NC State advances to NIT

09-10 Basketball General54

In what is a logical progression on the road to next year’s NCAA Tournament, the NC State Wolfpack hold a 6th seed will play at 3rd seeded South Florida at 8pm Tuesday night on ESPNU. Link to TampaOnline article:

The Bulls (20-12) will seek their first postseason win in 15 years against the Wolfpack (19-15), who finished 11th out of 12 teams in the ACC, with a 5-11 record in conference play. N.C. State has played some of its best basketball in the state of Florida this year, with wins at Florida State and Miami.

With a No. 3 seed, the Bulls would likely play their second NIT game on the road later this week, though an upset could open up another home game for USF.

You can view the entire NIT bracket by clicking here.

The television analyst in ESPNU’s studio had the following positive things to say about State:

“NC State is the other team on this side of the bracket that intrigues me…I think NC State is a scary team”

The Wolfpack’s bracket appears to be one of the tougher while the bracket that includes Virginia Tech as the #1 seed appears to be the easiest.

Strangely, The University of North Carolina Tarheels not only got a bid, but was a full two seeds above the Wolfpack in the exact same bracket. But, when you consider that higher seeds get to play at home and ESPN can now broadcast another Carolina basketball game…perhaps their bid and seeding isn’t so strange. Somewhere, a bubble team like UNC-Charlotte is wishing for some justice.

To be honest, I would rather draw South Florida than William & Mary who will do battle with the Tarheels. You can click here for more conversation about USF.

The following is the NIT schedule taken from the NIT’s website:

First Round: Tuesday, March 16 and Wednesday, March 17

Second Round: Thursday, March 18, Friday, March 19, Saturday, March, 20 and Monday, March 22

Quarterfinal Round: Tuesday, March 23 and Wednesday, March 24

Semifinals: Tuesday, March 30 7pm & 9pm (Madison Square Garden)

Championship: Thursday, April 1 7pm (Madison Square Garden)

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09-10 Basketball General

54 Responses to NC State advances to NIT

  1. theghost 03/14/2010 at 10:03 PM #

    first, no chance we see the holes – NIT is all about who wants to be there, which is why the 1 seeds don’t do so well b/c they’re disappointed. Nobody wants to be there less than those arrogant pricks. If Bill & Mary don’t get them, Varnado will – their only chance is if Jackson State upsets Miss. St.

    Second, really surprised they passed up the opportunity to pair us in the AZ St bracket.

    Lastly – anybody have any clue how home court is determined? How is Illinois @ Stony Brook?

  2. whit25 03/14/2010 at 11:46 PM #

    Higher seeds have home court advantage. However, Illinois’ home court had another event already booked–Cirque du Soleil. So the Illini have to hit the road while the French circus is in town.

  3. ADVENTUROO 03/15/2010 at 6:14 AM #

    Mywife had read somewhere that the Dean Dome was undergoing renovations and that the NIT could not be played here.

    Anyone else read that?

    I thought that maybe they were changing the logos and signs so that it was officially, ROY’s DOME….

    Also, understand that they got some Stimulus Funding to install Robotic Rowdy Fan Picking & Extraction (RRFPE) equipment so that Roy could take care of business from his iPhone or BlackBerry. This would be more time efficient and also reduce the operating costs.

    OH WELL….it is amazing what name recognition will do….sort of the UCLA Halo effect.

    GO PACK….Hope the Heels get what they so markedly deserve….

  4. Wulfpack 03/15/2010 at 6:33 AM #

    Your wife is correct. UNC is playing its NIT games at Carmichael due to renovations to the basketball offices. Awesome!

  5. Wulfpack 03/15/2010 at 6:40 AM #

    Here is the rationale for UNC’s NIT bid and subsequent #4 seeding:

    http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2010/03/15/1314609/tar-heels-wolfpack-in-big-name.html

    North Carolina will play its opening game at Carmichael Arena because of renovations to the Smith Center offices. Entering the selection show, earning a high enough seed to host a game seemed like a stretch, considering the Tar Heels’ record, 32-point loss to Duke in the regular-season finale, and first-round exit from the ACC tournament.

    But C.M. Newton, chair of the selection committee, insisted Sunday night the decision to invite the Tar Heels, and give them a home game in the 32-team field, had nothing to do with potential ticket sales or the fact that they are a “name” program.

    “Their schedule was the determining factor,” Newton said, referring to nonconference games that included Syracuse, Michigan State, Texas and Kentucky. “They played such a demanding schedule … the thinking was that some of the teams that hadn’t played such a demanding schedule wouldn’t have had as good a record as North Carolina had, had they played that schedule.”

  6. bradleyb123 03/15/2010 at 7:27 AM #

    But C.M. Newton, chair of the selection committee, insisted Sunday night the decision to invite the Tar Heels, and give them a home game in the 32-team field, had nothing to do with potential ticket sales or the fact that they are a “name” program.

    Of course he’s going to say that. He can’t really come out and say, “How often can we select the defending national champions into the NIT?” It’s the Carolina name. Period.

  7. packfan03 03/15/2010 at 7:31 AM #

    “Their schedule was the determining factor,” Newton said, referring to nonconference games that included Syracuse, Michigan State, Texas, and Kentucky.”

    It’s a mystery as to why the Chairman left off College of Charleston? I wish we lived in a world of follow-up questions…

    If we played UNX’s schedule and produced the same results, the rationalization would be to use the College of Charleston loss as the determinant for why we were left OUT of the NIT.

  8. nav 03/15/2010 at 7:34 AM #

    Say what you want about the NIT but there are some pretty good teams this year in the NIT. Illinois, UCONN, Miss St, Dayton, and many others.

  9. packfan03 03/15/2010 at 7:42 AM #

    For perspective:

    NC State plays the Big East’s leading scorer in Dominque Jones. He scored 140 points in a four game stretch earlier this year. He did this against Providence, Seton Hall, Pitt, and Georgetown.

    UNX plays William and Mary, who lost the last game they played to Old Dominion. Granted, they were able to beat Maryland earlier in the year, but let’s not kid ourselves here. There is a BIG descrepancy in the talent between the #3 seed (USF) and #5 seed (W&M) in a 32 team tournament.

  10. Wulfpack 03/15/2010 at 7:54 AM #

    Yes I agree, but Bill and Mary is exactly the type of team that gives UNC fits. Very organized, well coached, good shooting team. My real beef is that this game should be played in Williamsburg and not Chapel. Just flip the seeds.

    Hey, if UNC loses, which is a very real possibility, we’ll all be singing around here. USF is no slouch, but I think we win a close one. Hope the legs can recover. Quick turnaround. Anyone know when practice is today?

  11. Classof89 03/15/2010 at 8:04 AM #

    This looks like a one and done for us. Particularly with the 72 hour turnaround for a game in Florida.

  12. Rochester 03/15/2010 at 8:06 AM #

    If UNC loses, they finish the year with a losing record, at 16-17. That right there would make me glad the NIT invited them.

  13. Prowling Woofie 03/15/2010 at 8:20 AM #

    No griping and moaning from me – Glad the Pack earned an invitation !

    I’ll take it as a sign of progress and a reward for the guys for their improvement in the final stretch.

    Once again, Survive and Advance, Pack !

    I actually think they’ll play inspired ball tomorrow night, as they should feel the need to make up for the egg they laid against GT Saturday. I know they were tired, but they had no business losing to the dumbest team in America.

  14. coach13 03/15/2010 at 8:20 AM #

    Look for W&M to possibly send UNC home. 4th seed? whatever.
    Love to see the Pack keep the momentum, but it will be tough on the road after such a draining close loss. Hope they can get up for the NIT. If they can keep their end of season descent play going and get to the end of this NIT, it will be a great springboard into next year, a good character builder. Go Pack!

  15. packfan03 03/15/2010 at 8:26 AM #

    Scott Wood and Tracy Smith were named to the 2nd All-Tournament Team for the ACC Tournament, FWIW.

    Hope Javi’s ankle is rested for Tuesday. We’ve been spoiled, this will the fourth game in six days :-).

  16. coach13 03/15/2010 at 8:27 AM #

    Changing subjects completely, has anyone gone to Rivals.com? One of the headlines is UNC gearing up for Conf. Championship? Didn’t they fail at trying to talk them into a preseason championship last year???? It is absolute crap like that that makes me hate them so much.

  17. Wolfy__79 03/15/2010 at 9:28 AM #

    the nit field is loaded with tough teams.. especially from our perspective. i don’t have any worries about our rival powder puffs doing much and i would love to the 16-17 exit from the season. IMO, i think the team can make a pretty smooth transition from the ACC tourney to a road game at USF. my judgement of the seeding is that we got placed in a very tough bracket against some of the hotter teams. but, i think this will be great experience if we can snag a few W’s. in most years, most of the higher seeds don’t want to be there but this year i’ll say that won’t be the case. i see vt being very inspired after getting snubbed so often, if they were to win.. that would help going into next year. i don’t think they will come close, but uconn and miss st will make some noise. i’m interested to see how far we can get.

  18. Wolfy__79 03/15/2010 at 9:31 AM #

    ^the only way to end the tarhole media hype is to issue beatdowns at every corner. the media is composed of a bunch of unc-ch alumni blowhards.

  19. packfan03 03/15/2010 at 9:58 AM #

    I don’t have sympathy for VT. The fact of the matter is they put themselves on the perpetual bubble every year. Losing to Miami in the ACC tournament, when their position in the NCAA was already tenuous, was inexplicable. I understand missing shots and other teams simply “showing up”, as Miami certainly did this tournament. But VT’s effort was missing with the tournament on the line.

    They have a talented backcourt and some nice complimentary pieces up front. I think they are good team – a dangerous team, but too often they fell flat.

    Side note: Your welcome, Florida. Enjoy the tournament. You were 75 feet closer than VT…

  20. PackerInRussia 03/15/2010 at 11:24 AM #

    “http://espn.go.com/sportsnation/buzzerbeaters – glad we made it. Go to ESPN to vote the Lorenzo Charles buzzerbeater as the greatest of all time. Othewise Duke wins…again”

    You should go post that on Kentucky message boards. They would be as avidly against the Laettner shot winning as we would be in favor of Charles dunk.

  21. PackerInRussia 03/15/2010 at 11:27 AM #

    “Their schedule was the determining factor,” Newton said, referring to nonconference games that included Syracuse, Michigan State, Texas and Kentucky. “They played such a demanding schedule”

    So, is that like an “A” for effort type thing? Is the message, “Play a tough schedule and get rewarded. Winning is optional.” Maybe next year all participants will get a trophy and no score will be kept.

  22. rtpack24 03/15/2010 at 11:29 AM #

    USF is not a bad match up for us. Degand on Jones and we do not let them start running we have a good chance. I must say Javi’s slinging Favors to the floor is one of the most bizarre basketball plays I have witnessed. Thank God cooler heads prevailed or that could have become nasty fast. GT is probably one of the most physical teams in the country. UNC played a tough OOC schedule but lost to everyone but Mich ST so I guess you just play good teams and lose and this counts in your favor.

  23. MatSci94 03/15/2010 at 11:50 AM #

    “Lastly – anybody have any clue how home court is determined? How is Illinois @ Stony Brook?”

    I read somewhere that it was due to a scheduling conflict on Illinois’ end.

  24. PoppaJohn 03/15/2010 at 12:12 PM #

    ^ a previous post said Cirque du Soleil had the arena booked

  25. wolfpacktexx 03/15/2010 at 1:21 PM #

    Making the NIT is what I envisioned as this team’s upside barring a miraculous ACC tourney run. Foul shoots hurt us once again in the ACC Semi-final game. USF is not a cupcake but I rather play them than a William and Mary type team. Hopefully UNC will get a deserving Bill and Mary beating at Carmichael…
    Note: William and Mary won at both WFU and at Maryland’s home court.

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