A six-year hiatus from the NCAA Tournament appeared to be over.

North Carolina State was 18-7 and 7-3 in conference play and dominating a Feb. 16 matchup against in-state rival Duke midway through the second half.

But that all changed as the No. 4 Blue Devils rallied back for the win, initiating a four-game slide in which the Wolfpack dropped close contests to No. 22 Florida State, No. 6 North Carolina and unranked Clemson.

‘At the end of the day, you have to earn your way in, and that’s what we have to do,’ NC State head coach Mark Gottfried said Monday on the Atlantic Coast Conference coaches’ teleconference. ‘There are other teams around the country like us. You have to earn your way in by winning games. It’s not smoke and mirrors. It’s a simple equation. So I think that’s where you end up at this time of the year.’

The Wolfpack (18-11, 7-7 ACC) now finds itself on the bubble. NC State finishes its regular-season schedule with games against Miami on Wednesday and Virginia Tech on Sunday, but its proving ground extends to the ACC tournament. With zero victories against current Top-25 teams, an early exit could lead to a sixth straight year of disappointment in Raleigh, N.C.

But if NC State can string together a few wins, as the team did in 2007 when a squad with a 15-14 regular-season record made it all the way to the conference tournament finals against North Carolina, an NCAA Tournament berth would likely follow.

And considering the Wolfpack was slotted just eighth in the ACC preseason coaches’ poll, a ticket to the Big Dance would prove Gottfried’s program is more than just ‘rebuilding.’

‘I hate to use that term because whenever you say rebuilding, it’s almost as if you’re giving yourself an out to be average,’ Gottfried said. ‘I don’t like it. I never have liked that. And so, we obviously know where our program has been.

‘We’ve not been near the top, obviously. But we’ve tried to set high goals this year and do some things that maybe a lot of people haven’t expected us to do, so at times we’ve done well with that. Other times we’ve come up short. But I believe you have to reach high and dream high.’

NC State’s schedule is dotted with quality wins over Texas, Maryland, Boston College and Miami (Fla.), but the team has yet to earn a signature victory that might impress the NCAA Tournament Selection Committee.

It almost came in an upset of the Blue Devils two weeks back. A pair of free throws from Lorenzo Brown with 11:33 left in regulation put the Wolfpack up by 20 points.

The victory that would all but secure an NCAA Tournament berth seemed imminent.

But after shooting just 4-of-15 the remainder of the game, NC State allowed Duke to climb back behind a 26-point effort from junior guard Seth Curry. Ultimately winning 78-73, the Blue Devils sent the disheartened Wolfpack into a downward spiral that has damaged their tournament hopes.

‘They just missed some shots, and then we hit our shots. NC State was over a little bit of an extended period of time,’ Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski said on the ACC coaches’ teleconference Feb. 20. ‘So they are just big-time wins for our team, and you know, really proud of the way they hung in there and were able to win those games.’

Wednesday against Miami, the Wolfpack will try to pull out of that nosedive and salvage their season.

The Hurricanes have earned signature victories against conference opponents — a 78-74 overtime shocker over Duke on Feb. 5 and a 78-62 win over the Seminoles on Sunday

But Miami may be without center Reggie Johnson, who the NCAA deemed received ‘impermissible travel benefits’ by someone on the staff of then-head coach Frank Haith. He was declared ineligible for Sunday’s game against FSU and his status Wednesday remains uncertain.

Hurricanes head coach Jim Larranaga said that despite his potential absence, the team hasn’t skipped a beat in practice this week.

‘We won’t change anything,’ Larranaga said Monday on the ACC coaches’ teleconference. ‘Reggie will practice. He practiced great on Friday and Saturday. He’s been very upbeat, working hard, preparing himself for the time when he’ll be available to us again. The other guys did a great job of practicing.’

Still, Johnson averages 10.6 points per game and paces Miami with nearly seven rebounds per game. Numbers that would be sorely missed if he is ruled out of Wednesday’s game.

Wins in each of NC State’s remaining two games and a deep run in the ACC tournament would dramatically increase the Wolfpack’s chances of making the NCAA Tournament. But Gottfried refused to quantify just how well his team needed to perform closing out the season.

‘I think it’s a misnomer,’ Gottfried said. ‘I was watching TV last night and somebody said if Miami wins this game, they’re in. Well, that’s completely irresponsible is the right word because nobody knows that. You don’t know what the other teams are being compared to.’

sebail01@syr.edu

 

Published on February 28, 2012 at 12:00 pm

Contact Stephen: sebail01@syr.edu | @Stephen_Bailey1