North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack To Play 15 Games Versus NCAA Tournament Teams
6/20/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
June 20, 2001
The NC State men's basketball team will once again face a tough non-conference schedule next season in addition to its challenging ACC slate. The Wolfpack, whose 2001 schedule ranked 26th nationally in the NCAA's final RPI rankings, will play a minimum of 15 games against teams that participated in the 2001 NCAA tournament.
Herb Sendek's squad will travel to Syracuse, Ohio State and Houston in 2001-2002, while the University of Massachusetts and Temple will meet the Wolfpack in the Entertainment and Sports Arena. Syracuse and Temple were both NCAA Tournament teams last season, with Temple advancing to the Elite Eight. Owls' coach John Chaney was recently elected to the College Basketball Hall of Fame. The Pack will also face Ohio State in the league's annual ACC/Big Ten Challenge.
"We feel that we have put together a challenging non-conference schedule that will prepare us for the level of competition we face night after night in the ACC,' said Lee Fowler, Director of Athletics and Chairman-elect of the NCAA Men's Basketball Committee.
Other non-conference games include contests versus The Citadel, where former Wolfpack basketball coach Les Robinson serves as Athletics Director, and UNC Asheville, where former Wolfpack player and assistant coach Eddie Biedenbach is the head coach. The Wolfpack will also face James Madison in the ESA and will play host to the eight-team Black Coaches Association Tournament in November. In addition to NC State, Northwestern, Rutgers, East Carolina, Delaware State, SE Missouri State, High Point University and VCU will tentatively compete in that three-day event.
Six of the Pack's 12 non-conference opponents last season were NCAA Tournament participants and NC State played 19 of their 29 total games against teams that competed in the NCAA tourney, including five contests versus Final Four teams.
Season ticket renewal application forms for the 2001-2002 NC State men's basketball will be mailed by mid-August.
