Bracketology Update for NC State From ESPN and Others
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RALEIGH — As January comes to an end and conference seasons are more than halfway completed, the clarity of which programs around college basketball are going to be playing in the NCAA Tournament is becoming more apparent. Bracketologists around the country are releasing regular updates as to where teams like NC State might end up on Selection Sunday.
ESPN's Joe Lunardi and other more consistent bracketology outlets are fairly aligned on the Wolfpack's position in the current field, but Will Wade's team could easily maneuver either forward and into better seedlines or out of the field entirely if the wheels fell off the bus. Where does the Pack stand now?
A general consensus
The 2026 Bracket Matrix, a service that aggregates nearly all bracketology services and analysts, excluding Lunardi at ESPN, has NC State slotted as a No. 10 seed for the 2026 NCAA Tournament with the Jan. 26 update of brackets. The Wolfpack appeared on 91 of 96 possible brackets, the slight majority of which included it as a 10-seed.
Lunardi's latest bracket for ESPN was slightly more favorable than the rest of the Matrix, placing NC State in the Midwest region as a 9-seed. The regional selections this early are somewhat pointless, as there's no way to strongly anticipate how the committee will feel about geography, but as of now, Lunardi doesn't believe the Wolfpack has been strong enough to get the benefit of playing in the East or South.
A 9-seed wouldn't be ideal for the Wolfpack, as it would set up a matchup with the top seed in that region in the next round. However, the prospect of being in the 10 to 11 range puts NC State at risk of a trip to Dayton for a First Four game. Lunardi has the Wolfpack fairly far from that possibility and the Matrix itself gave NC State an average seed line of 9.54, meaning it's still close to moving up firmly into the upper seedline.
The good news for the Pack is that it has plenty of opportunities to distinguish itself in the rest of the ACC schedule because of the strength of the league. According to Bracketologists.com, NC State has six remaining opportunities against Quadrant 1 opponents and four against Quadrant 2 opponents. Should it hold strong in those games and knock off a couple of Quadrant 1 foes, the odds of a better seed come March improve significantly.
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Tucker Sennett graduated summa cum laude with a B.A. in Sports Journalism from the esteemed Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. A former basketball player, he has gained valuable experience working at Cronkite News and brings a deep passion for sports and reporting to his role as the NC State Wolfpack Beat Writer On SI.
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