NC State Basketball Head Coach Makes Argument to Expand ACC Tournament
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Entering the final week of the regular season, the 2024-25 NC State basketball squad (11-18, 4-14 ACC) is on the verge of entirely missing out on the ACC Tournament, March 11-15.
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Due to the additions of SMU, Cal, and Stanford to the conference, the bottom three programs in the standings won't be part of the 15-team bracket in Charlotte's Spectrum Center.
Following the Wolfpack's 87-62 loss at Georgia Tech on Saturday, eighth-year NC State basketball leader and defending ACC Tournament champion head coach Kevin Keatts made a valid point as to why the conference should expand the bracket to include every team:
"Here's my argument for looking at that: all [ACC] schedules are not created equal.
"And if you look at our schedule compared to somebody else, you know, our strength of schedule may be tougher. And so now, do you weigh the schedules and say, 'Alright, well, this team played a way tougher ACC schedule than the other team, and they're getting in?'"
"What makes the tournament so unique [in the past] is you play an unbalanced schedule, and everybody can get in, but when you get in the tournament, it's nothing unbalanced. The cream always rises to the top. And we were the cream at that point [last year].
"So, I would say one suggestion is we need to look at strength of schedules. And I don't know where we fit out of 18. But I do know that the couple of games that we have to play, you know, we go to Duke, we go to Carolina, we go to Wake Forest — play them twice.
"You know, we've played the top of the league for a good amount of years, and that may be something that needs to be considered.
"Do I fix it? I don't know that. That's completely up to the athletic directors and the ACC to take a look at that part of it.
"But I will say every conference schedule is not created equal."
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Matt Giles is the editor and publisher of NC State Wolfpack on SI, Duke Blue Devils on SI, and North Carolina Tar Heels on SI, making him a key source for comprehensive coverage of these storied college basketball programs. Since joining NC State Wolfpack on SI in 2024, Matt has been dedicated to providing in-depth analysis, breaking news, and exclusive content on all three teams. He covers everything from game previews and recaps to player profiles and recruiting updates. Matt's expert knowledge of these teams has made his work a go-to resource for fans and followers of Duke, NC State, and UNC. As publisher, he shapes the editorial direction, ensuring that the most relevant and timely information reaches his audience.
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