With the highly anticipated NC State women’s basketball season right around the corner, Technician sports editors will once again try their best to predict how the season will go.
ACC Record:
Camden Speight: 15-3 – With incredible depth this year, NC State should finish in the top of the ACC, but games against Louisville, Florida State and Notre Dame, among others, will result in at least a couple losses.
Jake Caccavaro: 14-4 – I think NC State is the second-best team in the ACC season, and I’m expecting the Wolfpack to lose to Louisville, even though it’s at home at Reynolds. The ACC is incredibly deep this year, and it’s reasonable to think NC State will drop a handful of games to quality opponents throughout its gauntlet of a conference schedule.
Nicholas Schnittker: 16-2 – This team is good but so is the ACC, and there will be some losses in conference play but not many. Entering the season ranked as the No. 2 team in the ACC behind Louisville by both the head coaches and Blue Ribbon Panel, the Pack is a team to be reckoned with and will finish with a record that reflects that
NCAA Seed:
Camden Speight: 3 – With some great teams in the ACC, barring an incredible season that includes an ACC Championship, NC State won’t get a 1 seed and will be battling for a 2 seed.
Jake Caccavaro: 2 – If all goes well, the Wolfpack will have an impressive resume of wins on the season and close to 25 wins after ACC Tournament play. I’m expecting the Pack to make a run to the ACC Tournament championship, and I think a good record with quality wins and a strong showing in the ACC Tournament should put the team in the running for a 2 seed.
Nicholas Schnittker: 2 – This team is undoubtedly talented, and with a number of big players returning from injuries suffered in the 2018-19 season, this Wolfpack team has the ability to go very far. With multiple five-star freshmen coming in and players like Elissa Cunane, Aislinn Konig, Grace Hunter and more all returning, this season could be a great one for the Pack.
MVP:
Camden Speight: Jakia Brown-Turner – The No. 15-ranked freshman in the country by ESPN comes into the season and will be a starter at the beginning of the season. She should come in and make an immediate impact on all sides of the ball.
Jake Caccavaro: Aislinn Konig – The heart and soul of this Wolfpack team, Konig, was head coach Wes Moore’s most trusted player last year, and that won’t change this season. Konig is a lights-out 3-point shooter and one of the best on-ball defenders in the country. She’s going to play big minutes in her senior year, and as has been the case in recent seasons, as her 3-ball goes, so will the team.
Nicholas Schnittker: Elissa Cunane – This is by far the hardest of the predictions to make for the simple fact of how good the NC State team is. There are four or five players who you could make a case for to end the season as MVP, but for me, it has to be sophomore Elissa Cunane. As a true freshman, Cunane put up 13.6 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, and this year, there is no doubt that she will improve on those numbers.
Best Win:
Camden Speight: Florida State, Jan. 16 – NC State has home games against Florida State and Louisville this year, but Florida State is more realistic. The Pack could really beat anyone, so it’s tough to say.
Jake Caccavaro: Maryland, Dec. 5 – The Terrapins are ranked No. 5 in the ESPNW Preseason Top 25 and are going to be a juggernaut of a team this year. The projected Big 10 champions will travel to Reynolds Coliseum, where NC State beat the Terps in the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2018. I expect more of the same in front of a home crowd that will be rocking.
Nicholas Schnittker: Louisville, Feb. 13 – The Cardinals enter the season as the No. 1-ranked team in the ACC, but the Pack has the talent to take them down. The Cardinals and the Pack will meet at Reynolds late in the season, mid-February, and with an undoubtedly packed house behind it, the Pack will be in prime position to win the game.
Most Surprising Loss:
Camden Speight: Miami, Feb. 20 – This one is as difficult, if not more difficult than best win, because the Wolfpack is really good, but there is likely to be one slip up along the way. A tough Miami team on the road seems like as good a bet as any.
Jake Caccavaro: Duke, Feb. 24 – I’ve got NC State losing the Play4Kay game for the second year in a row. The Wolfpack will be fresh off what I predict to be a win over Miami in Coral Gables, and I think the Pack will slip up against an upstart Duke squad with the ACC Tournament looming right around the corner.
Nicholas Schnittker: Texas (in Hawaii), Nov. 29 – The law of the Wolfpack states that NC State will always disappoint you at some point in the season, and despite how good this women’s basketball team is, no one can escape this long-standing tradition. With the Pack facing off against a solid Texas team all the way out in Hawaii, this could be the perfect storm for the Pack to lose.
