CBS Sports analyst Matt Norlander put NC State at No. 72 in his annual Top 101, and that number lands well below where just about every other model has the Wolfpack.
Bart Torvik has NC State at 33. EvanMiya slots the Pack at 38 after 10,000 simulated seasons.
Even KenPom, the most cautious of the bunch on this team, has NC State at 65. Norlander’s ranking sits well outside that range, and his own writeup doesn’t fully explain the drop.
On social media, Norlander said the teams he was higher on than consensus included Texas, Gonzaga, Baylor, Villanova, Saint Louis, Providence, Grand Canyon, New Mexico, George Mason and Wichita State. The teams he was lower on than most included Miami, Georgia, Iowa, TCU, Utah State, NC State, Texas A&M and Boise State.
In his NC State blurb, Norlander described the Pack as a tough team to evaluate under new coach Justin Gainey. He pointed to Paul McNeil Jr. as an “18-ppg guy” and called Hofstra transfer Preston Edmead a great addition. He also said he considered placing NC State as high as 55, but decided to “temper suppositions in Year 1.”
That still leaves the Pack 17 spots lower than that higher-end thought, and the gap is hard to miss when stacked against the numbers from the major projection systems. Torvik’s forecast is especially eye-catching, with NC State’s offense rated eighth-best in the country. EvanMiya’s 10,000-run simulation has the Wolfpack landing in the top 15 in its best-case outcomes.
Norlander’s number is even tougher to square when you compare it to CBS’s own preseason bracketology. The same outlet has NC State in the field as a 12-seed in a First Four game against Indiana.
In Norlander’s framing, teams in the top 65 are at-large or bubble contenders; at No. 72, NC State would be outside that line.
The ACC media poll also landed closer to the consensus, placing NC State eighth in the league.
The contrast becomes even sharper next to North Carolina. Norlander ranks UNC 40 spots ahead of NC State at No. 32, while Torvik has the Pack ahead of the Tar Heels. EvanMiya and KenPom also keep the two programs close enough that the difference is nowhere near 40 places.
Both schools are dealing with first-year coaches, but Norlander treated them differently. UNC’s Michael Malone, whose background is in the NBA, gets a No. 32 ranking and a projection as a top-four ACC team despite a roster that wasn’t ranked in the preseason. NC State’s first-year coach got the much steeper haircut.
The early results only make the disparity more noticeable. NC State beat Mississippi St and rolled past Lenoir-Rhyne by almost 70, while UNC lost to Indiana by 12 and needed overtime to get by Charlotte.
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At NC State, the challenge is bigger than just scheme or scouting. Gainey has to lift a program that wants clearer tournament relevance, and the early read is that his personality may matter as much as his resume in building that push. His humility, likability and clear desire to be at NC State are the kinds of traits that can help a coach connect with a fan base, especially if the on-court results start to follow. [Read more 🡒]