It’s that time again. Basketball season is around the corner and like every year, NC State has a bit of excitement surrounding its new blend of talent on the roster. Unlike every year, the Pack’s schedule is cruel, with the team set to play several ranked teams in a row and squaring off against one of the best teams in the nation in No. 7 Purdue. Let’s break down the team’s rough schedule and highlight some key games.
Nonconference play
Outside of the several in-season competitions like the Basketball Hall of Fame series and the annual Big Ten/ACC Challenge, NC State plays a similar caliber of teams to prior seasons. The Wolfpack should have zero issues running up the score on teams like Bucknell (No. 302 in kenpom.com’s rankings), Texas Southern (No. 241) and Bethune-Cookman (No. 354).
But not all of the Pack’s nonconference foes can be overlooked. Colgate posted the second-best mark for points per game last season en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance, making it for just the fourth time in school history but the second time in the last three years.
Wright State and Louisiana Tech round out the Wolfpack’s nonconference schedule, two teams NC State is better than on paper, but they could pose problems. Louisiana Tech, in particular, ranks No. 88 in the kenpom.com rankings.
Basketball Hall of Fame Showcase
Though Central Connecticut should be easily handled, the Wolfpack will get its first real litmus test of the season when it takes on Oklahoma State. Though OSU no longer boasts star Cade Cunningham, there’s a true argument to be made that the Cowboys could be even better this year.
Avery Anderson and Kalib Boone were phenomenal for Oklahoma State last season and according to kenpom.com, the pair each notched three game MVP awards. Cunningham won four. The Cowboys also brought in the talented Moussa Cisse from Memphis, someone that bolsters the team immediately. Quietly, Oklahoma State received 25 votes for the preseason AP Poll and presents a serious challenge for the Pack.
Big Ten/ACC Challenge
In this year’s Big Ten/ACC Challenge, NC State will take on Nebraska, a team that clocks in at No. 81 in the kenpom.com rankings. Alonzo Verge Jr., who transferred from Arizona State, will be sure to give the Wolfpack some problems. Verge averaged 14 points per game last season and is a professional prospect.
Basketball Hall of Fame Invitational
Continuing the Basketball Hall of Fame series, NC State will travel to Brooklyn, New York to take on Purdue. Purdue has a very real chance to be the best team the Pack plays all season, boasting star forward Trevion Williams, who averaged 15.5 points and 9.1 rebounds per game last season, along with guys like Eric Hunter Jr. and Sasha Stefanovic, who both scored plenty of points for the Boilermakers.
Meanwhile, Jaden Ivey has a real chance to be one of the best guards in the country and is being projected by several national outlets as a potential lottery pick in the 2022 NBA Draft. As a freshman, Ivey averaged 11.1 points per game. The sheer amount of talent and versatility will be a marquee matchup in a must-watch for the Pack.
Basketball Hall of Fame Shootout
In the final game of the Basketball Hall of Fame series, the Wolfpack will travel to Charlotte to take on the Richmond Spiders, a team that seemingly always exceeds expectations. Richmond is another sleeper team like Oklahoma State that will present problems for the Wolfpack, and the Spiders come into the season with 13 preseason AP Poll votes.
Richmond is insanely experienced and its rotation clocks in with an average age of 22.3 years old, even without Blake Francis who moved on to professional ball. Look for Jacob Gilyard to give the Pack’s young guards some problems — he averaged an insanely good 3.6 steals per game last year.
ACC play
While there are plenty of challenges in the early parts of the season for the Wolfpack, NC State’s ACC schedule is particularly brutal. Right out the gates at the beginning of December, NC State will play Louisville at home. Louisville is certainly a beatable opponent but Samuell Williamson is primed to break out this year. Look for Jarrod West to cause some problems defensively and for top JUCO prospect El Ellis to have a phenomenal year as an initiator in the pick-and-roll.
After that, NC State gets a handful of other nonconference matchups before having to travel to Miami and then taking on No. 20 Florida State at home and Virginia Tech on the road within the span of a week. Miami is around NC State’s skill level on paper but in the Kevin Keatts era, the Pack has struggled for the most part on the road at just 18-23 across four years.
Florida State will be at home but looks to be an incredibly tough out bolstered by freshmen Matthew Cleveland and Jalen Warley. Anthony Polite seems set to have a strong year. Just three days later the Pack hits the road to take on VT, a team led by Keve Aluma, who averaged 15.2 points per game last year, and Storm Murphy, a lead guard who led Wofford to a memorable season in 2019.
NC State does get Clemson in a matchup, it should be the favorite to win right after that stretch. But then, as if the schedule couldn’t be harder, the Pack’s next stretch of games includes, at Louisville, at No. 9 Duke, vs. Virginia Tech, vs. No. 25 Virginia, at Notre Dame, at No. 19 UNC, vs. Syracuse and vs. Notre Dame. Every single one of those teams received ranked votes in the preseason AP poll.
The Wolfpack’s slate of games does get a bit easier from there, with matchups against the likes of Wake Forest, Boston College and Pitt, but UNC and Florida State mark the home and road finales, respectively. NC State will have a great chance to play spoiler against UNC, a team featuring new head coach Hubert Davis, transfer Dawson Garcia and Most Improved Player award candidate Caleb Love.
