The NC State men’s basketball team is traveling to Charlotte this week for the 2019 New York Life ACC Tournament where it earned a bye as the No. 8 seed.
The Pack (21-10, 9-9 ACC) will start its tournament on Wednesday when it takes on the No. 9 Clemson Tigers (19-12, 9-9 ACC) at noon. If NC State wins, it will face top-seeded Virginia at 12:30 p.m. on Thursday.
Wednesday could be considered a must-win game as NC State is trying to get off the bubble and into the NCAA Tournament. With a weak nonconference schedule and a below-average record against Quadrant one, the Pack’s destiny could very well depend on its first ACC Tournament game.
NC State faced Clemson just once in the regular season which the Wolfpack won 69-67 thanks to a buzzer-beating 3-pointer from well beyond the 3-point line by sophomore guard Braxton Beverly.
Other than Beverly, there were good performances in that game from junior guard Markell Johnson, who had 16 points in 23 minutes, and redshirt junior C.J. Bryce, who had 15 points. The team will need much more than three players producing to win a game in the tournament.
Clemson’s top scorers in that game were guard Marcquise Reed and forward Elijah Thomas who had 19 and 18 points, respectively. In their most recent game against Syracuse, Reed scored 24 points and Thomas had 13.
The Tigers have won four of their last five with its only loss coming as a two-point defeat at the hand of second-seeded UNC-Chapel Hill. Despite beating them in the regular season, it will be no easy task to advance to Thursday.
The winner of the NC State and Clemson will face the Virginia Cavaliers on Thursday. The Pack lost a heartbreaking game 66-65 in overtime to UVa in January. Although playing them tough in that game, beating Virginia seems unlikely for any team that lines up against them.
However, the biggest thing for the Wolfpack this weekend is to beat Clemson. For NCAA Tournament purposes, it is a huge game, especially since Clemson is also a team fighting for a spot in the Big Dance.
