The Wolfpacker Show: NC State Final 4 preview special
It’s a historic week in Raleigh. NC State men’s and women’s basketball both advanced to the NCAA Tournament Final Four over the weekend. That’s the eleventh time that has happened in the history of the event.
NC State continues to make history by the week this spring, reaching heights the university has not seen in more than two decades. Now, the Pack has a chance to advance to a national championship. It would be the first appearance in the title game for the women’s program.
Both teams would have to take down No. 1 seeds to get there. The Wolfpack men’s squad matches up against Purdue and 7-4 center Zach Edey in the national semifinal, setting up one of the year’s most intriguing showdowns between the big man and emerging national star DJ Burns.
That matchup is scheduled for Saturday in Phoenix, Arizona, at 6:09 p.m. ET. TBS will broadcast the game, and the Boilermakers are favored by 8.5 points going into this showdown. To preview this matchup, The Wolfpacker Show host Noah Fleischman sat down with GoldandBlack.com publisher Alan Karpick.
NC State’s women’s team will face South Carolina, the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament. The Gamecocks are an undefeated 36-0 this year and have not lost since last year’s Final Four. Led by legendary head coach Dawn Staley, South Carolina is the undisputed top team in the country going into this tournament.
This game is scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. ET in Cleveland, Ohio. ESPN will broadcast the matchup. Vegas favors South Carolina by 11.5 points. Gamecock Central reporter Chris Wellbaum spoke with Ethan McDowell to break down the Final Four showdown.
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In this episode, the hosts asked their guests about:
*** What has made this Final Four run by Purdue special? The Boilermakers lost to a No. 16 seed in the first round last year but have stormed back and asserted itself as one of the nation’s elite teams once again. Karpick said that defeat from the previous year kept this squad motivated.
*** Noah and Karpick talked about what went gone wrong in the 4 games the Boilermakers lost. Turnovers are the main concern. They broke down what went into Purdue’s close Elite 8 win against Tennessee and discussed what makes Edey special. After talking about the center’s star power, they also talked about the rest of the Purdue players Pack fans need to watch out for.
*** After a quick break, Ethan and Wellbaum discussed what makes this South Carolina team elite, outlining a few similarities between the two teams. The Gamecocks have six players averaging 9 or more points this season.
*** South Carolina has had a couple of close matchups in the postseason and, similarly to Purdue, Wellbaum said the main concern for this squad is ball security. Turnovers can occasionally cause them issues. Ethan and Wellbaum also talked about star post player Kamilla Cardoso, who leads the Gamecocks in points, rebounds and blocks per game, along with the rest of the balanced, talented roster.
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