NC State men's basketball bracketology update: Jan. 18
NC State men’s basketball continues to pile up the wins, most recently defeating Georgia Tech Tuesday for its fourth-consecutive victory. As a result, the Wolfpack is trending up amongst most bracketologists and sits comfortably in the current NCAA tournament picture.
According to BracketMatrix.com, NC State appears in 73 of the 75 brackets surveyed with an average seeding of 7.44, a significant jump from last week’s 9.30 average. The Pack, which stands 15-4 overall and 5-3 in the ACC, appears as high as a No. 5 seed in one bracket and drops no lower than the No. 9 line on others.
ESPN moved NC State up to a No. 7 seed in its update Tuesday. Joe Lunardi picked the Wolfpack to play No. 10-seeded Indiana in the first round of the East Region in New York City. The first two rounds, against the Hoosiers and then likely Texas, the No. 2 seed, would be played in Denver, Colorado. NC State is one of 7 ACC programs in Lunardi’s bracket, tying the conference for the second-most bids with the Big 12. The Big Ten leads the nation with a whopping 10 bids.
CBS Sports updated its bracket Monday morning and thinks extremely highly of NC State. The Pack sits squarely on the No. 5 line of Jerry Palm’s bracket. NC State would play Indiana or Memphis in Des Moines, Iowa after those two schools compete in their First Four game. The bracket has NC State placed in the East Region and would play the winner of No. 4-seeded Iowa State and No. 13-seeded UC Irvine. A total of 7 ACC programs made Palm’s bracket as well.
The Washington Post includes 7 ACC teams, including the Wolfpack, in its bracket. NC State rose slightly from the No. 9 to the No. 8 line. The Pack would match up against No. 8-seeded Indiana, a common potential opponent in each of these first three brackets, in Birmingham, Alabama. The winner would likely play the top-seeded and projected SEC champion Alabama.
Last week, Fox Sports’ Michael DeCourcy considered NC State a No. 10 seed. Prior to the Pack’s win over Georgia Tech, he released a new bracket that slotted the program into the No. 8 line. The Wolfpack would play in the West Region with a first-round showdown against Illinois. Houston would likely play the winner of that matchup.
The Athletic also projected the Wolfpack as a No. 8 seed in Las Vegas’ West Region, with a first-round game against Charleston. Alabama, the No. 1 seed in that region, would be the likely second-round opponent. This bracket was last updated Jan. 13, so it does not account for the Pack’s wins over Miami or Georgia Tech.
