There’s always reason to be nervous against the annual Cinderella team. After all, an 11-seed like NC State only reaches the Elite Eight if it’s in better form than its seed suggests.
However, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf thinks it’s more than just that.
The ESPN writer released a ranking of the last eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament field, and the Wolfpack (fourth) finished two spots above the Blue Devils (sixth).
“Anything seems possible at this point for a team that has won eight elimination games in 17 days, including against Duke, North Carolina, Texas Tech and now Marquette.,” Medcalf wrote about the Wolfpack.
“Is NC State a team of destiny? At this point, you have to admit it kind of feels that way.”
Duke also finished behind Clemson, whom Medcalf ranked fifth, to be the lowest of the three ACC teams left on the board. The ESPN writer highlighted Duke’s 41% shooting percentage against Houston and the injury to Cougars All-American Jamal Shead as his reasons for pause.
“It still seems like Duke has another gear it can reach in the final days of the 2023-24 season,” Medcalf added.
Defending national champion Connecticut sat in the top spot, the presumed favorite to cut down the nets, while Purdue sat in second.