Show Me My Opponent, 2023-24: NC State

YOU HAVE ANGERED MR. WUF

Tennessee travels this fine Saturday to San Antonio, Texas, a city with a WalkScore of 37, to play North Carolina State. A couple of things you’re gonna notice about that sentence is that these are two programs located in the states of Tennessee and North Carolina and that this game is being played in Texas. A thing you’re gonna notice about the above graphic is that this game is being played at 10 PM ET/9 PM CT. Is this a preseason tournament? No. Is this really important for either side? No. Are they using the atrocious Spalding TF-1000 basketball? Yes.

Is there any reason for all of this, other than money? No. There never is. So it goes.

NC State is fine. I think you could say that basically every year, but perhaps this year more than most. They are 6-0 in games they were favored to win and 1-2 in games they were not, with the one win being over Boston College. Yes, the ACC plays conference games in December now. Think of it this way: there are anywhere from 340-363 Division I basketball teams depending on the season over the last 15 years. In 11 of those seasons, NC State has finished between 40th and 75th in KenPom.

That is what I think of when I think of NC State basketball: something that is perfectly okay. I am appropriately whelmed nearly every year by them. Is this a game they can win? Of course. Given that NCSU is 3-22 against Quad 1 opponents post-COVID, per Torvik, I’ve got doubts. You can really just boil their program down to “were they favored” post-COVID, really: 41-11 as a favorite, 14-34 as an underdog, 4-17 as an underdog of 5+ points.

But, whatever, money’s money. Maybe they’ll do it, with the power of the Spalding TF-1000 and an underrated weird mascot behind them.

BELOW THE LINE ($): More analysis than “they are fine” and/or “how many times can a program be spiritually 6-6”