Kevin Keatts addresses NC State's chances at making NCAA Tournament

NC State coach Kevin Keatts isn’t concerning himself with NCAA Tournament projections. The Wolfpack (17-10, 9-7 ACC) find themselves on the wrong side of the bubble at the moment but are hopeful for a strong finish to change that come Selection Sunday.

NC State closes the season with three games against quadrant 1 opponents in Duke, North Carolina and Pittsburgh. Although that’s certainly a difficult stretch, it also means there are still plenty of chances to improve its tournament resume.

If the Wolfpack can win a couple of those games, it would certainly improve their outlook heading into the ACC Tournament.

“We have opportunities in front of us,” Keatts said. “I think we have four games left in the regular season and I think two or three of those are quad 1s. We can only control what we can control. We gotta win games and figure out and figure out what the number.

“As you guys know, every team has a number attached to them instead of how good you’re playing and how good your league is. Unfortunately, it happens that way. We’ve got a lot of fighting in us. We’ve got four more regular season games and we’ve got the tournament. So we’ll just figure out what happens.”

NC State is hopeful to make back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances after sneaking in as an 11 seed in 2023. It would ultimately fall in the first round against Creighton, but perhaps better results are in store if they can get back in the field of 68 this season.

The Wolfpack had lost three of their past four games before earning an 81-70 victory against Boston College this past weekend. They did so behind a big performance from big man DJ Burns Jr., who finished with 19 points, four rebounds and three assists.

NC State also has a quadrant 2 game against Florida State for a total of four contests remaining on the regular season schedule. Three of those four games are on the road. That in mind, the Wolfpack have plenty of opportunity to prove themselves down the stretch of the regular season.

First up, the Wolfpack will travel to Tallahassee to take on the Seminoles at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday. After that they’ll make their way to Chapel Hill for a matchup with UNC that could end up being their biggest win of the season.

We’ll likely have a better idea of where their March Madness chances stand after those two games, so stay tuned.