Here’s Where NC State Stands in Latest Bracket Projections
The North Carolina State women's basketball team won both its ACC games last week, improving to 8-2 in the conference and boosting its chances at a postseason birth.
The Wolfpack sit in third place in the conference and just outside the AP Top 25, trailing No. 7 Louisville and No. 20 Duke as another weekend of games approaches. The Cardinals and the Blue Devils are both 10-0 in ACC play. NC State recently lost to Louisville in overtime and plays Duke on Feb. 19, hoping to boost its postseason resume.
A couple of experts have updated their Women's NCAA Tournament projections this week, so let's take a look at where the Wolpack (15-6, 8-2) stand.
ESPN
ESPN's updated bracket from earlier this week has the NC State women's team as the No. 5 seed in the second Sacramento Regional (The women's Tournamment recently implemented a strategy to have two cities host two regionals per tournament. Sacramento and Fort Worth have the honors in 2026). The matchup has the Wolfpack facing No. 12 seed Oregon State in a First Round game in Norman, Okla.
The winner would face either No. 4 seed Oklahoma (on its home floor) or No. 13 seed Montana State, and those teams would potentially lineup with No. 1 seed UCLA, the current No. 2 team in the country.
CBS
CBS has a harsher path for the Wolfpack women's team. It projects them as the No. 7 seed in the first Fort Worth Regional, facing No. 10 seed Arizona State. It's definitely more of a challenge to see a fellow power-conference team on the other side in the first round, and the path from CBS doesn't get any easier.
The Wolfpack matchup against the winner of No. 2 seed LSU ad No. 15 seed Eastern Kentucky, and if it was lucky enough to make it through the first-weekend gauntlet, it would be just one win away from taking on No. 1 overall UConn.
The Rest of the ACC
Overall, ESPN has nine ACC teams in the field, with Virginia Tech and Clemson making the "Last 4 In," and Miami (FL) and Virginia narrowly missing the Dance. Louisville is held in the highest regard as a No. 2 seed, while Duke currently sits at a five.
CBS has seven ACC teams in its latest bracket, with Clemson as part of the "Last Four In," Virginia and Virginia Tech among the "First Four Out," and Miami (FL) considered the "Next Four Out." Duke and Louisville have similar projections from CBS as they received from ESPN.
There's still plenty of season left, but the Wolfpack women's basketball team sits in a pretty good spot for the postseason with just over month until the NCAA Tournament.
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Travis Tyler joined On SI as a writer in January 2026. He has experience contributing to FanSided’s NFL, college football, and college basketball coverage, in addition to freelance work throughout the Dallas–Fort Worth area, including high school, college, and professional sports for the Dallas Express and contributions to the College Football Dawgs, Last Word on Sports/Hockey, and The Dallas Morning News. In addition to his writing, Travis contributes video and podcasting content to Fanatics View and regularly appears as a guest analyst. He is a graduate of Michigan State University and SMU and is an avid Detroit sports fan with a deep knowledge and appreciation of sports history. Follow Travis Tyler on Twitter at @TTyler_Sports.