NC State has been to the NCAA tournament nine times this century--Herb Sendek was responsible for five of those appearances, and Mark Gottfried is responsible for the other four. This year the Wolfpack made it to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in Gottfried's tenure, and the third time overall since the turn of the century.
How do all nine of these tourney teams stack up, according to the Pomeroy Ratings?
Wolfpack team | Pomeroy Rating | Adj. Tempo (National Rank) | Adj. Offense | Adj. Defense |
2004 | 8 | 63.9 (292) | 119.2 (2) | 95.4 (46) |
2002 | 17 | 68.8 (201) | 110.9 (26) | 93.7 (28) |
2005 | 23 | 64.1 (287) | 112.5 (21) | 95.2 (41) |
2015 | 31 | 64.4 (192) | 111.6 (27) | 97.8 (83) |
2013 | 34 | 68.0 (80) | 114.1 (9) | 98.4 (112) |
2006 | 41 | 66.0 (210) | 110.0 (40) | 97.1 (82) |
2012 | 44 | 67.9 (87) | 109.9 (33) | 97.1 (78) |
2003 | 50 | 66.1 (266) | 110.4 (25) | 98.6 (107) |
2014 | 55 | 66.2 (184) | 113.9 (25) | 102.9 (125) |
State's 2015 team is the fourth-best that the program has had in the last couple of decades, and if it keeps winning, its position could improve. The 2004 team remains the best NC State team in probably the last 30 years, but unfortunately its season ended early because of reasons I do not recall. Do not recall them. Don't want to know what those reasons were. I assume some stuff happened.
An interesting takeaway from this is how the pace of college basketball has changed. In 2003, State averaged 66.1 possessions per 40 minutes, which ranked 266th nationally. In 2014, State average 66.2 possessions per 40 minutes, and that ranked 184th. Everybody in college hoops has been pumping the brakes. Turnover rates also have steadily declined over the years as programs have become more cautious.
One thing that hasn't changed: NC State can score efficiently. The systems have been altered through the years and the faces have changed but State remains among the country's best offenses.