When: Saturday February 7 – 12:00 PM
Opponent: Virginia Tech Hokies
Prediction – KenPom (KP) / Bart Torvik (BT): NC State 82-72 / NC State 82-71
“We’d heard all the chatter. We’ve been beating up on the bottom of the league. All right. Well, we’ve now beaten two of the top teams in the league on the road.”
This is when ACC TV contracts (very fine print) say, “So NC State, you’ve got a little run going? And this is the toughest part of your schedule? How about two Saturday/Monday combos late in the season with Duke and Louisville as your Monday dance partners?”
Recent/Current double-headers:
Wolfpack ACC Conference Play Stats – 2nd offense, 5th defense, 7th FG%, 1st 3PT%, 1st 3PT per game, 4th FT%, 1st TO margin, 2nd Asst / TO ratio, 1st steals
Virginia Tech is ranked NET 56, making this a Q2 game. So far the Wolfpack is 8-0 in Q2 games.
“…there’s no better time to be a fan of Hokie men’s basketball.” VT Preseason Media Guide
Coach Mike Young is in his seventh season, the last year of his contract. The VT media guide says, “You won’t find many better coaches in the country than the one that resides in Blacksburg…”. Counterpoint: At the beginning of the season, ESPN grouped him with Davis, Autrey, and Grant as the ACC coaches that badly needed a good season. Coach Young did win the ACC tournament in 2022 and made brief appearances in the NCAAT round of 64 in 2021 & 2022. But this is a “what have you done for me lately” world. Last season they were 13-19. The back 9 of their ACC schedule includes Duke (a loss Saturday), NC State – Away, Clemson – Away, Miami – Away, UNC – Away, and UVA – Away. A winning record in the ACC is going to take some work, but if they can pull it off – any of those would be quality wins – they could have a shot at the NCAA Tournament.
The highlight of their offseason was the signing of Greek pro, 6’9” freshman guard, Neoklis Avdalas – ranked as the No. 2 international newcomer in the Class of 2025 by 247Sports.
Va Tech was voted to finish 12th in the ACC preseason media. At the halfway point, they are ranked 8th.
After back-to-back Q1 road wins, NC State returns home to a packed Lenovo. The crowd is pumped, excited to see Scottie again. The Wolfpack takes an early double-digit lead, but the Hokies settle down and close the gap by halftime. The Pack, not to be trifled with, stretches the lead to double-digits and wins comfortably, 80-69.
