The ACC is moving to an 18-game conference schedule next season in preparation for the arrival of Syracuse and Pittsburgh, but those schools won't be coming on board until (most likely) 2013-14, and that makes for a unique scheduling situation for 2012-13: each ACC school will get two additional home-and-homes. So there is at least one bonus to being forced to wait on the new members.
For NC State, it means playing UNC, Duke, and FSU twice.
"I traded Virginia Tech for Duke twice and Clemson for Florida State twice,'' said Gottfried, who will also play North Carolina twice. "TV looked at our team and thought we'd be good.''
And he's right. NC State is projected to be an ACC favorite after its Sweet 16 finish. Gottfried's problem is looking at his overall schedule and seeing the weight of the road games. Strip the conference name out, and the Wolfpack will be going to Duke, North Carolina, Florida State, likely Michigan (Gottfried said) for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge, to Puerto Rico for a tournament, and versus Connecticut at the Jimmy V Classic in Madison Square Garden.
Once Pitt and Syracuse join, of course, playing the Heels twice each year will no longer be guaranteed. Damn you, expansion! /sheds wistful tear
For now, though, we can enjoy a more classic-looking schedule with seven home-and-homes rather than the usual five.