NC State basketball learns ACC/SEC Challenge matchups
The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge basketball matchups have been set. NC State basketball men’s team will travel to Ole Miss on Tuesday, Nov. 28 for a 9 p.m. tipoff. The women’s team will host Vanderbilt a day later in Reynolds Coliseum with a 7:15 p.m. start.
Ole Miss is in a rebuilding mode after firing head coach Kermit Davis during a 12-21 season in 2022-23. The Rebels had a high-profile hire to replace Davis, landing former Texas Tech and Texas head coach Chris Beard.
In 2019, Beard helped Texas Tech reach the national title game. Two years later, after five seasons with the Red Raiders, he took the job at Texas. Beard went 22-12 in his first and was 7-1 in season two before being fired following being charged with third-degree felony assault against his fiancée. The charges were dismissed two months later, and Beard was hired by Ole Miss less than a month after.
One of the assistants for NC State basketball, Levi Watkins, worked for Davis before joining Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts’ staff last season. Watkins helped bring former Ole Miss guard Jarkel Joiner with him, and Joiner was an All-ACC performer for the Pack this past year.
Ole Miss is returning two top scorers from last year’s team and added six players via the transfer portal. Last year the Rebels were ranked No. 129 in the NET, which would have been a Quad 2 road game.
The Commodores also struggled last season, going 12-19 overall. That included an 82-73 loss to NC State in Cancun, Mexico. Vanderbilt is coached by Fayetteville, N.C., native and former UConn star Shea Ralph.
Other NC State Basketball Scheduled Games
NC State had previously confirmed that the men’s team will travel to San Antonio on Dec. 16 to face Tennessee. The Vols reached the Sweet 16 last season and finished 25-11 overall. ESPN.com’s way-too-early top 25 has the Vols ranked No. 6 nationally and noted that head coach Rick Barnes was “one of the biggest portal winners.”
The Pack also previously announced that it will join Arizona State, BYU and Vanderbilt in Las Vegas for the Vegas Showdown Nov. 22 and 24. ASU was an at-large selection in the NCAA Tournament last year, while Vandy reached the NIT semifinals. BYU went 19-15 and is returning two of its top three scorers.
Kevin Keatts told TheWolfpacker.com last summer that a return game against Saint Louis originally scheduled for 2022-23 could get pushed back to 2023-24 instead. The Billikens were subsequently not on the slate last winter.
It is unclear if that game in Raleigh is still in the plans for this season.
Saint Louis went 21-12 this past season and was in a three-way tie for second in the Atlantic 10. Their final NET ranking was No. 97, which would be a Quad 3 contest at home. Star point guard Yuri Collins, who averaged a double-double of 11.2 points and 10.1 assists per game, turned pro, and fourth-leading scorer Javon Pickett exhausted his eligibility.
The women’s team will face Kentucky Nov. 23, followed by Cincinnati and Colorado on ensuing days as part of the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam on St. Thomas. Colorado reached the Sweet 16 last season.
The Pack is also set to host national power Connecticut in a previously announced game.
