No. 2 Seed NC State Set for Rematch vs. No. 3 Seed LSU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

NC State Game Notes | LSU Game Notes | Media Media Central

RALEIGH – The No. 9/9, 2-seed NC State women's basketball team will face No. 10/10, 3-seed LSU for the second time this season, this time in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. Playing in the Spokane Regional 1, the game will tipoff at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time from Spokane Arena and will be broadcast on ESPN. The winner of this game will move on to the Elite 8 to face the winner of No. 1/1 1-seed UCLA vs. No. 25/25 5-seed Ole Miss.

ABOUT NC STATE

The Wolfpack is a No. 2 seed, coming off hosting for the 13th time in program history, fifth time in the Wes Moore era. That was also the fifth time in the last six tournaments
NC State is coming off its 28th win of the season, 23rd straight at Reynolds Coliseum and 20th straight in an NCAA Tournament game in Raleigh with an 83-49 win over 7-seeded Michigan State to earn its sixth NCAA Sweet 16 appearance in the last seven tournaments
The 18 wins at home marks the most for the Pack in a single season. NC State's 23-game home winning streak is the fourth active longest streak in the country
The Pack set several NCAA Tournament program records in the win over Michigan State with 15 made 3-pointers, a margin of victory of 34 and seven blocked shots (tied record). Saniya Rivers tallied 11 assists, which set a new single-game NCAA Tournament record at NC State
Against Vermont, NC State had just four turnovers, marking a tie for the least amount in a single game during the Wes Moore era
The Pack earned its 19th ACC Championship game appearance after defeating ninth-seeded Georgia Tech and fifth-seeded North Carolina, 66-55. NC State fell to third-seeded Duke, 76-62, in the title game
NC State finished 16-2 in the ACC to share the regular season title with Notre Dame
The Pack is No. 9 in the AP and WBCA Coaches polls. NC State is in the top 10 for the fifth time this season and 220th week in program history
Five of the Pack's six losses have come to AP Top 15 teams, all of whom are playing in the Sweet 16: South Carolina (2), TCU (6), Duke (7), LSU (10) and UNC (12)
NC State has won 24 of the last 27 games with a total of six ranked wins after starting the season 4-3
NC State finished the regular season undefeated at home with a 16-0 mark. This marked the third time in program history the Pack has finished the regular season undefeated at home, the second time in the Moore era
NC State is No. 16 in the NET and has an average opponent NET opponent ranking at No. 65, which is third in the country (trailing South Carolina- 58 and Duke - 63), as well as the 12th toughest strength of schedule in the country
The Pack has four players who average double digits in scoring and has six who average 6.8 points per game or more
Aziaha James leads NC State with 18.1 points per game, which is No. 6 in the ACC with 75 made 3-pointers. She is an AP and USBWA All-America Honorable Mention choice
Madison Hayes paces the Pack with 7.3 rebounds per game
Rivers leads the Pack in assists per game (3.8), steals per game (1.6) and blocks per game (1.3)
Tilda Trygger is logging a 52.6 field goal percentage (90-171), which is the best among players with 100+ attempts
The Pack leads the ACC and is third in the country in least fouls per game (12.1). NC State is second in the ACC in defensive rebounds per game (29.5) and turnovers per game (11.6), which are both eighth in the country, while also second in rebounds per game (41.5), 16th in the NCAA. NC State is third in assist/turnover ratio (1.2), field goal percentage defense (38.4) and scoring offense (77.0)
James, Rivers and Zoe Brooks are on the WBCA All-Region list

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Wolfpack is playing in its 30th NCAA Tournament appearance
This marks NC State's 17th appearance in the NCAA Sweet 16 (3-13 record in those games)
This year marks the fifth time in the Wes Moore era NC State is a top 16 seed and has the opportunity to host the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament (would host if the 2021 tournament was not in the bubble)
The Pack has played 23 of its NCAA Tournament games in Raleigh throughout program history and is 21-2 in those games. NC State has not lost an NCAA Tournament game in its home city since 1983 (20-game streak)
This year marks the eighth straight NCAA Tournament for NC State, which is a school record and ninth in the Moore era
NC State is 13-8 in first round games, 17-5 in second round games, 3-13 in Sweet 16 games, 2-1 in Elite Eights and 0-2 in Final Fours with 35 total tournament wins
Under Coach Moore the Pack has made six Sweet 16 appearances in the last seven tournaments, two Elite Eights and is coming off the program's first Final Four since 1998 last season in 2024

ACC-OLADES

All-ACC First Team: Aziaha James, Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks
All-ACC Defensive Team: Saniya Rivers
ACC All-Freshman Team: Tilda Trygger
ACC Most Improved Player: Zoe Brooks
ACC Coach of the Year: Wes Moore

SCOUTING LSU

LSU is 30-5 and finished the SEC slate with a 12-4 record to earn the No. 3 seed in the SEC Tournament
The Tigers, who were shorthanded due to injury, defeated Florida in the quarterfinals (101-87) before falling to Texas in the semifinals (56-49) of the SEC Tournament
LSU won its pod in Baton Rouge with back-to-back 100+ points scored in wins over San Diego State (103-48) and Florida State (101-71)
The trio of Aneesah Morrow, Flau'Jae Johnson and Mikaylah Williams were tabbed to the All-SEC First Team and Morrow was tabbed to the All-Defensive Team
Johnson leads the Tigers with 18.8 points per game
Morrow averages a double-double with 18.5 points per game and a team-leading 13.5 rebounds per game and a team's best 85 steals
Williams logs 17.4 points per game with a team's most 116 assists
Sa'Myah Smith has a team's most 48 blocks

SERIES HISTORY (NC STATE TRAILS 1-3)

The Pack and Tigers will play for the fifth time of the series, as well as the second time this season
NC State and LSU played for the first time in 2012, resulting in an 81-73 loss on the road for NC State
In the last game played in November, the Pack fell 82-65 in the Bahamas at Baha Mar

LAST TIME OUT

The 2-seeded Pack handled business against 7-seeded Michigan State, 83-49, in a game NC State led wire-to-wire
The Pack won its 23rd straight home win and 20th straight win in an NCAA Tournament game played in Raleigh
NC State broke NCAA Tournament program records in 3-pointers made (15), margin of victory (34) and blocks (7- tied)
The Pack won the battle in points off turnovers (18-8), second chance points (5-2), fast breaks (23-3) and bench points (18-10)
James led the Pack with 26 points off 10-of-17 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from the 3-point line with six rebounds and two blocks
Rivers finished with a near triple-double behind 17 points, an NCAA Tournament program record 11 assists and eight rebounds with two steals and two blocks. No other DI players (men's or women's) has reached those marks in an NCAA Tournament game this century
Hayes logged 17 points and shot 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, starting the game 5-of-5 from 3-point. Her five 3-pointers marked a career-high and she matched that with nine boards
Zamareya Jones registered 12 points in 12 minutes off the bench, shooting 5-of-9 from the field with two 3-pointers
Lorena Awou recorded eight rebounds off the bench and Brooks logged four assists

UPCOMING
The winner of NC State vs. LSU will move on to the NCAA Tournament Elite 8 to face the winner of UCLA vs. Ole Miss on Sunday, March 30 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. That winner will win the Spokane Regional 1 to advance to the Final Four in Tampa.

No. 2 Seed NC State Set for Rematch vs. No. 3 Seed LSU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lorena Awou

Zoe Brooks

Madison Hayes

Aziaha James

Zamareya Jones

Saniya Rivers

Tilda Trygger

No. 2 Seed NC State Set for Rematch vs. No. 3 Seed LSU in NCAA Tournament Sweet 16

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Lorena Awou

Zoe Brooks

Madison Hayes

Aziaha James

Zamareya Jones

Saniya Rivers

Tilda Trygger

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