NC State women's basketball bracketology update: March 6
NC State women’s basketball wrapped up the regular season as the No. 10 team in the Associated Press top 25 and the No. 2 seed in the ACC Tournament. Standing 25-5 on the season, with fewer losses than any other team in its league, the Wolfpack remains in position to host NCAA Tournament games.
In the final NCAA top-16 reveal last week, the Wolfpack dropped 5 spots to No. 11 overall. This release happened before the program defeated a ranked Syracuse squad in overtime and beat Wake Forest on Senior day. NC State finished its regular season slate on a two-game winning streak after losing consecutive contests to UNC and Duke.
Each of the top 16 teams will host round of 64 and round of 32 games in a couple of weeks. The Wolfpack has only lost 1 game at home in over a year. If NC State sticks as the No. 11 seed, that would put the program on the No. 3 seed line. ESPN.com and The Atheltic both slotted the Wolfpack into that spot in their most recent bracketology projections.
The Athletic‘s Mark Schindler sent the Wolfpack to the Albany 1 regional. South Carolina is the No. 1 seed, with USC on the No. 2 line. NC State would play No. 14 seed California Baptist in the round of 64. The Lancers are the projected automatic qualifier out of Western Athletic Conference with a 24-3 overall record. They have not played a high major team this season.
If NC state won its first game, it would play the winner of No. 6 seed Creighton and either No. 11 seed Maryland or Arizona. The Wildcats and the Terrapins would play in a first four game.
A potential showdown with the Terrapins would set up a rematch between graduate forward Mimi Collins and her former team. Former Wolfpack guard Jakia Brown-Turner also plays for Maryland and is averaging 13.8 points per game this season.
ESPN.com bracketologist Charlie Creme projected the Wolfpack in the Albany 3 regional alongside top seeded Ohio State and No. 2 seed Texas. NC State would face off against No. 14 Marshall, the automatic qualifier out of the Sun Belt, in the round of 64. The Thundering Herd is 23-6 this season with a notable win over Florida.
No. 6 Utah is slated to play the winner of Green Bay vs. Vanderbilt in a first four game on the other side of the Raleigh bracket. NC State traveled to Utah last year for its lone NCAA Tournament game.
NC State women’s basketball NET update
The Wolfpack is the No. 15 NET team in the nation going into the postseason— the same spot as last week’s update. After picking up two more wins, NC State is the No. 2 team in the ACC based on this metric. No. 8 Notre Dame is the only program ranked higher. A total of 9 ACC teams cracked the NET’s top 50.
