Backing The Pack - All PostsCheering for anyone else is for quitters.https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47119/backingthepack-fave.png2024-03-18T13:45:16-04:00http://www.backingthepack.com/rss/current/2024-03-18T13:45:16-04:002024-03-18T13:45:16-04:00NCAA tournament round one tip times, TV coverage set
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/OgsKPJ9RIaaY6CK37pmCTJaWLqk=/0x0:5342x3561/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215710/usa_today_22798065.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="vEnOIs">Television coverage and tip times are out for both the <a href="https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/2024-march-madness-tv-schedule-announcers-how-to-watch-ncaa-tournament-tip-times-tv-channels-bracket/">men’s</a> and <a href="https://www.ncaa.com/news/basketball-women/article/2024-03-17/2024-march-madness-womens-ncaa-tournament-schedule-dates-times">women’s</a> tournaments. On the men’s side, NC State is set to tip against Texas Tech in Pittsburgh at 9:40 p.m. ET on Thursday night on CBS.</p>
<p id="EL1gmQ">The first game of the night session there, between Oakland and Kentucky, is set for 7:10, so State’s game should start roughly on time barring overtime shenanigans in that one. The announcing crew in Pittsburgh will be Andrew Catalon, Steve Lappas, and Evan Washburn.</p>
<p id="lnYahs">The women are scheduled to tip against Chattanooga at 2:30 p.m. ET on Saturday, with television coverage by ESPNU. Green Bay and Tennessee play at noon. There’s the possibility of overlap should the men advance past Texas Tech, though I would guess that we’d stay on the night session track for Saturday as well. But second round tip times won’t be locked in until the opening round concludes.</p>
<p id="jiFbxF">Go Packs!</p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/18/24105009/nc-state-tip-time-ncaa-tournament-schedule-wolfpack-basketballSteven Muma2024-03-18T11:33:57-04:002024-03-18T11:33:57-04:00Join the BTP NCAA tournament pools
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/b5BZoYe6mNCsCdQEZB0oy65kqRU=/0x0:2806x1871/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215304/usa_today_22797872.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="G6sEHl">The brackets are set, so now it’s pickin’ time. I have tournament pools for the men’s and women’s tournaments set up over at ESPN. Links below, if you feel so inclined. </p>
<p id="EkhHbY"><strong>Men</strong></p>
<p id="Ed4xJz">Group name: <a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/games/tournament-challenge-bracket-2024/group?id=0c7a1b46-dd11-35c4-9936-b777ddcbd0cd">BTP The Tourney Pool 2024</a></p>
<p id="OZ69EP">Password: macrowave</p>
<p id="cO3PkB"><strong>Women</strong></p>
<p id="NUw3Xx">Group name: <a href="https://fantasy.espn.com/games/tournament-challenge-bracket-women-2024/group?id=dc7f87bb-70a4-4ee9-92d9-3492e0004613">BTP The Women’s Tourney Pool 2024</a></p>
<p id="m2avB1">Password: macrowave</p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/18/24104859/join-the-btp-ncaa-tournament-poolsSteven Muma2024-03-18T09:59:01-04:002024-03-18T09:59:01-04:00Pitching woes continue to plague State
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<img alt="COLLEGE BASEBALL: APR 26 East Carolina at N.C. State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wLbBsYzuZ0jI18wpTa3jw5UE6cw=/0x0:4482x2988/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73215020/1240334533.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Nicholas Faulkner/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Bullpen allowed 17 runs in three losses at Georgia Tech</p> <p id="umghT7">Georgia Tech swept NC State over the weekend in Atlanta as the baseball team had no thoughts on partaking of the good vibes being created by the basketball team. </p>
<p id="SCf7B7">The Wolfpack surrendered an early 2-0 lead on Friday, giving up seven combined runs over the 5th in 6th innings in an 8-5 loss. Saturday looked like State would even the series, but the Pack gave up five combined runs across the 7th and 8th innings in an 8-7 loss. Sunday was just a straight beatdown with a mercy-rule 7-inning loss by a final score of 15-5.</p>
<p id="0Gx14N">Pretty horrid weekend for the Pack9, who now sit at 3-3 in conference, 12-6 overall, and 50th in RPI.</p>
<p id="7vc3aF">Pitching continues to be the major issue for the Wolfpack. Sam Highfill looked good over the first four innings of his Friday start, but surrendered a pair of homers - and with them, the lead - in the 5th inning. Logan Whitaker put together a solid start on Saturday and, despite also giving up a pair of homers, exited in the 6th with State staked to a 3-run lead. Dominic Fritton is struggling, surrendering 4+ earned runs in four of five starts this year.</p>
<p id="X6XLCN">Fritton is far from the only one struggling on the mound. As a whole, State’s pitching staff ranks 10th or lower in the ACC in ERA and opponent batting average, as well as in per game averages of runs, earned runs, hits, home runs, walks, and strikeouts. The Pack have all of one pitcher (freshman RHP Jacob Dudan) who has thrown 3.0+ innings on the year and sports an ERA under 4.00. That ain’t good.</p>
<p id="DRG6Gs">With a schedule that doesn’t get any easier any time soon - #16 Coastal Carolina comes to town Tuesday followed by #6 Duke this weekend - NC State needs to correct it’s pitching woes if it has any ideas of participating in the postseason this year. That may be a little overly dramatic statement for mid-March, but the results over the last five games have been worrisome at best.</p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-baseball/2024/3/18/24104712/pitching-woes-continue-to-plague-nc-state-wolfpack-baseballPirateWolf2024-03-17T20:59:55-04:002024-03-17T20:59:55-04:00Ladies receive a No. 3 seed, will open against Chattanooga in Raleigh
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<img alt="NCAA Womens Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Semifinal - NC State vs Florida State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/Lpm2Y_JevjTKGR3Q6R2uoNwbpU0=/0x0:4578x3052/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73214193/usa_today_22734476.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>David Yeazell-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="bytZ2S">NC State landed right where expected in the NCAA field, earning a No. 3 seed in Regional 4 in Portland, so the Wolfpack will host the first two rounds at Reynolds Coliseum. </p>
<p id="d4RnoS">State will open with No. 14 Chattanooga, which is Wes Moore’s former school—the Mocs enter the tournament with an impressive 28-4 record. As if that weren’t enough of a storyline, Kellie Harper’s Tennessee program is also coming to Raleigh as the No. 6 seed, so the Pack may need to beat its former coach to get to the second weekend. No. 11 Green Bay rounds out the four-team pod in Raleigh.</p>
<p id="7XeW7R">The overall draw is pretty good, as State avoided South Carolina and Iowa and got Texas as its region’s top seed. Stanford is the two-seed and the likely Sweet Sixteen matchup, should the Wolfpack advance that far. </p>
<p id="T7rtVm">Getting through the first two rounds doesn’t figure to be easy, and Tennessee is plenty dangerous—the Vols would have upended South Carolina in the SEC tournament if not for a highly unlikely last-second shot by the Gamecocks to steal that one. </p>
<p id="35BEai"><a href="https://www.espn.com/womens-college-basketball/bracket">See the complete women’s bracket here</a>. </p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-wolfpack-women/2024/3/17/24104430/ladies-receive-a-no-3-seed-will-open-against-chattanooga-in-raleighSteven Muma2024-03-17T18:25:24-04:002024-03-17T18:25:24-04:00NC State is the No. 11 seed in the South, opens with No. 6 Texas Tech
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sIS2hre3sKfK-9P-LsLjIthOPt4=/0x0:2675x1783/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73213832/usa_today_22798054.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Let’s dance.</p> <p id="nYvMMy">NC State is headed to Pittsburgh. The Wolfpack earned the No. 11 seed in the South Region, and will open against No. 6 Texas Tech on Thursday. Houston is the top seed in this region.</p>
<p id="QMj6Ds">Opposite 6/11 game is No. 3 Kentucky and No. 14 Oakland.</p>
<p id="K74fza">This is not a bad draw for the Pack, as Texas Tech isn’t under-seeded—the Red Raiders, who finished 23-10 (11-9) check in at No. 24 in the Pomeroy Ratings, with the 23rd-ranked offense and 45th-ranked defense. It’s a good team for sure, but also one with some flaws that State can exploit—namely poor defensive rebounding and just an average offensive turnover rate. The Red Raiders are 299th in average height, and also 294th in bench minutes. They won’t look to push the pace, and State will have the opportunity to make them a little uncomfortable there.</p>
<p id="qVOZCx">The Red Raiders shoot a lot of threes and rank 38th in 3FG%, so that figures to play a large role in the outcome. Bring it!</p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/17/24104276/nc-state-ncaa-tournament-south-region-college-basketball-wolfpackSteven Muma2024-03-17T03:11:27-04:002024-03-17T03:11:27-04:00NC State is going dancing — but where?
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/0ywcI7A3YW9U2ovnkZt4Ytj4vQU=/0x0:4910x3273/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212752/usa_today_22797945.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Amber Searls-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>I might write 500 posts in the next two days just to keep using these photos. </p> <p id="Hgms6E">NC State officially minted itself as a bid thief on Saturday night, and isn’t that just delightful? Why sit politely in the waiting room when you can just force the lock on the door and steal a chair? We should have done this a lot sooner. </p>
<p id="hPy3gp">The Wolfpack will be in the NCAA tournament, and the only thing we can say for certain is that the team will not be in Dayton. The First Four is reserved for the last four at-large teams in the field, so as a power conference auto-qualifier, State gets to skip right on past that and into the field proper. Good deal. </p>
<p id="VZYcqW">The consensus very very early here on Sunday is that the Pack will be an 11-seed. That’s <a href="https://www.espn.com/espn/feature/story/_/page/bracketology/ncaa-bracketology-2024-march-madness-men-field-predictions">where Joe Lunardi has the Pack</a> at this point, and it’s where State averages out in the projections that have updated to reflect the ACC title game result, according to <a href="https://bracketmatrix.com/">Bracket Matrix</a>. It’s worth noting that a few bracketologists listed there have State as a 10-seed, which seems plausible depending on how the committee decides to weigh the Duke/UNC wins in the ACC tourney vs. the Pack’s otherwise modest metrics.</p>
<p id="Br6qf1">Five straight wins did a hell of a lot for those metrics, though—State began the ACC tourney at 76 in the Pomeroy Ratings and is up to 58 now. They haven’t been this high in the ratings since Thanksgiving. Also added a couple Q1 wins, so that’s nice. </p>
<p id="h4WcrS">It’s also nice to not have to worry about any of this. It’s an <a href="https://twitter.com/JBRBracketology/status/1769198003871510736">exceptionally bad year to be on the bubble</a>, in part thanks to our own efforts there, with the havoc mighty indeed. Bubble teams watched themselves bumped down several pegs on Saturday just on account of bid thievery—it might turn out that Mike O’Connell KO’d UVA, which would be very funny to me—and there are going to be some legitimately good teams left out. </p>
<p id="s1p8UX">Not us, though. Not our problem. </p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/17/24103653/nc-state-is-going-dancing-but-whereSteven Muma2024-03-17T01:38:47-04:002024-03-17T01:38:47-04:00Kevin Keatts gets two-year extension for winning ACC title
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/5yYoflwkjLG3amnKV_kFB6wxB08=/0x0:2663x1775/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212717/usa_today_22797411.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Not a bad deal. </p> <p id="mnKgOs">(That’s a neat photo, isn’t it? I could stare at that for days. Might just.) </p>
<p id="abNkPR">Kevin Keatts was probably out of a job as recently as Monday, but that, like so much else, is history. As of Saturday night he’s the head coach of the ACC champs and headed to the NCAA tournament (and not going to Dayton, either!). Winning the ACC tournament kicked in an <a href="https://twitter.com/fleischman_noah/status/1769196526725636526">automatic two-year extension</a> on his contract, a $400,000 raise, and a $100,000 bonus, in addition to those other rather bonusey developments. That’ll buy a lot of ice cream. </p>
<p id="vITI33">He will obviously be back in Raleigh next season, and rightfully so. I’ve been as critical of him as anybody this season, but I’m not about to suggest he should still be shown his walking papers—now much much expensive, also—after cutting the nets down and creating some genuine program momentum. You make history, you get more time; that’s a fair exchange. We should all be good with that. </p>
<p id="KLd5Wi">And maybe this week will represent a true turning point for his program. That’s definitely not out of the question. This is the kind of thing that can help you level up. </p>
<p id="x3zwrU">But no need to worry about the big picture right now—we’ve got Selection Sunday to look forward to. Almost feels like this season just got started. </p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/17/24103637/kevin-keatts-gets-two-year-extension-for-winning-acc-titleSteven Muma2024-03-17T00:05:12-04:002024-03-17T00:05:12-04:00WE DID IT
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<img alt="NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament Championship-North Carolina vs North Carolina State" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/krIvf0gIM-OWP04-mTiVDGyItOw=/0x0:3110x2073/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73212661/usa_today_22797674.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p id="E0lPkd">HOLY FUCKING SHIT WE DID IT.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">NC STATE PUNCHED ITS TICKET TO THE BIG DANCE ️ <br><br> <a href="https://twitter.com/PackMensBball?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@PackMensBball</a> <a href="https://t.co/bpKO2QNSmS">pic.twitter.com/bpKO2QNSmS</a></p>— ACC Network (@accnetwork) <a href="https://twitter.com/accnetwork/status/1769203548036739320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 17, 2024</a>
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<p id="slVNAN">Everyone’s a legend. Build the statue, build it twice, three times, fuck it. Holy fucking shit what a week. What a team. So many great moments that will live on forever now, and every single one of these guys deserves it for the gutsiest effort in school history. Banged up, worn out, and victorious at the ACC tournament for the first time since 1987. They can lose by 50 next week, I don’t even care. </p>
<p id="gKoImX">Whew, man. Can’t say enough, and don’t know what to say. I was three years old the last time this happened. Mo Diarra playing on an empty stomach, DJ Horne and Casey Morsell giving everything through injury, DJ Burns being a man amongst grown-ass men, Mike O’Connell authoring one of the now certainly most iconic plays in program history, and on and on. These guys are going to be remembered forever, and they’ve earned every last bit of their place in history. </p>
https://www.backingthepack.com/nc-state-basketball/2024/3/17/24103590/we-did-itSteven Muma