This will be the fourth time that NC State has played in the 8/9 game in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Here is a look back at the previous three trips to the Big Dance under that scenario.
2015
NC State was the No. 8 seed in the East Region and entered the tournament with a 20-13 overall record after going 10-8 in the ACC. That regular season included wins at UNC and Louisville, and a victory over eventual national champ Duke at home.
NCSU opened against an athletic LSU squad from the SEC. The game proved to be an all-time Wolfpack classic in Pittsburgh, Pa. The Tigers had a 14-point lead with less than 10 minutes remaining. LSU, though, went 12 for 22 at the line, and it missed its last six free throws over the final 3:59, setting up a dramatic finish in which NCSU’s BeeJay Anya made a short half-hook in the lane with 0.1 second left to give NC State a 66-65 win.
The good times continued in the next round when NCSU stunned top-seeded Villanova 71-68, but the Pack could not keep the momentum going in the Sweet 16, falling 75-65 to Louisville in Syracuse, N.Y.
2013
Once again an eight seed in the East, but unlike the 2015 squad this team was coming off a perceived disappointing campaign. The Pack was preseason No. 6 in the national polls, but a three-game ACC losing streak in late-January and early-February dimmed their profile.
NCSU played Temple in Dayton, Ohio, and the Pack apparently missed the alarm clock for the early tip time. The Owls led 38-22 at halftime.
NCSU mounted a furious second half rally to make the game close, but Temple hit its free throws down the stretch to preserve a 76-72 win that closed the Wolfpack's season at 24-11.
2003
NC State was a No. 9 seed in the East Region and played California in Oklahoma City, Okla. And it was a heartbreaker for the Wolfpack.
NCSU’s Scooter Sherrill made a three-pointer with 12.8 seconds left in overtime to give NC State a 74-73 lead, but the Bears answered with a three with 3.9 seconds on the clock for what proved to be a 76-74 victory for Cal.
NCSU posted three-consecutive ACC Tournament wins and had a lead late on Duke in the title game, a run that probably landed the Wolfpack in the NCAA Tournament. NC State ended its season at 18-13.
NC State did get some revenge on Cal three years later. Cameron Bennerman made a three-pointer to break a 52-52 tie with 32.3 seconds left and set up the 10-seeded Wolfpack with a 58-52 win, which would prove to be head coach Herb Sendek’s final victory at NCSU.
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