The Wolfpacker: An Independent Magazine Covering NC State Sports
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TRACKING THE PACK 14 ■ THE WOLFPACKER BY MATT CARTER T he NC State men's basketball team has announced the Pack's noncon- ference slate for the 2023-24 season. Here are the schedule details: Nov. 6 vs. The Citadel* Last season, the Bulldogs went 10-22 overall and finished next-to-last in the 10-team Southern Con- ference, resulting in a final NCAA NET ranking of No. 330. Any home game below 161 is considered a Quad 4. The Citadel lost its only two players to aver- age double digits in scoring last season. Nov. 10 vs. Abilene Christian Abilene Christian went 13-17 overall and 7-11 in the Western Athletic Conference last season. The Wildcats had a final NET ranking of No. 204. Abilene Christian returns three of its top four scorers from last year. Nov. 17 vs. Charleston Southern Charleston Southern went 10-21 overall a year ago and 5-13 in the Big South Conference, finishing next- to-last in the 10-team league. Its final NET ranking was No. 304. The only two players to score in double figures left the team, with leading scorer Claudell Harris Jr. transferring to Boston College. Nov. 23 vs. Vanderbilt in Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET on ESPN2) After Thanksgiving dinner, NC State fans can see a rematch of a game played last year in Chicago, which the Pack won 70-66. The Commodores surged late in the year and finished 11-7 in the SEC, earning a bid to the NIT. Vandy reached the semifinals be - fore closing its campaign at 22-15 overall. It finished the regular season at No. 81 in the NET rankings. The Commodores were hit hard by attrition. Lead- ing scorer Liam Robbins exhausted his eligibility, and two of the next four leading scorers all transferred out. However, Vanderbilt was boosted by the return of guard Tyrin Lawrence, its second-leading scorer (13.1 points per game) who withdrew from the portal. Nov. 24 vs. Arizona State/BYU (Time TBD, ESPN2) This matchup will also occur at the Vegas Show- down. The Sun Devils went 23-13 a year ago and were one of the last four at-large teams selected to the NCAA Tournament as a No. 11 seed. Coached by former Duke legend Bobby Hurley, Arizona State routed Nevada in Dayton, Ohio, to open the NCAA tourney and nearly upset sixth-seeded TCU two days later. The Sun Devils have lost their four top scorers from that team, including guard DJ Horne, who is now at NC State. To help overcome those losses, they added six players via the portal. One of those players is center Shawn Phillips, a one-time NC State signee who spent his freshman year at LSU. In the final NET rankings before the NCAA Tourna- ment field was announced, Arizona State was No. 61, which on a neutral court would count as a Quad 2 contest for NC State. BYU was NET No. 84, which also would be a Quad 2 game for NC State on a neutral court. The Cougars finished the season 19-15 while competing in the West Coast Conference for the last time. This season brings a move to the Big 12. BYU landed UNC Charlotte post transfer Aly Khal- ifa, who averaged 11.7 points and 6.3 rebounds per game as a sophomore. Khalifa is one of three solid transfers BYU added to a squad that returns two of its top three scorers from last season. Nov. 28 at Ole Miss (9 p.m., TV TBD) The inaugural ACC/SEC Challenge basketball matchups have been set, with NC State traveling to play in Oxford, Miss. Ole Miss is in a rebuilding mode after firing head coach Kermit Davis during a 12-21 season in 2022- 23 (final NET ranking was No. 129) and replacing him with former Texas Tech and Texas head coach Chris Beard. In 2019, Beard helped Texas Tech reach the na- tional title game. Two years later, after five seasons with the Red Raiders, he took the job at Texas. Beard went 22-12 in his first season and was 7-1 last fall before being fired when he was charged with third-degree felony assault against his fiancée. The charges were dismissed two months later, and Beard was soon hired by Ole Miss. Dec. 6 vs. Maryland Eastern Shore (in Reynolds Coliseum) The annual Heritage Game will be a midweek, Wednesday contest. UMES went 18-13 overall and 9-5 in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to finish with a final NET ranking of No. 229. The top four scorers from that team are gone, however. Dec. 12 vs. UT Martin The Skyhawks went 19-14 overall last season and 10-8 in the Ohio Valley Conference, finishing with a NET ranking of No. 251. That team lost its top two scorers, however. Dec. 16 vs. Tennessee in San Antonio The Vols reached the Sweet 16 last season and finished 25-11 overall. ESPN.com's way-too-early top 25 has them ranked No. 6 nationally and noted that head coach Rick Barnes was "one of the biggest portal winners." Dec. 20 vs. Saint Louis This is the return game from when NC State scheduled a series in the middle of the pandemic season of 2020-21. The Billikens went 21-12 this past season and finished in a three-way tie for sec- ond place in the Atlantic 10. Their final NET ranking was No. 97, which would be a Quad 3 contest at home (teams ranked 76-160). Star point guard Yuri Collins, who averaged 11.2 points and 10.1 assists per game, turned pro. Dec. 23 vs. Detroit Last year, Detroit went 14-19 overall and 9-11 in the Horizon League, but coach Mike Davis' prolific- scoring son Antoine Davis, who averaged 28.2 points per game, has graduated. Detroit's final NET ranking was No. 212. * Game times and TV are TBD unless noted NC State Nonconference Men's Hoops Slate Revealed Kevin Keatts is preparing for his seventh season in charge of the Wolfpack men's basketball program. He's gone 113-79 overall, including a 53-12 record in regular-season nonconference games. PHOTO BY LARRY BLANKENSHIP