Wolfpack Flashback: A Day to Survive And Advance

March 18 has been eventful date in NC State postseason basketball history, Here's a look back at the five games the Wolfpack have played, including a First Four victory, one of the best wins of the Mark Gottfried era and an improbable come-from-behind miracle ignited a national championship run

The only Madness going on this March is taking place off the court, with the NCAA tournament cancelled in response to the growing coronavirus crisis. With no actual games to report on, SI All Wolfpack is looking back in time to remember some of NC State's best postseason games from the past. Today, we look back at the five games State has played on March 18, a date that has produced a First Four victory, the high point of the Mark Gottfried era and a come-from-behind miracle that ignited a national championship run.

The NC State basketball team may or may not have been playing on Wednesday as part of the NCAA's First Four in Dayton had the tournament not been canceled because of the coronavirus crisis.

But if it had, it would have added yet another chapter in one of the more eventful dates in Wolfpack postseason history.

In fact, State's most recent game on March 18 came at the First Four back in 2014.

That night, ACC Player of the Year T.J. Warren put on a show by scoring 16 of his 25 points in the second half to lead the Wolfpack to a 74-59 victory against Xavier. Warren's offensive heroics were part of a hot second half that saw State shoot 61.5 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes.

The win was also an extension of the end of the regular season, which saw coach Mark Gottfried's team win five of its final six games -- including a victory against Syracuse at the ACC tournament -- before surviving and advancing against the Muskateers.

Speaking of surviving and advancing, the most memorable State game played on March 18 game at the start of the postseason run that made the term a household word.

Coach Jim Valvano's Cinderella Wolfpack was on its way out of the tournament almost before it ever started when it fell behind Pepperdine by six points with a minute-and-a-half left in overtime of its opening round game in Corvallis, Ore.

But with point guard Sidney Lowe having already fouled out, State took advantage of several missed free throws by the Waves to battle back and force a second overtime when Cozell McQueen scored on an offensive rebound with eight seconds remaining.

Dereck Whittenburg then scored eight of his 22 points in the final five-minute period to lead the Wolfpack to an improbable 69-67 win that set the tone for the national championship run to come.

Although State's 2012 team didn't win a title, advancing only to the Sweet 16, its most meaningful win also came on March 18.

It was a 66-63 upset of third-seeded Georgetown in Columbus, Ohio, that was also arguably the high point of Gottfried's tenure with the Wolfpack.

C.J. Williams, Scott Wood and C.J. Leslie each had 14 points, and Lorenzo Brown added 12 for the 11th-seeded Wolfpack, who earned their first trip to the Sweet 16 since 2005. State's defense sparked a 12-0 first half run that included seven points by Williams and helped turn an eight-point deficit into a three-point halftime lead.

The advantage grew to 11 in the second half before the Hoyas battled back. But Brown made three of four free throws in the final 10 seconds to seal the victory.

The other two games the Wolfpack played on March 18 were a contrast between a 75-63 first round victory against Charlotte in 2005 in which Julius Hodge nearly posted a triple-double and disappointing first round 78-75 upset loss to Murray State in Lincoln, Neb. in 1988.