“Survive and advance.”
Former NC State head coach Jim Valvano coined the phrase back in 1983 when he led his team to the school’s last basketball championship. This year’s team will look to follow the 1983 team, but it has coined a new phrase: “Why not us?”
After winning the Atlantic Coast Conference championship, NC State received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team will head to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, as the No. 11 seed to face the No. 6 seed Texas Tech in the first round.
Head coach Kevin Keatts and his team made history in the ACC tournament with an improbable run. The Wolfpack’s win marked the first time that a double-digit seed won the ACC tournament trophy, and the red-and-white became just the second team in the nation to win five games in five days since UConn did it in 2011.
The Pack is arguably one of the hottest teams in the nation, defeating top teams such as Duke, Virginia and North Carolina en route to its first ACC title since 1987. Now the team will face a gauntlet of challenges if it wants to take home a national title, but the first challenge is taking down Texas Tech.
The Red Raiders enter March Madness with a 23-10 record, while the Pack enters at 22-14. Texas Tech is a good and balanced offensive group, with five players averaging double figures and a sixth averaging 9.9 points per game. The team is coming off a blowout 82-59 loss to Houston in the Big 12 Championship semifinal, where the team shot just 33.3% from the field and 31.8% from beyond the arc.
Sophomore guard Pop Isaacs leads the way for Texas Tech as a dynamic guard who can do a little bit of everything on the offensive side of the ball, along with averaging 15.9 points per game, shooting 35.5% from the field and 30.1% from beyond the arc. The Las Vegas native has shown that he is a streaky guard throughout the season, capable of getting very hot or very cold, scoring as much as 32 points in a game or as low as a recent six-point performance against Houston.
While the Pack will have a scouting report ready for Isaacs, they will also need to be on the lookout for sophomore guard Darrion Williams, who leads his team with an average of 7.5 rebounds a game. Williams is a 6-6 wing who can rebound and score and is third on his team in scoring, averaging 11.4 points per game.
When looking at the Wolfpack, the big questions will be fatigue and health. Will the Pack have any fuel left in the tank for another improbable run? Will the team be fully healthy? The Wolfpack has proven to be a streaky team, currently very hot, that has depth at every position but needs to get healthy and rest before its matchup.
Graduate guard Casey Morsell could be injured after leaving the final minutes of the ACC championship game, junior guard Jayden Taylor has ankle problems and freshman guard Dennis Parker Jr. has been out with an illness.
The Pack will rely heavily on graduate forward DJ Burns and graduate guard DJ Horne. Burns has the ability to receive the ball at the top of the key and back a defender down all the way to the basket, scoring with his superb footwork and skillful touch. If double-teamed, Burns has the ability to pass the ball to an open scorer like Horne.
Horne has become NC State’s primary scorer, even while battling a hip injury during the team’s title run, so both players will need to lead the red-and-white on the offensive side of the ball against a scrappy Texas Tech defense.
Graduate guard Michael O’Connell has quietly become a game-changer as the season has progressed. O’Connell, who hit the game-tying buzzer-beater against Virginia, has increased his scoring production while maintaining his true point guard identity. Another key piece on both sides of the ball is junior forward Mohamed Diarra, who has become a rebounding machine for the Pack.
When you’re hot, you’re hot, and the Pack will rely heavily on momentum to take down Texas Tech. NC State will need to overcome the physical and emotional toll that the ACC tournament had on the team.
NC State has made the NCAA tournament 29 times in program history, but this is just the third appearance for Keatts during his seven-year tenure. The Pack made its last appearance just a season ago as the No. 11 seed and lost 63-72 in the first round to No. 6 seed Creighton.
If the team gets past Texas Tech, it’s most likely going to face the No. 3 seed Kentucky, who takes on the No. 14 seed Oakland. Kentucky has one of the best offenses in the nation and will be a problem for any team that faces off against the Wildcats because of how easily they can score.
NC State will take on Texas Tech on Thursday, March 21, at PPG Paints Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Tip-off is set for 9:40 p.m., and the game will be broadcast on CBS.
