NC State Basketball: Teams the Wolfpack Want to Avoid in the Postseason

The NC State basketball team is a prime example of a squad that maintains multiple personalities—even in March, it's an unknown as to which team is going to show up on any given night.

Head coach Mark Gottfried said as much last week following a crushing loss to lowly Boston College, per Joe Giglio of NewsObserver.com:

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We have proven on certain nights that we are as good as anybody in the country. On other nights, we haven't been.

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The Wolfpack's lack of consistency is absolutely maddening at times. They struggle mightily to close out tight games—something that has been a staple for them all season. NC State is 1-7 in games that are decided by five points or fewer. Their inability to take control in these late-game situations has them firmly on the bubble for the NCAA tournament.

In the coming weeks, the Pack's postseason hopes will rest on how they close out the season and what they do in the ACC tournament. Keeping that in mind, let's have a look at three potential teams the Pack hopes to avoid in Greensboro and then potentially the NCAA tournament, should they earn a bid.  

3. Notre Dame

Joe Raymond/Associated Press

The eighth-ranked Fighting Irish own one of the most potent offenses in college basketball—they rank ninth in points per game and second in field goal percentage. Their outside shooting is formidable, as well—they rank 24th in the country in made three pointers (248). Not to mention they also have arguably the best player in the ACC (perhaps in the entire country) in guard Jerian Grant.

What really separates Notre Dame from the Wolfpack is their general consistency—they held an 11-game winning streak earlier this season and have yet to lose back-to-back games. 

These two teams actually already battled earlier in the year in Raleigh, which resulted in an overtime road win for Notre Dame. The Wolfpack actually played the Irish really tough and even held a five-point lead with 1:12 left to play.

However, the main takeaway from that game was that Notre Dame did not shoot the ball well at all. In fact, it was a measly 12-of-32 (37 percent) from the field in the first half and shot just 43 percent from the field for the game. That's almost a full eight percentage points lower than its season average of 50 percent. The Wolfpack simply cannot count on the Irish to turn in that type of shooting performance in a potential rematch. It's just not going to happen.

Not to mention a rematch would likely take place in Greensboro for the ACC Tournament, or on a neutral court in the NCAA tournament that's going to be much closer to Indiana than North Carolina. On top of that, the Irish know how to close out games. They are 7-3 in games that have been decided by five or fewer points. Their experience in that department makes them a tough out.

That's something that does not bode too well for the Wolfpack. 

2. Duke

Gerry Broome/Associated Press

One word comes to mind in the event of a rematch between NC State and Duke: revenge.

The Wolfpack blasted the Blue Devils 87-75 in a game that was never really close down the stretch. The Pack went up as many as 19 points late in the second half and never looked back. Looking back at the box score for that game, one thing sticks out: Namely, the unreal shooting percentage for NC State.

The Wolfpack shot a blazing 55 percent from the field (they average 44 percent on the season), while also connecting on 10 three-pointers. Duke, meanwhile, shot just 36 percent and made only seven three-pointers. From an offensive standpoint, Duke ranks better nationally than Notre Dame—it ranks fifth in points per game and third in field goal percentage. 

This is another case of everything going right for NC State and everything going wrong for Duke. Now, make no mistake—the Pack thoroughly dominated the Blue Devils in every facet, and they deserve a ton of credit for that. However, this could be one of those outlier games that has a very different result on a neutral court.

Big man Jahlil Okafor has cemented himself as one of the best players in the country this season, and he has yet to score fewer than 10 points in any game. In addition to that, the offensive output from Duke's guards has put them over the top as of late—specifically the three-point accuracy from senior Quinn Cook, who has averaged 21.8 points over the last five games. 

Not to mention Duke would be fired up after the thumping it took in Raleigh. When they get hot, the Blue Devils are downright scary. And boy are they on a roll right now—the team has won nine straight games, including three victories by 19 points or more, and an absolute 30-point thrashing of Notre Dame just a few weeks ago. 

They look primed to lock up a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament, and they are deadly in the ACC tournament. The Blue Devils have collected a whopping 10 titles since 1999 in the legendary Greensboro event. 

1. Kentucky

James Crisp/Associated Press

What more is there to say? The undefeated Kentucky Wildcats are obviously the class of college basketball this year and are the heavy favorites to cut down the nets in April. 

Surprisingly enough, a matchup between Kentucky and NC State was actually fairly likely just a couple of days ago. The Pack had carried enough momentum between their road wins over Louisville and UNC to vault to a No. 9 seed in ESPN.com's Joe Lunardi's bracketology on February 25th. That slated them to play Xavier in the first round, with a matchup looming against the Wildcats in Louisville in the round of 32. 

However, the Wolfpack's bad loss to Boston College ended any hope of a single-digit seed. Perhaps the setback was a blessing in disguise—maybe now their road through the tournament is easier if they're able to avoid playing a No. 1 seed in the second round. However, the thought of a tournament berth at all is now very much in question if the Pack are unable to close out the season on a high note. 

Either way, a matchup against Kentucky would be daunting. The Wildcats have only played five games that resulted in less than a 10-point winning margin. All other games have been mostly blowouts. The athleticism that their starting five bring to the table is nothing short of impressive. 

Still, John Calipari's squad has proven to be beatable—both Ole Miss and Texas A&M took them to overtime, and they squeaked by LSU 71-69 just a few weeks ago. 

In any event, if the Pack are unfortunate enough to draw Kentucky in their region, it's safe to say that whatever tournament run they have in them will be short-lived.