NC State (8) vs LSU (9), Thurs approx 9:20pm TBS, [Updated 9:45pm]

03/15/2015StateFans14-15 Basketball102

.@PackMensBball is going to the Big Dance as an 8 seed! They'll face #LSU on Thursday! #PackMadness #STATEment pic.twitter.com/ATkJdnHbs6

— NC State University (@NCState) March 15, 2015

The East bracket: http://t.co/HVShkLN4Pj pic.twitter.com/q5vlPrEHhz

— SI College Hoops (@si_ncaabb) March 15, 2015

NC State is seeded #8 in the East Region and will play 9th seeded LSU in Pittsburgh on Thursday. With the tournament bid, Mark Gottfried becomes the first coach in ACC history to earn an NCAA Tournament bid in each of his first four seasons and moves within one of the school’s all-time record of five straight.

Interestingly — NC State senior, Ralston Turner played at LSU for two seasons before transferring to NC State three years ago.

Turner: I don't really care who it is…I don't really know any of the guys. All the ones I played with are gone. pic.twitter.com/XkOyypsVEv

— Pack Pride (@PackPride) March 15, 2015

LSU was 22-10 on the year against the 97th toughest strength of schedule in the country; while NC State (20-13) finished the year at #39 in the RPI against the 9th toughest schedule in the country. The Tigers lost to Auburn in the SEC quarterfinals this weekend.

LSU went 3-2 against the Top 50 while NC State went 4-8. LSU’s three T50 wins were against Arkansas (#20), West Virginia (#24) and Georgia (#38).

LSU defeated West Virginia (74-73) on the road on December 4th…right around the time the Mountaineers manhandled NC State in Madison Square Garden. LSU also lost in November on a neutral floor to Clemson by three points. LSU also manhandled Tennessee in Knoxville in February, a Volunteers team that NC State also defeated relatively easily in December.

NC State has opened as 1.5 point favorite in Las Vegas.

The Sporting News has their preview up right now and is available by clicking here.

Storylines

— With ACC Player of the Year T.J. Warren, N.C. State beat Xavier in the first round of last year’s NCAA Tournament to move into the field of 64, but lost an overtime battle to St. Louis in the second round.

— The Wolfpack was on the wrong side of the tournament bubble in early February, but wins over Louisville and North Carolina within 10 days of each other vaulted them back into the Tournament discussion.

— Gottfried has taken the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first four seasons in Raleigh, advancing to the Sweet 16 in 2012.

— Quarterman and junior guard Josh Gray each average four assists per game. The Tigers have four players averaging double-digit scoring, and Mickey has averaged a double-double for the season. The Tigers average nearly 74 points per game.

— LSU is in the tournament for the 21st time in program history, reaching the Final Four in 1953, 1981, 1986 and 2006. LSU’s lone national title came in 1935, before the first NCAA Tournament in 1939.

— The Tigers have steadily improved under Jones, who has LSU in the Tourney for the first time since 2009. Jones previously took North Texas to the Big Dance in 2007 and 2010.

If Wolfpackers have much about which to complain it would be having to be in the same bracket with two ACC brethren – Louisville and Virginia.

CBS’s Clark Kellogg thinks that LSU will make it to the second weekend by defeating NC State and Villanova, but Doug Gottlieb followed up with a counter point that he thinks NC State is the team to watch.

I tend to agree with ESPN’s Jim Calhoun who states that he looks NOT at ‘how a good a team did all year’, but instead at ‘how good a team is/can be.’ Calhoun then called NC State ‘immensely talented’. Ultimately, NC State was the 31st overall seed in the tournament and LSU was the 35th overall. See the entire seed list below.