NC State men’s basketball is in the midst of one of the most polarizing regular seasons in recent memory. From a game-winner on the road against Clemson to a 20-point loss to Ole Miss, the Wolfpack has put its fans through a roller coaster of emotions.
As it nears the end of the season, the Pack currently sits outside the NCAA tournament bubble and is risking missing the tournament for the fourth time during head coach Kevin Keatts’ tenure. However, there is still a lane to March Madness aside from winning the ACC Tournament, and although it’s a low chance, you can never count the Wolfpack out.
The first option is to win out, but that task is much harder than it sounds. The red-and-white has just two Quad 1 wins on the season but has the chance to tack on three more in its last four games. The Pack is the underdog in every remaining matchup and will have to take its game to the next level to pull it off.
For the first Quad 1 matchup, the Wolfpack will travel to UNC-Chapel Hill to take on the Tar Heels. In the rivals’ last matchup, UNC pulled away late due to a strong second-half performance. The game proved to be graduate guard DJ Horne’s worst performance — he shot just 2-16 from the field en route to a six-point outing.
Since the loss, Horne has played the best ball of his career. He has scored 24 points or more in six of the last eight games, including a career-high 32 points against Syracuse. If he can manage to play the same way against the Tar Heels, the Wolfpack will have a strong chance at the upset.
NC State will return to PNC Arena to host Tobacco Road rival Duke in its last home game of the season. The Pack has not yet played Duke, but the Blue Devils have been one of the strongest teams in the ACC. Apart from their recent loss to Wake Forest, they’ve put together an impressive resume during the second half of the season.
However, every team has its bad moments. Duke’s consist of early losses to Georgia Tech, Pitt and Arkansas. The Blue Devils have shown vulnerability, but their heavy offensive attack will be hard for the Wolfpack to stop. Kyle Filipowski, Jeremy Roach and Jared McCain make up one of the best offensive trios in the country.
Scoring is a huge part of it, but the Wolfpack defense has had some questionable showings recently. It allowed an alarming 26 points to Chris Bell in the first half against Syracuse but then held Boston College to just 26 points in the first half. Which Wolfpack defense chooses to show up will be directly responsible for the outcome of this game.
Finally, NC State will travel north to take on Pittsburgh. The Panthers have been one of the sneakiest teams in the ACC, winning five of their last seven games, including a 67-64 victory over the Pack in Raleigh. The Panthers also beat then-No. 7 Duke on the road, an accomplishment held by just one other team in the country. They hold a 9-8 conference record, the same as NC State, but because of their underdog wins, they are rated as a Quad 1 opponent.
The Wolfpack will most likely need a win or two in the ACC Tournament in addition to the potential three Quad 1 wins. The road to March Madness is about as difficult as it gets, and the chances are extremely slim, but NC State still has a pulse.
