North Carolina State University Athletics
Wolfpack Has Seeding At Stake vs. Syracuse
3/6/2015 12:00:00 AM
| NC State (18-12, 9-8) vs. Syracuse (18-12, 9-8) | ||
| Date | Saturday, March 7 | |
| Time | 12 p.m. ET | |
| Location | PNC Arena - Raleigh, N.C. | |
| Tickets | Tickets | |
| Television | CBS (Kevin Harlan, Dan Bonner) | |
| Radio | Wolfpack Sports Network (Gary Hahn, Tony Haynes) | |
| Game Notes | NC State | Syracuse | |
| Season Statistics | NC State | Syracuse | |
| Live Stats | GameTracker | |
| Social Media | @PackMensBball  | Facebook  |
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SATURDAY'S PROMOTIONS
SENIOR DAY (Ralston Turner, Staats Battle, Desmond Lee)
NC State on Saturday will honor the 1965 ACC Championship Team
THE STARTING 5 - THE TOP 5 STORYLINES FOR THIS GAME
1. REGULAR SEASON FINALE
Saturday's game vs. Syracuse is the regular season finale for NC State, and the final game of the season for Syracuse. With a win and a Miami loss at Virginia Tech, NCSU will go to the ACC Tournament in Greensboro next week at the No. 6 seed. Every other scenario would result in NC State earning the No. 7 seed. The home game vs. Syracuse is NC State's 20th home contest this season, a slate that has featured 12 games in Raleigh against the RPI's top 100.
2. WOLFPACK'S SIGNATURE WINS
As the regular season comes to a close, the Wolfpack has already pocketed several signature victories this season. The Wolfpack defeated then-undefeated Duke 87-75 back on Jan. 11, and now it owns a pair of top-25 RPI road wins. Behind 21 points from Cat Barber, NC State ran past Louisville (RPI 21) 74-65 at the KFC Yum! Center on Valentine's Day. The Pack followed that with a rout over Virginia Tech and a 58-46 victory at UNC (RPI 12). The 46 points allowed at UNC was the lowest the Tar Heels have ever scored at the Smith Center. Overall, NC State owns four wins over the ESPN.com's top 50 RPI and seven wins vs. the top 60.
3. PREPARED FOR THE POSTSEASON
The postseason is looming, and Mark Gottfried has built a schedule this season that has prepared the Wolfpack for the challenge. According to ESPN.com, NC State has played the nation's sixth-toughest schedule. After 17 ACC games, NC State's conference strength of schedule is No. 16 in the country. The Pack has played 15 games against the current top 65 of the RPI. Overall, the Wolfpack has seven wins against top 60 teams (Duke, Louisville, Boise State, Pitt, Louisiana Tech, Richmond and UNC-CH) and nine of NC State's 12 losses are to teams in the top 65 of the RPI.
4. `GOTT' SOME WINS OVER HALL OF FAMERS
The ACC's men's basketbal coaches have no shortage of star power. Yet, a win on Saturday over Syracuse and Jim Boeheim would give Mark Gottfried a fourth win this season over a coach currently enshrined in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame. Gottfried has mentored the Wolfpack to wins over Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Louisville's Rick Pitino and North Carolina's Roy Williams. The win would make Gottfried the nation's only coach this season to defeat four hall of fame coaches.
5. WOLFPACK NATION
Heading into its final home game, NC State ranks 12th in the nation in average attendance (15,267). Overall, NC State's drawn 290,067 fans, which ranks fourth in the country. When you only count State's 17 games at PNC Arena, the game average is 16,442. NC State will surpass 300,000 total fans this season, marking the first time it's hit that mark since 1999, the first year of what is now PNC Arena.
