NC State Women's Basketball Bracketology Outlook With Two Games Left
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RALEIGH — Following an 82-69 victory over Syracuse on Sunday, NC State women's basketball earned the right to control its own destiny with just two league games to play before the ACC Tournament. That destiny is a top-four seed in the tournament, which would guarantee the Wolfpack a double bye at the event in Duluth, Ga.
While the back-to-back losses to Notre Dame and No. 9 Duke likely pushed the Wolfpack far away from hosting the first or second round of the NCAA Tournament, Wes Moore's squad is still in the hunt for a more favorable seed come March. That now hinges more on a strong finish to the ACC regular season and a run through the conference tournament.
Tournament resumé and bracketology update
As things stand on Sunday, NC State sits in a tie for fourth place with Virginia and Syracuse, but the Wolfpack holds the head-to-head advantage over both the Cavaliers and the Orange. While the NET rankings update hasn't come out at the time of this writing, the Pack is in position at 24th in the country, fourth-best in the ACC behind Louisville, Duke and North Carolina.
The Feb. 20 update of the ESPN Bracketology included the Wolfpack's loss to No. 9 Duke, but not the victory over Syracuse. NC State slid to an eight-seed in that edition of the prediction update. Moore's team could really use two more wins, even if the opponents don't boost the resumé much. Wake Forest and Pitt are the final regular-season foes, with both lingering near the bottom of the ACC standings.
The double bye in the ACC Tournament would give NC State a handful of shots at opponents that are likely to be ranked in the upper tier of the NET rankings. The Wolfpack hasn't had much success against opponents ranked in the AP Top 25 throughout the 2025-26 season, holding just one victory over a ranked opponent in the season opener against Tennessee. While there have been some close calls, the Pack came incredibly close against a handful of teams projected to hold higher seeds in ESPN's latest update.
A year ago, Moore had the Wolfpack considered as an elite program fresh off the heels of a Final Four appearance. While the season ended disappointingly in the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament, a similar run this season would be deemed a massive success. Only time will tell if the Pack is capable of such a run.
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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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