Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/116576
www.thewolfpackeronline.commarch 20, 2013 Time To Dance NC State Faces Tough-Minded Temple In NCAA Tournament Friday N By Jacey Zembal C State figured no matter what team it played in the NCAA Tournament, it would be a quality opponent. Last Sunday, NC State (24-10) found out it had drawn a No. 8 seed and will square off against No. 9-seeded Temple (23-9) Friday in Dayton, Ohio. "We are awfully excited about playing," NCSU second-year head coach Mark Gottfried said. "I call it the greatest show on earth, and I believe that. Our guys need to feel, which I think they are, very excited about their opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament. "We are sitting here with 24 wins prior to the NCAA Tournament, and back-toback, that's 48 wins in two years, [and] back-to-back NCAA Tournaments. These guys have done a phenomenal job in helping to build our program." The NC State-Temple winner would face either No. 1 seed Indiana or the Hoosiers' opponent, which is the winner of James Madison versus Long IslandBrooklyn first-round game. The Wolfpack defeated San Diego State and Georgetown before falling to Kansas JUMP TO CONTENTS last year in the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament. The team is different, but four starters do return from last year's squad. "I believe we can play with anybody or beat anybody," Gottfried said. "I'm sure Temple is a very confident team, too. When you reach this point of the year, you aren't going to find a bad basketball team." The Owls won nine of their last 11 games to solidify a spot in the NCAA Tournament. Temple went 5-3 in games against teams that reached the Big Dance. The Atlantic 10 placed five teams in the NCAA Tournament — Temple, La Salle, Saint Louis, Virginia Commonwealth and Butler — and the Owls also played Kansas, Duke, Villanova and Syracuse in nonconference action. Temple fell 79-74 to UMass last Friday in the Atlantic 10 Tournament. UMass, Duke and St. Bonaventure are three common opponents between Temple and NC State, with the Owls going 1-3 against them. Temple finished with four games against teams that were ranked in the top 10 at the time of the game — highlighted by an 8379 win over then-No. 3 Syracuse Dec. 22 — and also defeated then-No. 21 Virginia Commonwealth 84-76 March 10 to close out the regular season. "They beat Syracuse and Villanova in the non-conference and they've played in a tremendous league this year," Gottfried said. "The A-10 with Butler, Saint Louis, VCU, a lot of really good teams in that league." Head coach Mark Gottfried said the Wolfpack is very excited about the opportunity to open the NCAA Tournament versus the Owls. photo by ken martin Gottfried has never coached against Temple's Fran Dunphy before. Dunphy has earned respect over the last three decades after taking Pennsylvania to the NCAA Tournament nine times in 15 years. He then made the move across town to Temple for the 2006-07 season, and has taken the Owls to the Big Dance six of his seven years. Dunphy, who graduated from La Salle in 1970, has compiled an overall record of 467-236 in 24 years and is 157‑73 at Temple. Page 1 South Florida knocked off Temple 5844 last year in the Owls' first game of the NCAA Tournament. Temple is sixth all time in college basketball victories, while NC State is 25th. "They are very well coached and Fran Dunphy does a phenomenal job," Gottfried said. "They are a team that is very proven. They have done it all year long." Senior combo guard Khalif Wyatt has had a huge year for the Owls. The 6-4, 215-pounder is averaging 19.8 points and