NC State Wolfpack: The Time to Make a #STATEment is Now

With a key rivalry matchup on the horizon and a tough ACC schedule looming, NC State needs to step up and deliver sooner rather than later.

When the Wolfpack dropped its conference season opener on the road at Miami, many thought State’s early season success was all hype amid relatively easy non-conference scheduling outside of now-No. 10 Creighton and Illinois, both losses.

Dennis Smith Jr.and the Pack quickly silenced the dissenters with a commanding 104-78 victory over No. 21 Virginia Tech. Smith led the charge with 27 points, 11 rebounds, and 11 assists, giving State its second-ever triple-double after Julius Hodge accomplished the feat in 2002 against North Carolina A&T.

Next on the slate for State is No. 14 UNC-Chapel Hill at the Dean Smith Center in what many see will be an easy victory for the Tar Heels. With greater challenges beyond UNC-CH further into the season, the Pack will need to make a relentless charge now if the team wishes to make waves in March.

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The Heels average 87.9 points per game, leading the ACC and ranking 11th in the nation. This won’t be a team that will let the Pack run it over, especially during its conference home opener. The Pack will need everybody firing on all cylinders to overcome the onslaught that awaits, including the high-scoring trio of Smith (19.6 PPG), Terry Henderson (16.2), and Torin Dorn (13.7).

Jan 4, 2017; Raleigh, NC, USA; North Carolina State Wolfpack guard Dennis Smith Jr. (4) reacts after a basket during the second half against the Virginia Tech Hokies at PNC Arena. The Wolfpack won 104-78. Mandatory Credit: Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports /

Even after the Pack overcomes the team in Chapel Hill, State will have even tougher competition beyond that, including back-to-back road contests against No. 8 Duke and No. 9 Louisville to end January. The road to the ACC Tournament in Brooklyn gets even tougher in February with a trip to Tallahassee to face the No. 12 Florida State Seminoles and home matchups against No. 23 Notre Dame and No. 11 Virginia, not to mention rematches against the Hurricanes and Tar Heels at PNC Arena.

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After the slogan “This Is Our State” was retired following an overall decline in athletic achievement piled with mockery from other in-state schools that had bested the Wolfpack, NC State rebranded its athletic program with the hashtag, #STATEment. Dave Doeren and the football team made their #STATEment with back-to-back-to-back bowl appearances, most recently with its victory over Vanderbilt in the Independence Bowl.

With a horrid 2015-16 season still in sight from the rear-view mirror, Mark Gottfried and the NC State men’s basketball team still needs to make its #STATEment to show the fans, the ACC, and the NCAA that the Wolfpack is a team that can fight with the best of them.

Next: Smith Gets Triple-Double

State needs to play with the ferocity and intensity that exemplifies the difference between a middle-of-the-road team and an elite team. The force of the Wolfpack must be fierce, it must be powerful, and it must be swift, because no one will be slowing down for them to catch up.

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