Taking a look at NC State's men's basketball bracketology
Coming off of consecutive wins over a ranked Duke squad and a Virginia Tech team desperate to defend its home court, NC State men’s basketball has officially entered the NCAA Tournament picture. With March Madness still a couple of months away, the Wolfpack is squarely in the running for an at-large bid.
According to BracketMatrix.com, NC State appears in 53 of the 61 brackets surveyed with an average seeding of 9.30. The Pack, which stands 13-4 overall and 3-3 in the ACC, appears as high as a No. 6 seed in some brackets and as low as No. 12 in others.
ESPN added NC State to its bracket in Tuesday’s update as a No. 9 seed. Not only does the site expect the Pack to make the tournament, Joe Lunardi has the Pack tabbed as the ACC’s automatic qualifier, meaning he predicts the program will win the conference tournament in Greensboro, N.C., in March.
Lunardi matched the Wolfpack up with No. 8-seeded Auburn, who is rising up his current projections, in the South Region. The game would be played in Columbus, Ohio, with the winner likely playing Purdue, the South Region’s No. 1 seed.
CBS Sports has not updated its bracket since Jan. 6 but still considers the Wolfpack a No. 9 seed. New Mexico is a No. 8 seed in Jerry Palm’s bracket and would face off against the Pack in Denver, Colorado, for the opportunity to likely play No. 1-seeded Arizona. The bracket lists NC State as the top-ranked No. 9 seed so, following the win over Virginia Tech, a move up to the No. 8 line seems likely. A total of 6 other ACC teams made the cut for Palm.
The Washington Post projects 7 ACC teams, including NC State, to make the field of 68 as well. NC State is a No. 9 seed once again on this bracket with a round of 64 matchup against No. 8-seeded Missouri in Columbus. If the Wolfpack won that game, the program would likely face Purdue, the No. 1 seed, in the round of 32, making this projection similar to ESPN’s.
Fox Sports’ Michael DeCourcy released an updated bracket and considers NC State a No. 10 seed slated for a round of 64 showdown with Ohio State. The Wolfpack would play in the East Region with a potential round of 32 matchup with No. 2-seeded Kansas in a bracket headed by top-seeded Alabama.
The Athletic also has the Wolfpack slotted a bit lower than the average, but the outlet had not factored in the win over Virginia Tech yet. NC State checks in as a No. 11 seed and would play in Dayton, Ohio, in a first four matchup against Auburn. If the Pack won that matchup, it would move on to the South Region in Louisville, Kentucky, and face Indiana, the No. 6, in Des Moines, Iowa.
