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NC State men’s basketball releases non-conference schedule

Basketball season is less than three months away.

By Steven Muma
NCAA Basketball: ACC Conference Tournament-NC State Syracuse Nell Redmond-USA TODAY Sports

We knew a good chunk of NC State’s 2021-22 non-conference schedule, and now we have the whole thing. The Wolfpack will play 11 non-conference games this season, beginning with the season-opener against Bucknell on Nov. 9. NC State will also host Elizableth City State for an exhibition on Nov. 1.

NC State will play Bethune Cookman in Reynolds Coliseum this year, and four games will be played on a neutral floor: Central Connecticut State, Oklahoma State, Purdue, and Richmond.

Non-Conference Slate

Opponent Date Record Last Season NET KPI SAG BPI KenPom
Opponent Date Record Last Season NET KPI SAG BPI KenPom
Bucknell Nov. 9 5-7 225 231 258 232 276
Colgate Nov. 13 14-2 30 46 98 52 89
vs. Central Connecticut Nov. 16 5-16 310 310 338 326 345
vs. Oklahoma State Nov. 17 21-9 28 6 29 37 33
Texas Southern Nov. 21 16-9 190 153 208 192 208
Louisiana Tech Nov. 27 23-8 71 47 84 73 82
Nebraska Dec. 1 6-20 129 182 109 117 109
Bethune Cookman Dec. 9 0-0 - - - - 349
vs. Purdue Dec. 12 18-10 29 28 26 27 25
vs. Richmond Dec. 17 13-9 68 83 65 56 65
Wright State Dec. 22 18-6 75 99 86 65 73

Purdue, Oklahoma State, Colgate, and Texas Southern made it to the NCAA tournament last season, while Richmond and Louisiana Tech were in the NIT along with the Wolfpack.

There’s some dead weight on the schedule, as always, but with luck only a few of them will prove to be a real drag on NC State’s strength of schedule. Six of the 11 finished last year in the KenPom top 100, which should provide ample opportunity for resume-building wins.

State shouldn’t be a huge underdog in any of these matchups, with the possible exception of the Purdue game. Kudos to Kevin Keatts and his staff for striking the right balance this year.

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