Sports Masthead
The NC State men’s basketball team has many fans scratching their heads this season. Fairly high expectations were generated from much preseason hype with a fourth-ranked overall recruiting class, according to 247Sports. However, the Wolfpack has not only failed to live up to expectations thus far, it has not even come close to what many thought this team would be.
The Wolfpack (13-6, 2-4 ACC), is currently in the basement of the ACC standings at 12th place. NC State has wins against Virginia Tech and Pittsburgh and has losses against Miami, North Carolina, Boston College and Georgia Tech. The Pack’s best win by far has come against then-No. 21 Hokies at home. However, the NC State team that worked the ball inside and out, played physical and attacked the glass against the Hokies is nowhere to be found as of late.
Following the win, things looked to have fallen apart for the Pack. After an atrocious effort resulting in a historic 51-point demolition at the hands of its archrival North Carolina, NC State has not looked the same. Since losing to UNC, NC State went on to fall on the road to Boston College and at home to Georgia Tech. Neither Boston College nor Georgia Tech are poised to be NCAA tournament teams, and both were picked to finish in the last two slots of the ACC standings. The Eagles and Yellow Jackets also do not have the depth or the talent on their rosters that the Wolfpack has.
A lack of effort on the defensive end, bad shot selection and poor offensive execution have been commonalities in all four of the Pack’s losses in league play. Evidence of this appeared when the Wolfpack turned the ball over 17 times against Boston College on the road. An example of a lack of discipline on defense was notably evident when NC State faced Georgia Tech in Raleigh. The Yellow Jackets had virtually wide open looks from three, and were able to draw fouls with ease by working the ball inside. Georgia Tech, who only shoots 34.8 percent from three hit 10 of their 16 attempts from 3-point land. The Yellow Jackets also put up their highest point total of the season with 86 points at PNC Arena.
During head coach Mark Gottfried’s tenure at NC State, the Pack has made the tournament four times. In those seasons, the Wolfpack has had at least nine wins in ACC play and has finished with at least 19 wins overall. State currently has totaled 13 wins, only two of those coming in league play.
In order to finish the season with a .500 ACC record, the Pack must win seven of the 12 games remaining on the schedule. This would put NC State’s record at 20-11 to conclude the regular season, and right on the bubble to make the big dance. However, the road to get to that point is no easy one. Five of the next 12 Wolfpack opponents are ranked as it stands today, and half of these games will be played away from Raleigh.
NC State has only won two games versus Power-5 teams and still has zero true-road wins. Even with its recent win against Pittsburgh, it is hard to imagine the Wolfpack will be able to solve all of its problems this far into the season. The conclusion of January will be very telling on whether this team participates in postseason play. State has a winnable home game against a struggling Wake Forest team Jan. 21, but then follows that up with trips to No. 18 Duke and No. 12 Louisville to finish the month.
Maybe NC State can flip the switch and Gottfried will get his guys to play with some sense of urgency. If not, this season for the Wolfpack might just be the season of “what could have been” instead of the magical one many fans of the program were hoping for.