In 2014, Patrick Stevens was one of the few that correctly projected NC State in the NCAA Tournament. Most had written off the Wolfpack’s chances, but very early during the Selection Sunday Show, NC State’s name was called to play Xavier in Dayton, Ohio, in one of the first four games.
Stevens released his latest projected brackets for the 2018 NCAA Tournament in The Washington Post and went into a little detail about NC State as it approaches its final two games of the regular season:
“History shows the committee isn’t kind to such teams; the last double-digit at-large seed with a non-conference schedule ranked worse than No. 250 was Air Force in 2006. So the solution for such teams is to create separation from the cut line, and thus make their weak schedules a moot point for the committee.
“NC State (20-9, 10-6 ACC) is as close to achieving that as it has been all season. The Wolfpack, owners of victories over Arizona, Clemson, Duke and North Carolina, have won four in a row in increasingly impressive fashion.”
Stevens noted that NCSU’s non-conference SOS is No. 262, but he has NC State as a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament’s West Region (link), playing its first-round game in Nashville, Tenn. The irony of his bracket: NCSU would play eighth-seeded Nevada, whose stars are former Wolfpack players Caleb and Cody Martin. The two transferred to Nevada following the 2015-16 season. The winner of the game would presumably play top-seeded Xavier in the second round.
ESPN’s Joe Lunardi bracket released Wedneday (link) also has NCSU as a No. 9 seed, but in the East Region in a similar setup to its 2015 tournament appearance. Like then, the first two rounds would be played in Pittsburgh, where the top seed is Villanova. NC State upset Villanova in Pittsburgh in 2015 en route to the Sweet 16. Lunardi’s first-round opponent would be No. 8 seed Texas A&M.
CBSSports.com’s Jerry Palm, who is updating his bracket every morning, joins the chorus of having NCSU as a No. 9 seed (link). Like Stevens, Palm has NC State in the Midwest Region, but playing No. 8 seed Arizona State in Detroit, in the first round with Xavier likely looming next. Former NC State basketball player Levi Watkins is an assistant on the Sun Devils’ staff.
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