No. 7 Seed Wolfpack Set for Rematch with No. 10 Seed Tennessee in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

Friday, March 20

Ann Arbor, Mich.

8 PM

NC State

Tennessee

Buy Tickets

Photo by: NCSU WBB

No. 7 Seed Wolfpack Set for Rematch with No. 10 Seed Tennessee in NCAA Tournament Round of 64

3/19/2026 11:19:00 AM | Women's Basketball

Live Stats ESPN Broadcast Radio Broadcast

NC State Notes | Tennessee Notes | Media Central

RALEIGH – No. 7 seed NC State is set to face No. 10 seed Tennessee for the second time this season, as the two will face off in the NCAA Tournament Round of 64. The game will tipoff on Friday, March 20 at 8 p.m. at the Crisler Center on ESPN in the Ann Arbor, Michigan pod. The Wolfpack is in the Fort Worth, Texas Regional 3 and the winner of the opening round will play the winner of No. 2 seed, host Michigan vs. No. 15 seed Holy Cross.

The two teams faced off in the season opener at the Ro Greensboro Invitational in a top 10 matchup, as Tennessee was ranked No. 8/9 and NC State was No. 9/8. NC State pulled out a 80-77 thrilling win. Khamil Pierre hit the go-ahead bucket and Tilda Trygger came up with a big offensive rebound to kick out to Zamareya Jones, who sunk in two free throws with less than two seconds left in the game.

NCAA TOURNAMENT HISTORY

The Wolfpack is playing in its 31st NCAA Tournament
This is the Pack's ninth straight NCAA Tournament, which is a school record for the most consecutive appearances, all under head coach Wes Moore
NC State's record vs. No. 10 seeds is 3-1. This is the Pack's fifth time being a No. 7 seed, with its record being 2-2
This year is the Pack's first time since 2023 and second time in the last six tournaments (not including bubble year) that NC State will play its first game in the tournament away from Raleigh
This year marks Coach Moore's 10th NCAA Tournament appearance at NC State and 26th in his career
NC State is 13-8 in first round games, 17-5 in second round games, 3-14 in Sweet 16 games, 2-1 in Elite Eights and 0-2 in Final Fours
Under Coach Moore, the Pack has made six Sweet 16 appearances in the past seven tournaments, two Elite Eights and a Final Four in 2024, which was the first since 1998

ANN ARBOR POD SCHEDULE

Friday, March 20 at 5:30 PM (ESPN2) - (2) Michigan vs. (15) Holy Cross
Friday, March 20 at 8 PM (ESPN) - (7) NC State vs. (10) Tennessee
Sunday, March 22 at TBA (TBA) - winner of game 1 vs. winner of game 2

ABOUT NC STATE

NC State finished the regular season 13-5 in the ACC to finish fourth. This marks Moore's 10th time leading NC State to a top four finish
NC State is also 20-10 overall, marking the 11th straight 20-win season in the Moore era and 33rd in program history
The Pack is in its 31st overall NCAA Tournament appearance, ninth straight, serving as the No. 7 seed for the fifth time in school history
The Wolfpack finished No. 26 in the NET with three quad 1 wins and five quad 2 wins
NC State logged the sixth best average NET opponent ranking (80) in the country. Its NET SOS in non-con play was the fourth best among P4 schools (including UConn)
NC State saw two players on the All-ACC First Team with Pierre and Zoe Brooks. Both were unanimous first team selections by the Blue Ribbon Panel and the league's head coaches. This marks the third straight year Moore has landed two or more players on the All-ACC First Team and 10th of the last 11 he has had at least one on the first team
Pierre leads the team in scoring (16.8) on 52.6 percent shooting (220-418) and rebounding (12.0). She leads the league in double-doubles (21) and rebounding, third and sixth, respectively, in the country. Pierre is one of five finalists for the Katrina McClain Power Forward of the Year Award, a finalist for the WBCA All-America Team and an AP All-America Honorable Mention choice
Brooks paces the Pack with 4.4 assists and 1.7 steals per game and averages 16.3 points per game. She is also a finalist for the WBCA All-America team
Jones has a team's most 65 3-pointers, while also averaging 14.3 points per game
Trygger paces the Pack with 1.3 blocks per game and averages 10.9 points per game
NC State leads the league in defensive rebounds per game (31.1) and rebounds per game (43.07) which are fifth and sixth in the country, respectively

SCOUTING TENNESSEE

Tennessee is 16-13 overall and 8-8 in the ACC entering the NCAA Tournament and is making its 44th straight appearance in the Big Dance. The Lady Vols program is the only one to have made all 44 NCAA Tournaments
The Lady Vols finished 8-8 in league play and earned the sixth seed in the SEC Tournament before dropping that game 70-59 in the second round
Talaysia Cooper was named to the All-SEC Second Team for the second year in a row and Mia Pauldo was tabbed an All-SEC Freshman Team choice
This season, Cooper leads the Lady Vols with 15.7 points per game and 102 assists and 75 steals
Janiah Barker has a team's most 6.6 rebounds per game
Zee Spearman leads the way with 37 blocks
Four players average double digits in scoring and six average 6.6 points per game or more

LAST TIME OUT

NC State fell to Notre Dame, 81-63, in the ACC Tournament Quarterfinals
Pierre led the Pack with her 21st double-double of the season with 17 points and 14 rebounds
Jones logged 14 points, four assists and one block
Qadence Samuels registered 12 points and six boards and Brooks had 10 points, five assists and three steals
NC State's ACC Tournament record is now 62-42

SERIES HISTORY (NC STATE TRAILS 12-5)

This marks the 18th game in the all-time series and second time this season after NC State and Tennessee faced off in the season opener at the Ro Greensboro Invitational. NC State won that game 80-77
This marks the second game between these two teams in the NCAA Tournament. NC State won the lone matchup 79-72 in the second round in the Raleigh pod in 2024. NC State went on to go to the Final Four that year
The first meeting between these two teams was on March 12, 1976, resulting in an 86-85 win for NC State in the AIAW Region II Tournament
NC State has won the last two matchups

UPCOMING
The winner of the NCAA Tournament Round of 64 game will play the winner of No. 2 seed Michigan vs. No. 15 seed Holy Cross on Sunday, March 22.