There have been many long-lasting memories in NC State Wolfpack athletics history, with the 1983 national title game in men's basketball forever carrying the torch as the brightest of them all.

The Wolfpacker decided to do a bracket to determine what was the best game of the 2000s at NC State. In a difficult narrowing-down process that was sure to leave out some of the best moments, 32 contests were chosen for the tournament and divided into four regions: Carter-Finley, PNC Arena, Doak Field and Reynolds Coliseum.

They were seeded one through eight in each region, and in the end we will have the ultimate game since the turn of the millennium.

Saturday began the first round of the Doak Field Region. Here are the final two first round contests for that bracket.

TheWolfpacker.com premium members can vote on this poll on the message board here.

3 seed — football vs. UNC in 2010

With the ACC Atlantic Division title hopes on the line, NC State went to Chapel Hill to play the Tar Heels in Kenan Stadium in the second to last game of the regular season. Through much of three quarters, UNC had control. It led 19-10 when a scrambling Russell Wilson completed the most famous, two-yard Hail Mary in perhaps ACC history. The touchdown turned the tide of the game. After a defensive stop, NC State's T.J. Graham gave the Pack a lead with an electrifying punt return for a score.

UNC had a two-point conversion attempt to tie the game at 27 with just over a minute to go, but Tar Heel quarterback T.J. Yates was pressured and his pass attempt was incomplete. UNC had one last chance, but Yates was sacked in the endzone by Terrell Manning for a Wolfpack safety, the final points in a 29-25 win.

6 seed — basketball at No. 10 in UNC 2018

Led by a career-high 29 points from Allerik Freeman, who was on fire and made all seven of his three-point attempts, NC State won an overtime, 95-91 thriller in first-year head coach Kevin Keatts’ first trip with the Wolfpack to the Dean Smith Center.

Markell Johnson and Torin Dorn both had 20 points with Johnson also dishing 11 assists.

The victory avenged an embarrassing 51-point loss to the Heels a year before in Chapel Hill.

TheWolfpacker.com premium members can vote on this poll on the message board here.

2 seed — basketball vs. Connecticut in NCAA Tournament second round in 2005

The only thing standing in the way of a Sweet Sixteen berth for the defending national champion UConn Huskies was a hungry 10th-seeded NC State team.

Led by 17 points and six assists from Julius Hodge, NC State won 65-62. It was Hodge that put the game away in the final seconds. After UConn tied the game at 62 with 16 seconds left in the game, Hodge took the ball up the court and made a strong drive to the right to execute an old fashioned three-point play.

Hodge made the free throw and UConn missed a half-court heave to send the Wolfpack to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1989.

7 seed — football vs. Georgia Tech in 2000

Nothing is like a Thursday night game in Cater-Finley Stadium. The Pack was a surprising 3-0 behind a buzz-worthy true freshman quarterback named Philip Rivers, but facing doubters when preseason ranked Georgia Tech came to Raleigh in week four.

After looking overmatched at times in the first half and trailing 13-0 at the break, NC State rallied. Rivers threw for 262 yards and three touchdowns, all of which were caught by wide receiver Koren Robinson including the game-winner in overtime in a 30-23 victory.

——

• Talk about it inside The Wolves' Den

• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes

• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolfpacker

• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolfpacker

• Like us on Facebook