With a win over Virginia on Thursday night, Florida State opened the door for N.C. State to earn a bye in the ACC tournament.
N.C. State, 11-6 in the ACC, would clinch an opening-round bye with a win over FSU on Saturday. The Wolfpack would be the No. 3 seed if Duke (13-4) beats UNC (12-5) on Saturday in Chapel Hill. State would be the No. 4 seed with a win and a UNC home win on Saturday.
The Wolfpack, which has won six of its past seven ACC games, could still land the No. 4 seed with a loss at FSU. If Virginia (10-7) loses at home to Maryland on Sunday, the Pack would still avoid having to play in Thursday's opening round.
A Wolfpack loss coupled with a Virginia win against Maryland would relegate the Pack to the No. 5 seed.
The difference between third- and fourth-place isn't as big as the gap between fourth and fifth. The top four teams don't have to play on Thursday of the ACC tournament.
While other major conferences have had teams win four, and even five games, in the conference tournament, no ACC team has won four games in four days for the league title.
N.C. State was the first team to play four ACC tournament games in four days in 1997, losing to UNC in the title game in Greensboro, and the Wolfpack did it again in 2007, losing to the Tar Heels in Tampa, Fla.
Miami and Duke have already secured the top two seeds in the tournament. UNC secured a bye with Wednesday's win at Maryland.
N.C. State needed a Virginia loss to avoid a tiebreaker scenario with the Cavaliers. Virginia beat the Pack 58-55 on Jan. 29 in Charlottesville, Va. in their only meeting this season.
Virginia has lost two straight on the road, losing at Boston College this past Sunday and at FSU on Thursday. Michael Snaer's three-point play with 4.4 seconds left gave the Seminoles a 53-51 home win.
N.C. State beat FSU 84-66 in Raleigh on Feb. 19. Five of the Pack's six ACC losses have come on the road.
State, who was the No. 5 seed in last year's ACC tournament in Atlanta, would play the No. 12 seed as the No. 5 seed in the 2 p.m. game next Thursday in Greensboro.
As the No. 4 seed in Greensboro, N.C. State would play the 5-12 winner on Friday at 2 p.m. The No. 3 seed plays the 6-11 winner on Friday in the late game, which usually starts after 9:30 p.m.
Comments
There's also a lot to
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 12:14 — billayEdited due to completely erroneous info. :)
beat FSU!!
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 10:13 — dar456beat FSU!!
A golden opportunity has presented itself;
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 09:00 — PackFanMan.....and now that the fallacy of State being able to finish fourth in the conference by ONLY tying with UNC (and supported by some on this blog) has been disproven (once again, proving that "it ain't over till its over") the Pack must take advantage of this opportunity and GITTER' DONE!
.....good luck Pack!
Easy, PackFanMan, I didn't
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 09:58 — jgiglio (author)Easy, PackFanMan, I didn't say "only" option I said "viable." Not sure anyone could sanely predict Virginia's losses at Boston College and Florida State.
Not to get upset JG;I wasn't referring to you;
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 10:09 — PackFanManI was referring to another poster(s). You must know I would never make a "condescending" statement to a knowledgeable scribe like you..... :>)
.....take care
Thanks FSU
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 08:33 — shharrisWhen uvabeat Dook last week, I was pretty sure we would be the 5th seed. Never saw BC beating UVA. If we get the fourth seed, we still have to earn it. FSU is last year's ACC champs,not chumps, and they are playing on their home court. State's performance against Wake (We can't afford to start slow this time) showed how good we can be when we play D. if we play our best D for 40 minutes, the offense will be fine. Go Pack! steve'73
I hope we can beat FSU but we
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 10:02 — PackFanMan.....don't have to necessarily "earn it"; State could still "back in" to the 4 slot if Virginia loses to Maryland; Va.'s record would then be 10-8 and State's would be 11-7.
.....take care.
true enough
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 10:25 — JPDOhioStill, better to earn it than to back into it.
I like the way the Pack is playing now. Everyone on the team seems to have their crap together and they are poised for a good run in both tourneys.
They can prove me right by burying the Seminoles tomorrow. It won't be easy. We have seen over and over again how dangerous it is on the road, no matter who you are playing.
Go Pack!
Great finish
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 00:07 — JPDOhioMichael Snaer does it again, after UVa almost pulled out a comeback win.
So now the Pack controls its own destiny. Can't ask for anything more.
Go Pack!
The man is money.....
Fri, 03/08/2013 - 12:36 — PackFanManJust hope he doesn't do his thing to us down there.