NC State men's basketball bracketology update: Feb. 23

NC State defeated North Carolina over the weekend and likely cemented itself in the 2023 NCAA Tournament field Sunday afternoon. The Wolfpack also picked up a win over Wake Forest Wednesday and dropped a Feb. 14 road matchup to Syracuse since last week’s update.

Going into the final week of February with two games remaining on the regular season schedule, NC State holds a 22-7 overall record and sits No. 5 in the ACC at 12-6, just half a game behind Clemson.

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BracketMatrix.com includes the Wolfpack in all 114 of its surveyed brackets with an average seeding of 8.77, a drop from last week’s 8.17 mark. NC State appears as high as a No. 6 seed in a pair of brackets and as low as the No. 11 line in others. 

ESPN maintained its No. 8 seed projection for NC State in Tuesday morning’s update. Joe Lunardi picked the Wolfpack to play No. 9-seeded Memphis in the round of 64 in Birmingham, Alabama. The winner of that matchup would go on to likely play Alabama— the South region’s No. 1 seed and the top overall seed in the tournament. NC State is one of five ACC programs in Lunardi’s bracket. The Big 10 each leads the nation with nine teams in the tournament field.

CBS Sports updated its bracket Monday morning, and Jerry Palm moved NC State up to the No. 7 line. The Pack would play No. 10-seeded Arkansas in Denver, Colorado, in the Midwest region. Texas, the No. 2 seed in that region, would be the most likely second-round opponent. A total of five ACC programs made Palm’s bracket.

The Washington Post also featured five ACC teams, including the Wolfpack, in its bracket. NC State remained on the No. 7 line after The Post updated its bracket Tuesday morning. The matchup is the same as The Post’s previous prediction, but the location has changed. Auburn, the No. 10 seed in the Midwest region, would play the Pack in Denver, Colorado, with a possible matchup against Texas in the round of 32.

Fox Sports’ Michael DeCourcy still considers NC State a No. 8 seed in a bracket the news outlet released Tuesday. The Wolfpack would face No. 9-seeded Texas A&M in the East region. Purdue is the region’s No. 1 seed. A total of 5 ACC teams made Fox’s tournament field.

The Athletic last updated its bracket Feb. 17, so this projection does not take the Wolfpack’s wins over UNC and Wake Forest into consideration. NC State moved down to a No. 9 seed in the publication’s most recent tournament field. No. 8-seeded Illinois would take on the Pack in the round of 64, with Kansas, the East region’s No. 1 seed likely waiting in the next game. Both matchups would be played in Des Moines, Iowa.