For Wolfpack, more work to do

RALEIGH — With the better part of a week to celebrate its latest victory, North Carolina State’s men’s basketball team still has work to do.
That next assignment comes Saturday afternoon when Notre Dame visits PNC Arena.
N.C. State played a rather weak non-conference schedule, with that slate ranked low in the power ratings. Because of that, there’s a heightened need for the Wolfpack to make even more waves in the Atlantic Coast Conference in order to land a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Victories against highly rated teams such as Arizona, Duke, Clemson and North Carolina carry only so much clout.
N.C. State (15-7 overall, 5-4 ACC) has matched its 2016-17 ACC win total and exceeded last season’s conference victory mark (4-14).
At the midway mark of N.C. State’s league slate, let’s look at how the remaining schedule shapes up for the Wolfpack, which is in a three-way tie for fifth place in the 15-team league:
Saturday vs. Notre Dame: The Fighting Irish are stuck with a six-game winning streak, but if point guard Matt Farrell returns from an ankle injury – initially suffered during an 88-58 victory Jan. 3 against N.C. State — then they could be in better shape. It’s hard to imagine that a team that lost by 30 points might be considered a favorite in a rematch exactly one month later.
Wednesday at Virginia Tech: The Hokies rank as one of the ACC’s hottest teams with three victories in a row. The Hokies might be desperate in this game because they play their next three on the road after the Wolfpack’s visit.
Feb. 10 vs. North Carolina: The Wolfpack could be catching the Tar Heels at a good time because it comes two days after North Carolina’s always-hyped matchup with Duke. It’s also two weeks after the Wolfpack pulled that stunner in Chapel Hill.
Feb. 14 at Syracuse: The Orange has serious depth issues and offensive shortcomings. N.C. State finally figured out Pittsburgh’s zone defense in last week’s comeback, so solving a zone will be required in this matchup as well.
Feb. 17 at Wake Forest: N.C. State escaped with a home victory last month against the Demon Deacons. This figures to be a dangerous assignment for N.C. State given how Wake Forest has kept several games tight.
Feb. 20 vs. Boston College: The Wolfpack has won its last six meetings at home with the Eagles. It will be a homecoming game for Boston College’s Jerome Robinson, who’s the league’s highest-scoring player in conference games entering February.
Feb. 25 vs. Florida State: The Wolfpack has finished ahead of the Seminoles in the ACC standings only twice in the last 11 years (they were tied once) and this game could go a ways in sorting out the pecking order in the middle of the standings.
March 1 at Georgia Tech: Depending on how things play out, these two teams could be jockeying for postseason positioning.
March 3 vs. Louisville: Until Louisville lost Wednesday night at first-place Virginia, the Cardinals had as good a shot as any contender of bumping Virginia off the top spot. It will take quite a winning streak for the Wolfpack for this matchup, which comes a couple of hours before the second North Carolina / Duke game, to gain its proper attention in the Triangle on this day that also signals the end of the regular season.