NC State is back in the top 10 after beating Notre Dame—back right where it started in the preseason, in fact, at No. 9. The Wolfpack has been ranked in the AP top 10 at some point for seven years running.
Among other things, the victory yesterday probably locked up a top-four NCAA tournament seed for State, which will allow the Pack to play at home for the first two rounds. NC State will be a heavy favorite in its last two regular season games—home vs. Wake (Torvik No. 90), at SMU (99)—and assuming it takes care of business there, the team should have nothing to worry about heading into the league tournament.
This position was hardly a sure thing heading into February, but the team did a great job strengthening its resume over the last three weeks, and the win over the Irish alone is going to carry a lot of weight.
Some of the predictive metrics remain a bit low on NC State (the Pack is 17 in the NET), but the Pack also has an excellent overall strength of schedule rating and is No. 9 in wins above bubble. If this team gets to the ACC tournament title game, I would think a two-seed in the NCAAs will be locked up.