The Wolfpacker

March 2013 - Signing Day Edition

The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports

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Final Impression T NC State Is Aiming To Play Its Best Ball In The Postseason By Jacey Zembal he ACC Tournament and NCAA Tournament will give the NC State men���s basketball program a chance to define its season. Head coach Mark Gottfried said repeatedly during the offseason that his first squad might not have had a great season last year, but it had a great ending. NC State reached the Sweet 16, finished 24-13 overall and was ranked No. 20 in the final polls. What sometimes gets forgotten is that the Wolfpack was on the NCAA Tournament bubble going into the ACC Tournament. NC��State topped Virginia in a down-to-thewire game in the quarterfinals, before falling to North Carolina 69-67 in the semifinals. The performance was enough to earn a No.��11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. NC State capitalized on a favorable matchup against undersized San Diego State in the first round, easily dispatching the Aztecs 79-65 behind a combined 37 points from center Richard Howell and power forward C.J. Leslie. The win set up a showdown against national power Georgetown. The Wolfpack���s inside game quickly got Hoyas center Henry Sims into foul trouble, which helped open the door for the 66-63 upset. The dream run came to an end in the Sweet 16 with a narrow 60-57 loss to eventual national runnerup Kansas. Leaving a strong lasting impression in the postseason can overshadow the regularseason highs and lows. NC State had a pair of exciting home wins against Duke and North Carolina, but also some last-second losses that took it out of contention for the ACC regular-season title. The Wolfpack also dropped out of the polls following a 79���78 home loss to Miami Feb. 2. The postseason could be called the last part of a four-piece puzzle for the NC��State coaches and players. The first part is the offseason preparation, followed by the nonconference slate and then the ACC regular season. The 68-team NCAA Tournament kicks off March 19-20 with the First Four in Dayton, Ohio, with second and third rounds held March 21-24. Success in March will come in part from quality work that started in earnest last summer. The preparation during the offseason included an overseas team trip to Spain last August. The other parts of the summer and 62��� ������ the wolfpacker 62-63.Men's BKB In March.indd 62 2/26/13 1:11 PM

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