Opening night starting lineup
- PG – Dennis Smith, Jr.
- SG – Terry Henderson
- SF – Maverick Rowan
- PF – Abdul-Malik Abu
- C – BeeJay Anya
biggest win
January 7th at North Carolina
first loss
January 17th vs. Pitt
most annoying storylines
- NCAA eligibility for Omer Yurtseven
- Dennis Smith, Jr. snubbed from all national awards
- Team foul comparison
state fans’ season checklist
- Beat Duke or North Carolina
- Dennis Smith, Jr. ACC freshman of the year / 1st team All-ACC
- Be ranked in the top 25 by mid-season
- Earn double-bye in the ACC Tournament
- Sweet 16 appearance
- Anyone but Duke or UNC wins the national championship
season outlook
In true “NC State shit” fashion, the Wolfpack picked a horrible year to have one of their best starting 5’s under Mark Gottfried. Not only is college basketball littered with NBA talent this season, most of that talent is consolidated on two or three rosters, none of which are NC State. All that means, however, is that the Pack likely won’t be winning a national championship or an ACC championship, which has no bearing on their ability to put together a memorable season. Unlike the CJ Leslie years where high expectations were thrust onto the Pack, this year’s team gets to operate a little bit under the radar which should serve as an advantage. NC State will win games that will surprise people, but will have some undoings against inferior teams when Gottfried is forced to go to his bench when the starters are in foul trouble. Fans will handle this with the utmost maturity.
