NC State: Life On The Bubble Is Nothing New

By Andrew Snyder | Feb 22, 2015

Feb 21, 2015; Raleigh, NC, USA; The North Carolina State Wolfpack players celebrate on the bench after the Wolfpacks /

Life on the bubble is nothing new for Mark Gottfried. His tenure at NC State is highlighted by three consecutive NCAA tournament appearances, but two of those saw the Wolfpack sweating out an uncertain fate on Selection Sunday.

In 2012, Gottfried’s first season in Raleigh, NC State was the final team revealed by CBS leading to a memorable celebration. They followed up that exciting accomplishment by making a fairy-tale run to the Sweet Sixteen, where they would lose to Kansas.

In 2013, the Pack comfortably made the tournament as an eighth seed, but 2014 once again brought an agonizing selection Sunday. Last season, led by ACC Player of the Year, T.J.Warren, they snuck into the tournament in the First Four round where they would beat Xavier before giving fifth-seeded Saint Louis a run for their money in the second round.

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This season, NC State is right back in that familiar territory, on the bubble with work to do before their final destination is clear.

Their resume is a mixed bag. They have some great wins, such as a home win over third-ranked Duke, and a road victory last Saturday against 12th-ranked Louisville. They also have some head scratching losses to Clemson, Wake Forest, Wofford, and they were a heroic Trevor Lacey game-winning three-pointer away from losing to ACC bottom feeder Georgia Tech.

According to ESPN, their strength of schedule is ranked second nationally, and they currently sport an RPI of 43, which is right past the edge of tournament worthy.

If they don’t find a way into the NCAA tournament, those questionable losses, and also losses against quality opponents that were nearly wins, will be what keeps Gottfried awake at night. NC State had Notre Dame on the ropes before an errant inbounds pass led to the Irish sending the game to overtime, where they would eventually win.

They also failed to capitalize on a sub-par effort from Virginia, letting the Cavaliers squeak out a win after a Trevor Lacey lay-in attempt, that would have sent the game into overtime, fell short.

Winning one or both of those games would have given their resume an enormous boost, but there is nothing they can do about that now. They are obviously a talented team, capable of playing with anyone in the country not named Kentucky, but closing out games has been a challenge.

The wins over Duke and Louisville may be enough to get them over the hump, if they don’t drop another game to one of the lesser opponents on their schedule. That means losses to Boston College and Clemson are out of the question if they want to keep their tournament dreams alive. Nabbing another quality win over North Carolina or Syracuse would also help their cause.

They managed to take care of business Saturday evening against Virginia Tech, one of those teams they cannot afford to lose to. A victory over the Hokies may not seem that important, but at this point every win is crucial.

The win brought their record to 16-11 (7-7), but it wasn’t easy. A 16-point first-half lead dwindled to three points with 17:13 remaining in the second half, thanks to a 19-6 Virginia Tech run. A “here we go again” hush fell over PNC Arena.

They eventually righted the ship, thanks to a combined 42 points from the “big three” of Trevor Lacey, Ralston Turner, and Cat Barber, resulting in a 69-53 win. Turner had a game high 18, while Lacey and Barber poured in 14 and 10 points respectively. Barber also had four assists, recovering from a minor leg injury he sustained in the first half.

Coach Gottfried remarked after the game that Barber was too tough to let that affect him, stating that, “kryptonite is all that could probably hurt him.”

BeeJay Anya was also a rim protecting presence down-low, with three blocks and several other altered shots.

After the game, Turner seemed confident about NC State’s tournament chances. “It’s too early to tell, but recently things have gone our way,” said Turner. “We’ve still got four more games to go, and we’re going to have to continue to bring the same type of energy.”

Nothing ever comes easy for the Wolfpack, and you can bet that selection Sunday will be another tense experience. If everything breaks right for the Pack, there will be another raucous celebration video that Mark Gottfried can add to his collection.

Next: ACC Player of the Year Power Rankings

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