“I have you going to the Sweet 16 and losing to Kansas.”
That’s the text I received from a UNC student before the NCAA Tournament when I asked them how far they thought N.C . State could advance. In all honesty, if you could’ve told me before the Tournament started that State was guaranteed to make the Sweet 16, I would’ve been happy with that.
Why wouldn’t I have been happy? Just look at what’s happened over the last week since State reached the Sweet 16. The Pack has beaten two good teams in San Diego State and Georgetown. We’re one of the Tournament darlings overnight, and the whole country (minus Kansas) is cheering for the Wolfpack to beat the Jayhawks on Friday night.
“The Tournament run has been phenomenal so far,” Connor Sisk , sophomore in Sport Management, said. “We’ve played well and we beat two really good quality teams.”
State has played so well recently, they’ve even surprised a few of its own fans.
“The way we’ve played in the Tournament has been a pleasant surprise,” Jordan Stovall , sophomore in Sport Management, said. “I really hope we can keep this run going.”
In short, the Pack is back to getting the kind of national recognition it’s longed for since the days of Jim Valvano and his teams of the 1980s . At this rate, State could even surpass some of the great achievements of Valvano’s teams. How could any Wolfpack fan be happier about the current state of N.C . State basketball?
But now that State is in the Sweet 16, everyone wants more. We want the Wolfpack to surpass everybody’s expectations, including the popular one belonging to the aforementioned UNC fan. Campus is ecstatic about what N.C . State has done so far in the NCAA Tournament, but I truly believe it’s not over yet; State can advance to the Elite 8, if not further.
Wolfpack fans want more, too.
“We’ve got a tough matchup in Kansas,” Sisk said. “But I think we can pull it off. If we play the way we’ve been playing the first two rounds with all the confidence we have, I honestly could see us in the Final Four.”
Another check box on Wolfpack basketball fan’s wish list is just beating the Tar Heels for the first time in 13 games – let alone doing it in the NCAA Tournament. If State beats Kansas, then the prospect of beating UNC in the Tournament becomes a very real possibility after recent wrist injuries to Tar Heel guard Kendall Marshall and forward John Henson.
“I think we can get past Kansas after they almost slipped up against Purdue,” Stovall said. “If we get a rematch against UNC , without Marshall, I think we can beat them for sure.”
When Debbie Yow became N.C . State’s new Athletic Director in the summer of 2010, the first major program she implemented was “Wolfpack Unlimited” with a motto of “refuse to accept the status quo.” The status quo right now is for State to lose to Kansas, a traditional basketball powerhouse, tonight. However, I have a feeling Mark Gottfried and the boys will have something to say about that. I have a feeling hundreds of thousands of Wolfpack fans around the globe will have something to say about that.
“The way we’ve been playing lately,” Kent Mackman , sophomore in international business and accounting said, “We can beat any team in the nation. It doesn’t matter who we play because we’re not intimidated by anybody.”
Come 10:17 p.m . in St. Louis, actions will speak louder than words.
