Dance Card: N.C. State, ACC at-large

Who? The Wolfpack of North Carolina State. Usually shortened to NC State.

What? Wolfpack started as an insult, but lasted as a nickname. Mr. and Mrs. Wuf are the costumed mascots; Tuffy (who's not a wolf, but shhhh) is the live mascot.

Where? Raleigh, North Carolina, the City of Oaks.

When? March 22nd, in Los Angeles, California.

Why? Good, solid team. If Wes Moore isn't a major candidate for national Coach of the Year, something is wrong with the system.

How? They were an at-large selection.

Surprise? Predicted to finish tenth in the conference, they ended up in fourth, five games behind Notre Dame. So while their place in the field isn't a surprise, their run this season is a bit of one.

RPI: 16

SOS: 44

Record: 25-6 (11-5 ACC)

Good wins: Well, at the time, LSU was a good win. Maryland's probably best right now.

Bad losses: Wright State in Florida.

Who's driving this thing? Wes Moore, since 2013, long-time head coach at Chattanooga.

Extra, Extra! The News and Observer.

North Carolina State lost two rotation players to knee injuries on back to back days in February; of those, the bigger loss by far is senior guard Myisha Goodwin-Coleman, who was third on the team in scoring with 10.7 points when she was injured. Center Markeisha Gatling, one of six seniors, leads the way with 17.6 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Forward Kody Burke adds 15.0 points and 6.3 rebounds. Freshman guard Miah Spencer has stepped up in the absence of Goodwin-Coleman.

Random thing that intrigues me: 67.6% from the field for Gatling, good Lord.