NC State Hosts Kansas State on Monday for NCAA Tournament Second Round
Wolfpack chasing after program-best fourth-straight Sweet 16 berth
********Watch for Elissa Cunane, from Northern Guilford High School, as she leads the N.C State women into battle.*********
RALEIGH – Third-ranked and one-seeded NC State women’s basketball (30-3) will host its final home game of the 2021-22 campaign on Monday afternoon as it matches up against ninth-seeded Kansas State (20-12) with a Sweet Sixteen berth on the line. The second-round matchup will tip off at 4 p.m. from Kay Yow Court inside Valvano Arena at Reynolds Coliseum.
The game will be televised nationally on ESPN with Sam Ravech and Kelly Gramlich on the call. Andrew Sanders and Ernie Myers will also have the radio call on WKNC 88.1 FM in Raleigh.
FAN INFO
Parking lots and doors open at 3 p.m. Fans may park in the Coliseum Deck beginning at that time. Patrons are encouraged to continue to the top floors of the deck where there is plenty of available parking.
Handicapped parking and NCAA parking permits will be located in the Jeter Bays lot directly adjacent to Reynolds Coliseum. This lot opens at 3 p.m., and anyone wishing to park here will need to have their handicap placard or NCAA parking permit displayed in their car.
Campus is operating on its regular class schedule on Monday. Parking could be limited, so please work with the parking staff on hand to assist you as needed.
A WIN ON MONDAY WOULD
• Secure NC State’s fourth-straight NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearance, setting a new program-record streak
• Mark the Pack’s 15th overall Sweet 16 appearance in 27 NCAA Tournament berths in program history
• Be the 997th win in program history (996-477)
• Be head coach Wes Moore’s 779th career win (778-237)
• Be Moore’s 221st win at NC State (220-68)
• Be the Wolfpack’s 28th NCAA Tournament win of all time (27-26)
• Extend NC State’s winning streak to 12 games and put its home winning streak at 11 games
NOTING THE WOLFPACK (30-3)
• NC State was ranked No. 3 in the final Associated Press Top 25 release of the season to tie the program’s best final AP ranking in history. The Wolfpack has been featured in the season-ending AP Top 10 four seasons in a row, extending its program-best streak. The team was ranked fifth or higher in every poll this season.
• The Pack’s first-round win over Longwood marked its 30th overall victory of the season, setting a new single-season program record. NC State is the 63rd NCAA Division I women’s basketball program to hit the 30-win plateau at least once in its history.
• NC State is four wins away from 1,000 in program history. The team’s 996 all-time victories ranks 20th all time, right behind Kansas State’s 998.
• Five Wolfpack players scored in double figures in Saturday’s first-round win. NC State has had five players score 10+ points in seven NCAA Tournament games in team history. The squad has accomplished that three times in the Moore era.
• Elissa Cunane surpassed the 500 career free throw mark in her first trip to the line on Saturday. Her current mark is at 505. Cunane is one of just 13 active NCAA Division I players with 500+ career free throws and one of three to accomplish that feat in only four seasons.
• NC State is in the national top 20 in both offensive and defensive ratings (points per 100 possessions). The Wolfpack’s offensive rating of 110.1 points per 100 possessions ranks second nationally and is the highest such mark in the Moore era.
• The Wolfpack averages 7.4 three pointers per game, and the team is also averaging 34.2 points in the paint. NC State has scored 35+ points in the paint in 14 games this year.
• NC State has earned eight wins over ranked opponents in 2021-22 to tie a single-season program record.
SERIES HISTORY WITH THE WILDCATS (NC State leads 3-1)
• Monday marks the fifth overall meeting between NC State and Kansas State and the second this season.
• The teams previously faced off in mid-November as part of the Preseason WNIT event hosted by the Wolfpack. NC State handed Kansas State its first loss of the season in that game, winning 90-69 on its home court to go a perfect 4-0 at the tournament.
• The other three previous matchups in the series were tournament games played at neutral sites during non-conference play.
• Monday’s game marks the first time that the Wolfpack and the Wildcats have faced off in the NCAA Tournament.
PACK ATTACK
• Eight different players have led NC State in scoring this season.
• The Wolfpack has nine players who are shooting 40+ percent from the field and have taken at least 90 shots this season. That number ranks second nationally in NCAA Division I women’s basketball behind UConn (10).
• Four Wolfpack players (minimum 50 attempts) are shooting 35+ percent from three-point range after the first round – Kai Crutchfield (.439), Kayla Jones (.405), Raina Perez (.396), Jakia Brown-Turner (.364). NC State is one of 11 NCAA Division I women’s hoops programs, one of two Power Five teams and the only ACC school that has 4+ players with such marks.
• Ten players have hit 10+ points in at least one game this season. Cunane (26), Diamond Johnson (17), Perez (16), Brown-Turner (15), Jones (11), Jada Boyd (7), Kai Crutchfield (6), Camille Hobby (5) and Aziaha James (2) and have all done so multiple times.
• Eight players have hit the 15-point threshold at least once this season, and six players have hit the 18-point threshold.
STRENGTH IN THE PACK
Since the renovation of Reynolds Coliseum was completed in August 2016, NC State has gone 87-11 (.889) when playing at home. That record includes 43 out of 45 possible non-conference wins (both losses were to top 25 opponents).
NC State averaged 4,652 fans during the regular season to rank 14th nationally, and the Pack’s average attendance percent capacity (.846) in its 5,550 seat arena ranked third in the nation. The Wolfpack sold out nine games this year, most recently selling out Saturday’s NCAA Tournament first-round session.
The Wolfpack has hosted 19 NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh throughout program history. The team is 17-2 in those games and has not lost an NCAA Tournament contest in its home city since 1983.