Pack Takes on Cavs With Postseason in Sight

NC STATE WOLFPACK vs. VIRGINIA CAVALIERS

Game Time: 1pm
Location: Raleigh, NC
Television: Raycom

Not many people believed NC State would, at any time this season, find itself with a logical scenario for getting to the NCAA Tournament. Well today the Pack hosts Virginia with just that. A win against the Cavs would place the Pack closer to the cluster in the middle of the conference. Which would be a pretty good bet for getting in the tourny most years, but not in a year when there are 5 teams tied for 2nd. It's surely going to take more than just a win today against Virginia. It's going to take a nice run here at the end of the season to put the Pack's name on the bubble fringe.

But lets not get too far ahead of ourselves. Today the pack faces the Virginia Cavaliers at the RBC Center in Raleigh. Coming off an inspired loss against Carolina, the Pack is looking to keep building on what has been a very successful 2 weeks. New faces doing big things have been the catalyst for the Pack's resurgence. In the past 2 games, Javi Gonzalez has turned into more of the player Sidney envisioned, dropping 14 and 18 respectively. Tracy Smith has made unbelievable strides in his game, as he's playing within the offense yet still getting his, in fact, he's looking to rip up his 5th consecutive double figure outing. Pair those performances with the consistent play of Brandon Costner, Ben McCauley (who by the way has been sick, in case you've missed it), and up until last game, the resurgence of Courtney Fells, and you're looking at a pretty dynamic offensive machine. Then again you already knew that by looking at the box scores. NC State has now scored 80 points in 6 of the last 7 games, providing an exciting sneak peak at what Sidney Lowe is looking to create here in Raleigh.

But today it's about beating Virginia, and although they sit in 11th place in the ACC, the Pack cannot take them lightly. To stop them, simply take out the scouting report from last year...."STOP SINGLETARY" has been replaced by "Stop Landesberg." Sylven Landesberg is a freshman guard with size and range. A 4 star coming out of high school, Landesberg has an unbelievable knack for scoring, as he's gone on to average 18 points as a freshman in Charlottesville. If Fells can hold him down, which he's very capable of doing, the Pack could run away with this one...but allow Sylven to get hot and there could be problems.