NC State Advances on T.J. Warren's 25 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Day one of the NCAA tournament and already the cream is rising to the top.

T.J. Warren, who led the ACC in scoring this season, popped for 25 points and was nearly unstoppable during the second half, leading North Carolina State to a 74-59 victory over Xavier.

Warren was 10-for-18 from the field and added five rebounds, two assists and three steals as the Wolfpack led nearly all the way and pulled away late. NC State will play the #5 seed from the Midwest region, St. Louis, in the second round on Friday.

In the earlier game at Dayton, Albany topped Mount St. Mary's, 71-64, in a battle of 16 seeds. The Great Danes move on to play #1 Florida in a second round game in the South region, Saturday.

NC State Finishes at 9-9 in ACC after T.J. Warren Explodes for 42 Points vs. BC

College Hoops Player of the Day for Sunday, March 9, 2014

North Carolina State will rest its case before the NCAA tournament committee with a 9-9 mark in the ACC after T.J. Warren scored 42 points to lead the Wolfpack to a 78-68 victory over the Boston College Eagles.

While TVs across America would surely be enhanced having the Wolfpack and Warren flashing in the tourney, it may be a stretch to get them there as they finish the regular season tied with Maryland and Florida State, meaning that nine teams would have to go from the ACC if all teams with at least a .500 record are included. A couple of wins in this week's ACC tourney might do the trick to separate out the deserving from the simply pretending.

Warren, a superb athlete who may be deserving of ACC player of the year honors, was 14-for-23 from the floor and 14-for-17 from the stripe to go with 13 boards, three assists, three steals and a blocked shot.

NC State finished with a 19-12 record overall, which shows better than Maryland's 17-14 or Florida State's 18-12 marks, both of which lost to the Wolfpack earlier in the season.

T.J. Warren Pours in 41 as Wolfpack Devours Panthers, 74-67

College Hoops Player of the Day for Monday, March 2, 2014

The middle of the ACC is still wide open, with as many as four teams vying down the stretch for wins, seeking to qualify for the NCAA tourney.

One such team is NC State, which needed a win over a quality team to make a statement, and the message was delivered as T.J. Warren scored a career-high 41 points to lead his Wolfpack to a 74-67 triumph at the Peterson Events Center in Pittsburgh, a very tough place to win.

Warren was sensational, knocking down 16 of 22 shots from the floor, three of five from three-point range and six of seven at the foul line. The 6'8" sophomore, fourth-leading scorer in the nation, added five rebounds, four steals, three assists and a blocked shot to his game resume.

The Wolfpack (18-12, 8-9) closes out the regular season at home, against Boston College.

T.J. Warren Lights Up Hokies in 71-64 NC State Victory

College Hoops Player of the Day for Saturday, February 22, 2014

While all the lights were on at Cameron Indoor Stadium to see #5 Duke outlast #1 Syracuse, the NC State Wolfpack was doing its best to get off the tournament bubble and make themselves a sure pick out of the ACC.

T.J. Warren lit up Virginia Tech for 31 points as the Wolfpack scored an important win on the road, 71-64.

The leading scorer in the ACC, Warren was 12-for-21 from the field, 2-for-6 on threes and 5-for-8 at the stripe, mixing in six boards and four steals at the 17-10 Wolfpack evened their conference record at 7-7.

Warren is tied with BYU's Tyler Haws for fourth nationally in scoring, hoisting up 23.3 points per game. Creighton's Doug McDermott leads the nation at 25.8 per game.

NC State has just four games left on the regular season schedule, with home games against North Carolina, Miami and Boston College. Their road game is at Pitt, leaving them a legitimate shot at reaching the tournament if they can split these games or upset either the Panthers or Tar Heels.

NC State Tops Wake Forest on T.J. Warren's Career-High 34 Points

College Hoops Player of the Day for Tuesday, February 11, 2014

NC State's T.J. Warren took 26 of his team's 59 shots Tuesday night, but he made 15 of them, propelling the Wolfpack to an 82-67 victory over visiting Wake Forest.

When he wasn't knocking down shots for a career-high 34 points, Warren was swiping the glass clean, snaring 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season. His big night included 2-for-3 from three-point range and five offensive boards.

Warren, a 6'8" home-grown sophomore from Durham, NC, leads the Wolfpack in both scoring and rebounding, averaging 23.1 points and 7.4 rebounds. In addition to being the seventh-leading scorer in the country, Warren is the top scorer in the ACC.

The Wolfack improved to 16-8 overall and 6-5 in the conference, though they have no wins against the top ACC teams, already having lost to Duke, North Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and Wake Forest. Their win over the Demon Deacons was a step in the right direction, but their next game is at #1 Syracuse on Saturday.

NC State reached the NCAA tourney last season, but they were one-and-done, ousted by Temple, 76-72. A winning record in the conference may not be enough to earn a trip to the big dance this season, especially if the Wolfpack can't produce a win over any of the teams above them in the standings.

Top 25 Watch: #5 San Diego State was upset Tuesday night by Wyoming, 68-62; Wichita State trailed by a point at half time, but shook loose from Southern Illinois for their 26th straight win, 76-67, and a perfect, 12-0 mark in the Missouri Valley conference.

Six games involving ranked teams are on the slate for Wednesday, the most attractive in the ACC. At 7:00 pm ET, top-ranked Syracuse invades Pitt, hoping the #25 Panthers won't upset their undefeated season. At 9:00 pm, North Carolina hosts #8 Duke.