NC State men’s basketball gets NIT invitation, will face Davidson
N.C. State’s season isn’t over just yet.
The last time the Wolfpack played, it was sent home by Syracuse on the ACC tournament’s second day.
Luckily for Kevin Keatts, that wasn’t the final time N.C. State gets a chance to play this season. The Pack (13-10) accepted an invitation to the NIT, which begins on Thursday in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.
N.C. State, a three seed, opens play against Davidson, the No. 2 seed. Tip-off time is 7 p.m. The game will be played at UNT Coliseum in Denton, Texas.
This year only 16 teams were invited to play in the NIT due to the coronavirus pandemic. In the past 32 teams participated. The Pack finished the regular season on a five-game win streak before losing to Syracuse on Wednesday. This is N.C. State’s second trip to the NIT under Keatts.
After the loss to the Orange, Keatts told the media he would love a chance to play in the postseason if it’s done the right way.
“I don’t want our kids to have just an experience of saying we’re going to postseason play if it’s not a first-class experience,” Keatts said. “If the NIT is ran the way it has been in the past and it’s a first-class experience for our guys, I think it’s a great thing. But if it’s not, I just don’t want to go to a tournament just to say we’re going.”
N.C. State leads the series with Davidson, 69-14. The Wildcats, however, won the last match up in 2008, 72-67, led by 44 points from Steph Curry.
This story was originally published March 14, 2021 at 8:44 PM.
