North Carolina State University Athletics
Pack's NIT Journey Starts at South Florida
3/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
NC State in the NIT: NC State will be playing in the NIT for the 11th time in school history, as the Pack travels to Tampa, Fla., to face South Florida on Tuesday at 8:00 p.m. The Pack has won five of its last seven games, and advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals this past weekend in Greensboro, N.C.
The game will be broadcasted on ESPNU with Mike Gleason and Mark Adams.
Pack's NIT History: This will be the Wolfpack's 11th appearance in the National Invitation Tournament, its first since 2007. NC State posts an all-time record of 15-12 in the event.
The Pack will be playing on the road in the NIT for only the third time, as NC State is 1-1 in road games in the NIT. In 2007, NC State won at Drexel and then lost at West Virginia. NC State is also 9-4 when playing at home, and 5-7 when playing at a neutral site.
The Wolfpack has made one appearance in the NIT finals, losing to Texas in 1978. In 2000, State advanced to the semifinals in New York, losing to Wake Forest in the first game and then lost to Penn State in the consolation round.
In Coach Sidney Lowe's first season in 2007, the Pack advanced to the quarterfinals of the NIT. NC State first won at Drexel then returned home to defeat Marist. The Pack's season would end at West Virginia however.
In 1951, NC State actually played in the NIT and the NCAA Tournament in the same year. Following a win in the Southern Conference Tournament, the Pack traveled to New York, where it lost to Seton Hall in the NIT, then played in the NCAA Tournament back in Raleigh, defeating Villanova and then losing to Illinois and St. John's. Here's a look at NC State's history in the NIT:
Year Opponent Site Res
1947 St. John's New York, N.Y. W, 61-55
Kentucky New York, N.Y. L, 42-60
W. Virginia New York, N.Y. W, 64-52
1948 Depaul New York, N.Y. L, 64-75
1951 *Seton Hall New York, N.Y. L, 59-71
1976 Holy Cross New York, N.Y. W, 78-68
UNC-Charlotte New York, N.Y. L, 79-80
Providence New York, N.Y. W, 74-69
1978 South Carolina New York, N.Y. W, 82-70
Detroit New York, N.Y. W, 84-77
Georgetown New York, N.Y. W, 86-85
#Texas New York, N.Y. L, 93-101
1984 Florida St. Raleigh L, 71-74
1997 SW Miss St. Raleigh W, 77-66
W. Virginia Raleigh L, 73-76
1998 Kansas St. Raleigh W, 59-39
Georgia Raleigh L, 55-61
1999 Providence Raleigh W, 92-86
Princeton Raleigh L, 58-61
2000 Tulane Raleigh W, 64-60
Arizona St. Raleigh W, 60-57
Mississippi Raleigh W, 77-54
Wake Forest New York, N.Y. L, 59-62
Penn State New York, N.Y. L, 72-74
2007 Drexel Philadelphia, Pa. W, 63-56
Marist Raleigh W, 69-62
West Virginia Morgantown, W.Va. L, 66-71
# - National finals
* - NC State went to the NCAA Tournament in 1951 following its NIT appearance
The History of the NIT: The NIT was founded in 1938 and was originally made up of six teams. In 1941, the field expanded to eight and grew to six in 1969. All rounds of the tournament were played in Madison Square Garden until 1977, when the first rounds began to be played on campus, with the final four teams only playing in New York.
In 1979, the field was expanded to 24 teams, upped to 32 in 1980 and 40 teams in 2002. In 2005, the NCAA took over the administration of the NIT and narrowed the field to 32 teams in 2007.
Lack of Experience in the Postseason: Senior Dennis Horner is the only current Wolfpack player to have playing experience in a postseason tournament. In Horner's freshman season in 2006-07, Horner was part of the Pack team that advanced to the NIT quarterfinals in Coach Lowe's first season. Horner came off the bench in all three of those games, and averaged 6.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 17.0 minutes. Horner's best game was 13 points in 15 minutes in the home win over Marist.
Redshirt senior Farnold Degand had to sit out that 2006-07 season due to NCAA transfer rules.
The Series Versus South Florida: NC State and South Floirda will be meeting for only the second time in the history of the two programs. NC State won the previous meeting, downing the Bulls in Raleigh during the 1972-73 season, 125-88.
Lowe Versus the Big East: In four seasons under Sidney Lowe, the Pack has gone 4-4 against schools from the Big East. The Pack holds records of 1-1 in games played in Raleigh, 2-3 on the road, and 1-0 at a neutral site. In Lowe's first season, the Pack lost at West Virginia twice and at Cincinnati. NC State has won its last two road games against Big East schools, winning at Seton Hall in 2008 and at Marquette earlier this season.
Lowe Finds Success in Tournaments: NC State has found success playing in tournaments under Sidney Lowe, as the Pack has captured team titles at both in-season tournaments the Pack has played in the last four years.
In Lowe's four seasons at NC State, the Pack is 14-5 in both in-season and post season tournaments.
The Pack started this season strong, as NC State was the only team to go 4-0 and win the Glenn Wilkes Classic. In the 2007-08 season, the Pack won the Old Spice Classic with a 3-0 record.
In postseason play under Lowe, the Pack advanced to the ACC Tournament finals and the NIT quarterfinals in his first season in 2007. This season, NC State won a pair of games at the ACC Tournament and reached the semifinals.
Pack Makes Run to ACC Tournament Semifinals: NC State came in as the 11th seed at the 57th annual ACC Tournament last weekend in Greensboro, but the Pack's strong play during the event help propell the Pack into the NIT field.
The Pack downed two higher seeded teams and took a third down to the wire, all three made the NCAA Tournament field.
The Pack started off with a win over sixth-seeded Clemson, 59-57. NC State then followed that win with a 58-52 win over No. 3 seed Florida State. The Pack fell just short against No. 7 seed Georgia Tech, 57-54 on Saturday.
Defense Leading the Charge: The NC State defense has been leading the charge as of late. The Pack has held four straight opponents to under 60 points, including all three foes at the ACC Tournament.
NC State gave up a mere 55.3 points a game during its run to the ACC Tournament semifinals - Clemson (57), Florida State (52), and Georgia Tech (57) - all NCAA Tournament teams. This season marked the first time NC State has held three opponents under 60 points in the same tournament.
In addition to the Pack's stout scoring defense, NC State forced its three opponents at the ACC Tournament into committing 17.0 turovers a game. Clemson had 15 turnovers, Florida State finished with 20, and Georgia Tech had 16.
Prior to the start of the ACC Tournament, the Pack forced only four of the previous 31 opponents into 17 or more turnovers in a game on the seaosn.
