Bill Frieder on Pitt, NC State, Kentucky and more

02/18/2015

Boxed Out by Bill FriederI’m really intrigued by two ACC teams in Pitt and NC State, so let’s start with them…

Pack Attack?

NC State on paper doesn’t look like a NCAA Tournament team with a 15-11 record overall and just 6-7 in conference play. The Wolfpack are 3-6 in the past nine, but did beat Duke and won at Louisville. Those victories are very hard to overlook. Saturday NC State hosts Virginia Tech before going on an unusual three-game road trip to North Carolina, Boston College and Clemson before finishing with Syracuse. They will need to go 3-2 at least to have a chance, which is highly possible. Junior Trevor Lacey is scoring 16.5 points per game and with four top-50 wins NC State should be in good shape if they avoid disaster on the road. By the way, when Herb Sendek left after 2006, NC State had gone to five straight NCAA Tournaments. After a five-year absence Mark Gottfried has them on the doorstep of four straight.

Panther Power?

Pitt is 17-10 and also 6-7 in the ACC and after its loss at Virginia has a strange situation left. It has five games left in the ACC, but not a single one of them will really help them. The Panthers play at Syracuse, Boston College, at Wake, versus Miami and at Florida State. Syracuse and Miami are the only games there that could even give them a small boost, and neither of those teams are in the top 50. Pitt has only two top-50 wins and its non-conference strength of schedule is 148. Pitt has been to 12 of the past 13 NCAA Tournaments, missing only in 2012, but they’ll likely need to win out or come up with a big upset in the conference tournament to get there again.

At a High Point

Here is a name to remember for possible upset alert: John Brown. The 6’8″ junior is averaging 18.9 points and nearly six boards for High Point. He had 34 against Winthrop and 21 versus Campbell and was 20-of-29 from the field combined in those two games. High Point leads the Big South standings and has never been to the NCAA Tournament. Of course, good luck picking the Big South tournament winner – there are six teams within one game of the top spot in the league – so it’s anyone’s guess who might emerge from Myrtle Beach with an NCAA bid.

More Panther Power?

Remember in 2010 when Ali Farokhmanesh and coach Ben Jacobson of Northern Iowa shocked everyone with wins over UNLV and then Kansas? That magical ride is the last time the Panthers made the NCAAs, but a return trip to the Sweet Sixteen from this group would be anything but a shock. Seth Tuttle is a 6’8″ senior who leads the team in points, rebounds and assists. Both Wichita State and Northern Iowa are headed towards 16-1 and a February 28th regular season matchup for the league title.

40-0?

I am here to tell you that if Kentucky wins out in the regular season, it wins the NCAA title. Three games in the NCAA Tournament will determine if the Wildcats go 40-0, and I think they will, becoming the first team to go unblemished since Bob Knight’s Indiana Hoosiers in 1976. If that happens, it’ll be fitting that it takes place just up the road from Bloomington.

– Bill Frieder

Former Michigan and Arizona State head coach Bill Frieder is an analyst for Westwood One’s coverage of NCAA Basketball. In his weekly blog Boxed Out, Bill scours the box scores to bring you interesting stories from the world of college basketball.

Most Recent NCAA Basketball Posts

Texas A&M v Houston

Higher seeds advance on Sunday, Sweet 16 set

25 March 2024
Seven of eight higher seeds advanced to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament in Sunday’s Second Round action. Trailing by 13 points with less than four minutes to play, Texas A&M staged an improbable comeback to…
Read More »
NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament Second Round Pittsburgh

Two Overtime Games Highlight A Classic Second Round

24 March 2024
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania was the place to be for Saturday’s action as both games at PPG Paints Arena went into extra periods. First it was the two biggest surprises of the tournament so far who pushed each other to the limit in a 79-73 NC State win against Oakland, and in…
Read More »
yale header

Four double-digit seeds advance in action-packed Friday

23 March 2024
No. 13 seed Yale rallied from a 10-point second-half deficit to stun the No. 4 seed and SEC Tournament champion Auburn Tigers, with 28 points from John Poulakidas and a key block in the waning seconds securing the school’s second-ever NCAA Tournament win. UPSET ALERT" #MARCHMADNESS"You are going to want…
Read More »
DAYTON, OHIO - MARCH 20: KJ Simpson #2 of the Colorado Buffaloes drives to the basket against Andrew Meadow #13 of the Boise State Broncos during the first half in the First Four game of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at University of Dayton Arena on March 20, 2024 in Dayton, Ohio. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)

Grambling, Colorado advance after First Four thrillers

21 March 2024
If the First Four is any indication, the 2024 NCAA DI Men’s Basketball Tournament is sure to be full of Madness. Grambling State got the action started with a thrilling 88-81 come-from-behind overtime win over Montana State. The Tigers advance and will play No. 1 Purdue on Friday. Grambling State…
Read More »
Colorado State v Virginia

Wagner and Colorado State notch First Four wins

19 March 2024
The 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament began with the Northeast Conference and Mountain West Conference seeing members advance to Thursday’s First Round. The night began with a battle of 16 seeds, where Wagner built a second half lead as large as 17 points before holding on to defeat Howard 71-68.…
Read More »
GettyImages 1479590152

Selection Sunday: Listen on Demand

17 March 2024
Relive “Selection Sunday” as Jason Horowitz, P.J. Carlesimo and Debbie Antonelli revealed the Men’s and Women’s NCAA Tournament brackets and chatted with coaches around the country. Guests included UConn men’s head coach Dan Hurley, Houston men’s head coach Kelvin Sampson, Purdue men’s head coach Matt Painter and Iowa women’s head…
Read More »
Dan Hurley 800

TWITBE: Dan Hurley, Devin Carter and Tim Brando

14 March 2024
As the Big East season comes to a close at Madison Square Garden, John and Kevin are joined by Big East Coach of the Year Dan Hurley of UCONN (6:45), Big East Player of the Year Devin Carter of Providence (27:15), and Fox Sports play-by-play announcer Tim Brando (32:30).  The…
Read More »
Load more posts