Entering his eighth season as NC State women’s basketball’s head coach, Wes Moore has maybe his most talented squad yet. The Pack is deeper this year and will once again compete for an ACC title. Here are predictions from Technician’s sports editors for the season starting Wednesday, Nov. 25.
MVP
Camden – Elissa Cunane – This should be a slam-dunk pick, and no disrespect to any of the other players that will play well this season. Cunane’s skill set is so dominant and unique, so play the offense through her and it leaves a lot of other people open for good looks.
Tristan – Elissa Cunane – Cunane will be the undisputed MVP, though sophomore wing Jakia Brown-Turner will be stellar as well. Cunane dominated last season and will dominate again this season with one of the best skill sets in the nation.
Nicholas – Elissa Cunane – Cunane is on not one, not two, but three award watch lists. She averaged a double-double last season and is not only the best player on this NC State team, but she is one of the best players, if not the best player, in the conference.
Best newcomer
Camden – Elle Sutphin – The former five-star recruit redshirted last season, but should be able to find decent playing time in the rotation this year, despite a stacked lineup. This is more of a hopeful pick than Raina Perez, but I wanted to be a little different.
Tristan – Raina Perez – Perez will most likely help fill the void left behind by Aislinn Konig and should get the starting nod for the Pack. She was ranked as the No. 5 transfer in the nation and scored 19.8 points per game last year for Cal State Fullerton en route to winning Big West Player of the Year. She might not average that much for the Pack, but she will be able to bring a great deal of experience and talent to the team.
Nicholas – Raina Perez – Newcomer of the year for women’s basketball is going to come down to whether Raina Perez or Genesis Bryant starts. Head coach Wes Moore has spoken very highly of both recently, but I think Perez will take the spot based on experience. I would not be surprised to see Bryant get significant minutes off the bench however.
ACC record
Camden – 17-3 – It should be another fantastic year after the Pack finished 14-4 in conference last year. There are a couple of tough road games, and it just can’t win them all, but head coach Wes Moore and his squad will certainly try.
Tristan – 16-4 – This number might seem low, but for as dominant as the Pack was last season, it still dropped a few games it shouldn’t have. It lost to Duke and Georgia Tech in two of three games near the end of last season and almost lost to Miami in Coral Gables, Florida. I expect the team to drop games against No. 1 South Carolina, No. 5 Louisville and two of five against Duke, UNC-Chapel Hill, Boston College, No. 22 Notre Dame and No. 23 Syracuse.
Nicholas – 18-2 – The Wolfpack has to go on the road to both Louisville and Florida State in back-to-back games this year. I think the Pack will win one of those and lose the other. The other loss will probably come at the hands of Duke or UNC-Chapel Hill, but I think the team will improve on its 146-4 conference record from last season.
Best win
Camden – Syracuse – This pick probably comes down to which team is better at the end of the season, Syracuse or Notre Dame. I see Louisville beat NC State in a close one, and I think Notre Dame has a higher chance of beating NC State, so I’ll go with the Orange on this one.
Tristan – Notre Dame – NC State has had awful luck in the Play4Kay games in the last two years, losing to Notre Dame in 2018-19 and Duke last year. I think the team turns around its fortunes against a vulnerable, but still really good, Notre Dame team.
Nicholas – Notre Dame – I know I said I think the Pack will beat one of Louisville or Florida State in the ACC Record section, so I am kind of hedging my bets here. I could easily see them dropping both of those games on the road and just four days apart. That’s why I went with sort of a safety pick here with Notre Dame. Still a really good team, but the Pack is more likely to beat the Fighting Irish than it is the Cardinals or Seminoles.
Surprising loss
Camden – Boston College – Not sure how we all came up with the same pick here, but that first ACC game of the season is always tough. The Pack will travel to Massachusetts and face a decent BC team that gave NC State a decent fight in both games last year.
Tristan – Boston College – The Eagles are fighters and probably could be ranked to start the season. They will return a lot of what makes that team tick. It doesn’t help that it’s the first ACC matchup of the season, and Boston College played well against the Pack in stints last season.
Nicholas – Boston College – Last year’s ACC semifinal between NC State and Boston College was a close one, and the Pack only won by seven. The Wolfpack was even outscored 30-17 in the fourth quarter, really only winning the game because of its stellar second quarter where the Wolfpack held Boston College to just six points. The Wolfpack should win this one, but I could see it faltering here.
NCAA Tournament seed
Camden – 3 – Louisville gets the one seed and the ACC Championship, so it all depends on where the other teams fall around NC State. The Pack falls to South Carolina, Louisville twice, Boston College and one more to fall to a three seed.
Tristan – 3 – If the Pack gets to four losses like I think it might, it will be a No. 3 seed in the tournament. There is a chance that the Pack beats Louisville in the tournament and gets the No. 2 seed, though the Cardinals are going to be hard to beat this year.
Nicholas – 2 – The Wolfpack has started the year No. 8 in the AP Poll and No. 6 in the Coaches Poll. If it can maintain those rankings, that is theoretically a two-seed. A lot can happen in a year, but I think the Wolfpack can maintain these rankings.
