports submitted a crystal ball projection for Ausar to run with the Wolfpack this morning.
Ausar just wrapped up his Sophomore season in Greenville, averaging 11.4 points and 4.7 rebounds, shooting 51.4% from the field. As a Freshman, he was named to the AAC All-Freshman Team, averaging 9.8 points and 5.3 rebounds.
Ausar is a consensus 4-Star prospect in the Transfer Portal, and ON3 ranks him as the #60 overall player in the Portal and the #10 Power Forward.
Originally from Atlanta, Ausar played his Senior Season of High School at Liberty Heights Athletic Institute in Charlotte, North Carolina. ON3 ranked Ausar as a 4-Star prospect coming out of high school, the #94 overall player nationally, and the #2 player in the state of North Carolina.
Ausar has visited Seton Hall, Georgia Tech, met over Zoom with Georgetown, and had an in-home visit with Utah. John Calipari and his staff at Arkansas have been in touch with Ausar, as well as Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Virginia Tech, Arizona State, West Virginia, Iowa State and St. John’s. (Link)
Ausar has 2 years of eligibility remaining, and NC State currently has 1 scholarship remaining.
NC State Basketball
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NC State Basketball
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Guard Mike O’Connell Announces He Will Play His Final Year of Eligibility at NC State
NC State Sits in the Top-20 in 247’s Post-Spring 2024 Preseason Poll
3-Star DT Drayden Pavey is Taking an Official Visit to NC State
ECU Transfer Forward Ezra Ausar to NC State is Trending Up
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We never do anything easy
The site I’m looking at (Playoffstatus) says the probability we make the tournament with a loss on Wed is still 70%. If that’s remotely accurate it demonstrates we are not a lock, but also means a lot of there stuff has to work against us in addition to a loss. Even if we get in at that point we could be looking at the dreaded play in 11 seed. That would really suck. I think with a win we lock up a 9 seed. But what can you trust.. that site has Pitt still out while it seems they are… Read more »
I sure hope we’re hungry and want to eat.
And that’s not to say we never play with energy. I haven’t seen a game where we’ve slept walk this year, because team seems to play both halves. From my perspective, we just need to play smart and take smart shots and also make shots that we should be making. Easy peasy!!! Our offense clicking may just be the catalyst for peaking.
T and JJ got snubbed off first team all ACC. Got something to prove!
and IMO Joiner is the biggest snub! I cannot imagine another player being more important to his team. But I will say, this team is a TEAM. Five players can be counted on to score. Ross, Gantt, Ebe, and even Pass have always played with passion if not always with consistent performance. As a team, we really have massively improved on both offense and defense. So, bring ‘em on. No way Keatts doesn’t get everyone fired up for this game after losing the last two. The only worry is they get too emotional. That’s the excuse I am using for… Read more »
Records aside, I feel Notre Dame is the most dangerous of the two teams we could face in our first game.
I feel similar but Vegas likes VT to beat ND, so maybe we won’t have to worry. Last game they played us close but had high 3pt shot percentage plus out-rebounded us. Fouls were not a problem in that game.
Clark didn’t play in that game, and that means better rebounding and defending the 4 3 pt shooters for us.
We beat VT handily at their place, but throw that out the window in a tourney game.
VT was missing a starter, Hunter Catoor, in our first game. He’s their best 3PT shooter, shooting 42%. He’s got the full stat line 10.8 ppg / 3.9 reb / 2.4 assists / 1 steal. Good player. He’ll make a difference.
They scare the pants off me.
I think the first game in general is making me worried. If we play ND and they have a career day against us, we lose to a Q4 team. With three losses in a row and a final loss to a Q 4 team, that would not bode well for us. On the other hand, a win against VT could do wonders for us and almost assure we make it into the tournament (although, I’d feel safe as a State fan if we just won the whole damn thing, right?). Losing to them would suck only a little less in… Read more »
How many games will we win in the NIT?
Do you think we can beat Clemson if we beat VT? I don’t.