Wolfpack Seeded Fifth in ACC Tournament
The NC State basketball team is the No. 5 seed at next week's ACC tournament in Greensboro and will play its first game on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. against the winner of an opening round game between 12th-seeded Wake Forest and No. 13 Pittsburgh.
Coach Kevin Keatts' team secured its spot in the top half of the tournament bracket thanks to the combination of its win against Wake Forest on Friday and Syracuse's overtime loss to Miami on Saturday.
Both teams finished the regular season with 10-10 conference records, but State earned the higher seed by virtue of its head-to-head win against the Orange at Carrier Dome on Feb. 11. Georgia Tech's postseason ban also played into the equation, since the Yellow Jackets would have been seeded higher than both State and Syracuse had it been eligible to participate.
The Wolfpack (19-12 overall) is hoping for a strong showing in Greensboro to enhance its NCAA tournament resume heading into Selection Sunday. For that to happen, however, it will likely take a quarterfinal win against fourth-seeded Duke, since neither Wake nor Pitt are high enough in the NET rankings to have a positive impact on State's chances.
Top-seeded Florida State is also on the Wolfpack's side of the bracket could potentially be its semifinal opponent if both teams advance that far.
The other seeds include defending national champion Virginia at No. 2, Louisville at No. 3, Notre Dame at No. 7, Clemson at No. 8, Miami at No. 9, Boston College at No. 10, Virginia Tech at No. 11 and North Carolina at No. 14.
Here is the entire ACC tournament schedule with game times and television networks:
Tuesday, March 10
First Round
4:30 p.m. – No. 12 Wake Forest vs. No. 13 Pitt (ACC Network)
7 p.m. – No. 11 Virginia Tech vs. No. 14 North Carolina (ACC Network)
Wednesday, March 11
Second Round
Noon – No. 8 Clemson vs. No. 9 Miami (ESPN)
2 p.m. – No. 5 NC State vs. Wake Forest/Pitt winner (ESPN)
7 p.m. – No. 7 Notre Dame vs. No. 10 Boston College (ESPN2)
9 p.m. – No. 6 Syracuse vs. Virginia Tech/North Carolina winner (ESPN2)
Thursday, March 12
Quarterfinals
12:30 p.m. – No. 1 Florida State vs. Clemson/Miami winner (ESPN or ESPN2)
2:30 p.m. – No. 4 Duke vs. Wednesday 2 p.m. winner (ESPN or ESPN2)
7 p.m. – No. 2 Virginia vs. Wednesday 7 p.m. winner (ESPN or ESPN2)
9 p.m. – No. 3 Louisville vs. Wednesday 9 p.m. winner (ESPN or ESPN2)
Friday, March 13
Semifinals
7 p.m. – Thursday afternoon winners (ESPN or ESPN2)
9 p.m. – Thursday evening winners (ESPN or ESPN2)
Saturday, March 14
Championship
8:30 p.m. – Semifinal winners (ESPN)
