North Carolina State University Athletics
NC State gets its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid
3/13/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
By Tim Peeler
RALEIGH -- When the NC State men's basketball team gathered at Amedeos on Western Boulevard in Raleigh Sunday night, there wasn't a prevailing sense of mystery or anticipation. The players and coaches calmly ate their pizza and lasagna and waited to see the school's name come up.
"I did have a great deal of confidence that we had played our way into the tournament," said Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek. "I was fully anticipated that we would get an invitation."
So there was a little celebration when the Wolfpack (19-13) saw it would be playing Charlotte Friday (12:15 p.m. tip-off) in a first-round game in Worcester, Mass., but nothing that knocked any of the pictures off the wall. It's the fourth consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Wolfpack, the second longest streak in school history. (The Pack went to five straight tournaments from 1985-89 under Jim Valvano.)
It is a difficult matchup. The No. 25 49ers (21-7) are the seventh-seed in the NCAA's Syracuse Regional, while the Wolfpack is a 10th seed.
"What a challenging first round game," Sendek said. "They are synomymous with the best basketball programs in their league. You think of other programs like Louisville and Memphis.
"It's a heckuva first-round game for our basketball team."
N.C. State has played Charlotte on seven previous occasions, with the Wolfpack leading the series 5-2. The last meeting was at the RBC Center on Nov. 18, 2000, with Charlotte winning, 95-78.
One of the most memorable meetings between the in-state schools came in the 1975 regular-season finale. Prior to the game, David Thompson's No. 44 jersey was retired by the school and no basketball player has worn that number since. Near the end of that 103-80 victory, Thompson had the only dunk of his college career. He was called for a technical foul on the play - dunking was not allowed in college basketball until the next season - but left the court to a standing ovation.
Since the first-round game will be played on Friday, Sendek said, there will be a little more time for two injured Wolfpack players to heal. Junior point guard Tony Bethel missed the last two games of the ACC Tournament with a groin pull, while senior Jordan Collins was limited to only two minutes of action in Washington because of a separated shoulder.
"They are both uncertain," Sendek said. "They received treatment today and will continue to do so. All things being equal, Friday was better than Thursday. Hopefully, we will get one if not both back. We have to be prepared to play in any way, shape or form, kind of the way we have had to play this entire season and in the ACC Tournament."
You may contact Tim Peeler at tim_peeler@ncsu.edu.
