It was the best of times

March 20, 2005

1. Julius Hodge’s late three-point play against Connecticut gave N.C. State a 65-62 victory and a spot in the 2005 Sweet 16. It was Sendek’s first trip past the second round of the NCAA Tournament in his ninth year at the helm of the program. The team lost 65-56 to Wisconsin in the next round. Hodge scored 17 points as State avenged a 2002 second-round loss to the Huskies

February 15, 2004

2. State topped No. 1 Duke 78-74 to up its ACC record to 9-2 and pull within one game of the Blue Devils in the conference standings late in the 2004 season. State led 36-26 at halftime, but Duke fought back to within two points before two late free throws by Julius Hodge dropped the Devils to 21-2 overall and 10-1 in the ACC. Hodge and senior forward Marcus Melvin each scored 18 points to lead the upset.

March 9, 2002

3. The Wolfpack held on to knock off No. 1 seed Maryland 86-82 in the ACC Semifinals. It was the only loss for the Terrapins in their last 20 games that season as they won the national championship. Sophomore forward Marcus Melvin came out on fire, hitting three early 3-pointers and scoring 13 points in the game’s first 10:13 en route to scoring 19 for the game. Senior guard and first-team All-ACC performer Anthony Grundy led the way with 24 points in the win.

February 21, 1998

4. State won 86-72 at top-ranked North Carolina behind eight 3-pointers and 31 points from senior guard C.C. Harrison. Fellow senior guard Ishua Benjamin pitched in seven steals as Sendek scored his first win over Carolina in only his second season in Raleigh. He would only win four more against the Tar Heels in the next eight seasons.

March 15, 2002

5. The Pack recovered from a 30-18 deficit to defeat Michigan State 69-58 in Washington, D.C. in its first NCAA Tournament game since 1991. Senior guard Anthony Grundy and freshman Julius Hodge each scored 16 points to lead the win against the Spartans, who had played in three consecutive Final Fours and were the 2000 national champions. State won even though Grundy played only 24 minutes because of foul trouble.

It was the worst of times

March 4 & 10, 2006

1. N.C. State lost twice in seven days to last-place Wake Forest — in the season finale in Winston-Salem and in the ACC quarterfinals — at the end of the 2006 regular season to push its losing streak to four games. Senior guard Cameron Bennerman sat out the first of the two losses, but his presence probably wouldn’t have mattered much as State couldn’t anything going in a 76-63 loss. The following Friday in the ACC Tournament, the fourth-seeded Pack fell 82-71 to the twelfth-seeded Demon Deacons. Sophomore forward Gavin Grant combined for 45 points in the two games.

March 16, 2003

2. After leading 55-40 with 11:44 remaining in the game, State fell 84-77 to Duke in 2003 ACC championship game. Foul trouble plagued the Pack as sophomore Julius Hodge, junior forward Marcus Melvin and sophomore center Josh Powell each finished with four fouls and senior guard Clifford Crawford fouled out. J.J. Redick scored 23 of his 30 points in the last 10:05 of the game. Powell scored 26 in the loss, and Hodge added 17. This game marked the closest Sendek ever came to winning an ACC championship.

February 22, 2006

3. Late in the 2006 season, the Wolfpack went into the game against North Carolina at 21-5 and 10-3 in the ACC, alone in second place. By night’s end, a 95-71 loss in which State never had a chance left a sour taste in fans’ mouths. The Tar Heels pulled down 19 offensive rebounds while the Pack could muster only eight. Junior guard Engin Atsur and Sophomore forward Andrew Brackman each scored 16 points in the loss. The setback marked the first of four straight for Sendek’s team.

January 7, 2006

4. Despite jumping to an early 11-0 lead at North Carolina against a young Tar Heels team, State crumbled and eventually gave up the game’s final 13 points in an 82-69 loss. This game served as a rude wakeup call for State and its fans that being better than Carolina in 2006 wouldn’t be as easy as advertised. After looking ready to blow the Heels out of their own building, the Pack couldn’t even run their offense against a feisty Carolina defense.

March 21, 2004

5. State blew a late lead to lose 75-73 to Vanderbilt in the second round of the 2004 NCAA Tournament. After holding a 67-56 edge with 3:45 left, the Wolfpack’s defense couldn’t stop the Commodores. Junior Julius Hodge fouled out with 2:44 remaining in the game and could only watch from the bench as his team and its season fell apart. Freshman guard Engin Atsur’s 3-pointer missed everything as the Pack’s season abruptly ended. A win would have advanced State to the Sweet 16 for a rematch of its 2002 second-round 77-74 loss to Connecticut. Redshirt sophomore forward Ilian Evtimov scored a career-high 28 points in the loss.

Source: N.C. State Athletics, North Carolina Media Relations, Maryland Media Relations