2017 ACC tournament preview: N.C. State

<p>Freshman Dennis Smith Jr. earned ACC Freshman of the Year accolades, but individual success has not translated to team success.&nbsp;</p>

Freshman Dennis Smith Jr. earned ACC Freshman of the Year accolades, but individual success has not translated to team success. 

N.C. State Wolfpack: 15-16, 4-14 in the ACC

Head coach: Mark Gottfried (6th season)

Players to watch: Dennis Smith Jr. (18.5 PPG, 6.3 APG, 4.5 RPG); Terry Henderson (13.9 PPG, 3.0 RPG); Abdul-Malik Abu (11.7 PPG, 7.0 RPG)

Season recap: N.C. State has had its most tumultuous season since head coach Mark Gottfried arrived in 2011. Despite landing a potential top-five NBA lottery pick in rookie point guard Dennis Smith Jr., the Wolfpack dropped all but four ACC games, marking his worst conference ledger in Gottfried's tenure at N.C. State. The Wolfpack allowed ACC opponents a whopping 84.6 points per game, a testament to their inconsistency on the defensive end and a major reason Gottfried was fired in the middle of the season, though he will finish out the year on the sidelines. 

Despite N.C. State's defensive woes and overall inconsistency, the team still had a few flashes of brilliance throughout the year. N.C. State enjoyed a decisive 104-78 triumph against Virginia Tech in its first contest of 2017. After dropping three straight contests from there, the Wolfpack earned a hard-fought victory against Pittsburgh before shocking then-No. 17 Duke at Cameron Indoor Stadium 84-82. But N.C. State finished out the remainder of the regular season 1-9, and will need a miraculous five-day run in New York to make the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack open play Tuesday against Clemson and would see the Blue Devils again in the second round with a win. 

How they make a run: Smith Jr. catches fire with a stretch of games reminiscent of former Connecticut star Kemba Walker, inspiring N.C. State to finally succeed on defense and making the game easier for his teammates.  

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