00:00
Logan Brumley
Hello and welcome to WKNC's official sports podcast in the den. I know we're all kind of reeling from that rough Duke loss, but since their regular season isn't over, I will be focusing more on the women's basketball postseason that's going to be coming up this week. I believe we're going to be looking at the wrestling as well. They start their ACC tournament this weekend. Kind of almost like tier list of like who is to watch in this upcoming tournament and who needs the win. And I'll finish off by talking about both the men's and women's tennis playing against Florida State. So get your phones on and let's get straight to it. All in all, NC State had a really rough women's basketball season.
00:51
Logan Brumley
They finished with a 20-9 record going, including a blowout win versus Pitt to clinch their double bye in the fourth seed in the upcoming ACC tournament. However, they finished in the preseason poll ranked eighth and with a two seed in the preseason bracketology. But I mean they have their fourth in the conference where they finished. They were projected to finish second in the conference, which doesn't seem that bad until you look at the fact that they have gone unranked since December 2025, which I think was before they were walloped by Oklahoma and the ACC/SEC, what's it called, not invitational, but their little yearly competition - [its called the] challenge. However, I mean the bracketology kind of seemed to give them real high hopes until they started to go back down to a normal level. They started as.
01:55
Logan Brumley
Okay, so they started as a six seed but they're ranked eighth, which I think is weird. No. Yeah, they started second seed for collapsing all the way down to the seventh seed where they have been kind of jumping up between six and eight but have been mostly at seventh for the duration of the season. They have, you know, I mean, just kind of like looking over the season, I think that the everyone I think kind of showed up and filled up the role that they were expected to. I think I would have liked to have seen more from Zoe Brooks. You know, she was supposed to be the star player, but I don't really feel that starness from her. I think most of the offensive production came from the interior with Trigger and Pierre.
02:49
Logan Brumley
You know, Zamareya Jones was really useful for the program and I just think that, I mean Zoe Brooks didn't have the best shooting. You know, she was a solid, what's it called, mid range shooter, but not an excellent shooter. Like, you know, overall I think her three point is at a 30% which I'm not in love with. Field goal percent 42 I think she just took the most shots on the team. No, Khamlil Pierre, that's fair. But I mean Khamil Pierre, she came in from Vanderbilt. She was the star player were expecting. Now with her average double of about 17 points, 12 assists, Zoe Brooks has been a good complimentary piece with her ball distribution at 4.3 assists, no 4.8 assists and the steals at about nearly 2, which is pretty productive.
04:03
Logan Brumley
The turnovers were limited, but it just feels like they always came out the wrong time and created crucial mistakes. It was either like during some of the most important parts of the game or during like stretches that just caused huge mistakes. I mean look at that Notre Dame game for instance where there was like this huge block of turnovers in the second quarter that kind of took the game away. I know that turnovers is a very big key factor of what makes you win or lose the game. Like you know, I mean if you don't turn it over, you have more opportunities to shoot and you're more likely to win. I know that's kind of obvious but that was just something that NC State had trouble with. Especially Pierre and Brooks where I just, I did not feel great about it.
04:53
Logan Brumley
I thought Trygger had a way bigger role than I was expecting. You know, shout out to her. I think her and Devyn Quigley off the bench. I think we're both like really solid players overall. All the respect to those two players. Zoe Brooks, I thought she had 30, but she has a 23% three point shoot in. You'd want more from that I'm sure. That definitely did not help. You know, NC State was also a really good rebounded team that I remember it. Although defensively they're pretty weak. They go with the rebounds at least and you know, keeping their opponents from really shooting efficiently. They were just able to get a lot of shots even though it was like they have about a 66.8 shooting percent like points but shooting percentage of 39-29-70 which is not great. I mean it's not elite shooting.
06:15
Logan Brumley
They just, they don't really force too many turnovers. They're like near the bottom and opponent turnovers and they're not really great at steel block distributions. Outside of Brooks with her stealing, most of the defense comes from just capitalizing off of the missed shots rather than kind of being a forced playmake like forcing defensive playmaking. Like you're not going to see like aggressive steals or Blocks you're going to kind of see them just kind of try to use the defense to translate back to offense if that makes sense. Overall offense, great defense is eh strong. ACC defenses are going to be a massive issue for them heading into this tournament. Let me see what the tournament looks like for them.
07:22
Logan Brumley
It's so this comes out so Wednesday it's when it starts, you know as this is airing, Stanford and Miami are playing each other and trying to figure out who the winner plays. So all you need to know is that fifth seed is Notre Dame who as we lost to before was able to really take care of business. So it's kind of just, it does not leave a good feeling in your mouth knowing that yeah looks like it's going to be the winner Florida State-Georgia Tech plays Notre Dame and then the winner of that game, most likely Notre Dame will blow out NC State so best of luck to the ladies in this postseason.
08:28
Logan Brumley
Looks like they're going to have a pretty easy first round with Fairfield but then have to play LSU in the second round which I mean I know LSU hasn't really won much but when we with Flau'jae Johnson it's just I don't feel as confident about them this year as I did last year. But that's about kind of all I had for that I guess. Let's transition over to the wrestling. So unfortunately as of recording they haven't really updated the rankings for this week. So I'm kind of going off of pre Cornell matchup. They finished 5-1 in the conference and 15-4 with their overall record. I do know that much. That puts them around second and in the ACC stand ins and they're currently as of recording they're ranked #8 in the nation.
09:28
Logan Brumley
Their #1 in the ACC is Virginia Tech who beat them twice even though one of them was an out of conference matchup that still kind of lost to them. So here's kind of how things work. They only have like a certain number of players per conference that are sort of automatic qualifiers into the NCAA tournaments which is it's around I think like 32 players overall like per weight class. But there it's like there's the all the top players from the top number of players from each conference. I will kind of list them as I go through each weight class and then you got like the certain kind of wild cards. I'm going to kind of ignore the wild cards here unless if I do think that they have a legitimate shot.
10:28
Logan Brumley
But I think that just kind of comes from a Fringe player with a strong tournament showing that just ends up not making it, which is what we could see here. So what I'm going to do, so I'm going to kind of go down just based on kind of how confident, like there's three tiers about, like whether or not they'll make it. And so first I'll kind of get the ones out of the way where it feels like it's kind of obvious that they are going to make it. #3 in the nation in this weight class. Koy Buesgens, 149 pounds. He is third in the nation, first in the conference. Feels pretty comfortable that he will make it through. Maybe if he wins the tournament, he'll be a top seed. I mean, we'll see that one. Feel real comfortable about.
11:27
Logan Brumley
Will Denny in the 165 pounds, seventh in the nation, first in the conference. That's another player that you feel pretty comfortable about when it comes to what his chances are of making it. I mean, he's kind of the top dog. I will watch out for Mac Church of Virginia tech in that 165 weight class. I could see him kind of winning it over Denny, but that one kind of feels Safe in at 285, Isaac Trumbull, who I should expect to dominate. He is #2 in the nation, #1 in the conference. So he feels like a shooing in even if he ends up like losing it first round. When I say these guys are shooing, this is like, you know, bar and injury or some crazy upsets where they get like the wrestling yips. I don't know if that exists.
12:34
Logan Brumley
All right, so now I'll move on to kind of the fringe players I think are going to need very strong showings. First up, Vincent Robinson. He's coming off a decision win against Cornell. He is ranked second in a conference, which doesn't really seem too bad, seventh in the nation. That might be one where it's like he might be just fine. He was fifth on FLO wrestling, however, let me check that. Fifth in a country not fifth into conference. So he should be fine. That one I might actually move up to shooing category. All right, Zach Redding , he is fourth in the conference, 30th in a nation, so he could be a fringe wild card guy.
13:42
Logan Brumley
You have to compete with UNC's Evan Oakley and Evan Tallmedge for that final AQ spot because it feels like the top guys from Virginia Tech or Stanford are pretty much shoeings. But then there's kind of like that small little cluster where it's. I think that's the most important race, I think, in this conference as of. I'm going through it so far with Red and Oakley and Tallmedge for that third. Because only three players in the 133 pound class make it in and top two feel kind of guaranteed. Zach Redding needs to win. So, yeah, make sure to keep an eye out for that weight class. I think that's probably the biggest one so far. Matthew Singleton of the 174, and that's the one where they only let in three players.
14:34
Logan Brumley
He's coming off a loss to #2, Cornell, Simon Ruiz, which I think which knocked him down to about eighth in the country, first in the conference. He was someone that was seen as borderline. But I think that as long as he doesn't kind of poop the bed in the tournament, that's fine. Just get top three or at least get to the semifinals and don't look garbage. And then, let me see, there was one other one. Okay, two more for this one. Don Cates, of the 184, four players make it in. He's current. He has a 2-5 record. He's unranked. That one. I might need to move down now that the rankings have been updated. That one I'll go a little bit more into. In the in trouble category. The last one would be Ryan Jack at 141 pounds.
15:44
Logan Brumley
He's second in the conference, 14th overall. He's kind of, you know, I expected him to fall outside of the top three into the top five, and looks like that didn't really happen. I think as long as he went to his quarterfinal, that'll be fine. But I mean, coming off a really tough loss, that could be something where he could get toppled over. I wouldn't count on it. But I still would like to see really strong tournament to kind of have that strong faith in him. Overall, that feels like about like four who are guaranteed to make it in. Three fringe players. I would say that the fringe are more likely to get in than not, but they're still kind of fringe, especially Redden. And now I'll go back to Don Cates. It's kind of like the in trouble tier 2 and 5 record.
16:45
Logan Brumley
Thankfully, his division, it's kind of iffy. There's not really any strong. Like the highest ranked is Jake Daly out of UNC, who is 22nd. So if he could get some of these matchups in this bracket to swing into his favor, he could get in which is why I think I did have him in a category but I wouldn't count it. It almost feels like with four players he needs to get into the semifinals to even get a look. But there's four wrestlers that are ranked as better than him so. I don't feel great about it. Last two, Luca Felix of 157. Another one four players make it in. I have him listed as the player with the most at stake, especially since that's another one Reece on the outside looking in.
17:42
Logan Brumley
They're are four other wrestlers minimum who are ranked higher than him because you know he's unranked 4 in the rankings being near the bottom of the conference, only four spots open. Felix might just need that automatic qualifier if he wants to make it into the tournament. But it is a very top heavy. I mean there are three of them in the top 20 then the rest are kind of outside that category pretty noticeably. So the odds are really stacked against Luka Felix but if he can manage to do it that would be really impressive and that would be the Cinderella run story at the ACC Wrestling. And for the final one I have 197. Only three players making in Patrick Brophy. See he is also sitting outside the rankings of that conference.
18:45
Logan Brumley
You're going to probably need a podium finish if you want to get in, but with three in the top 10 that just does not seem likely. That's going to be one of those other Cinderella automatic qualifiers to get in. So overall this weekend will determine kind of who makes it in and who doesn't for the ACC and wrestling. I do have good faith that of the 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of the 10 win weight classes they'll get about seven or eight of them in. I feel pretty confident in saying that, but make sure to kind of check them out this weekend poll for your guys. And I will now get into finishing up with Florida State.
19:43
Logan Brumley
Tennis Tennis for Florida State and NC State has kind of become one of those things where it's like history versus recent history if that makes sense. Historically Florida State has been able to dominate NC State. They have a 1908 record against NC State, but more than half of those losses came within the 2000s with both of them kind of having a 52 record against them which I know sounds like oh well maybe doesn't it sound like it's the same team and maybe it is but I just feel like it's more cool coincidental than anything else. Especially since right now the men's have a 10 and 1 record and the women's have a 9 and 4 record. Let me double check the rankings. It says they're supposed to be updated as of recording. No, they're not. They're supposed to be updated later today.
20:42
Logan Brumley
So I. Forgive me if I get information wrong on this. I'm assuming it won't be huge fluctuations. But as of recording, the men are 23rd and the women is ranked 27th. Both of them are coming off win streaks though, so those will probably be a little bit higher. Once you get this recorded, I'll focus on men's first. They have won a couple of ranked competitions, especially 28 Clemson and 14 Duke within the conference. But for Florida State, they're ranked 45th and let me check the record. I don't think it's looking too good for them. 8-4, which is not bad - no, actually, they're at 10-1, which I had updated before. Eight and four, which is not terrible. He's saying 10 and 1. See some likely matchups.
21:55
Logan Brumley
Both of them have like at least three ranked tennis players, so I'm assuming they all play each other. You have #15, Martin Borisouk against Eric Schiessl. #64, Eric Schiessl. Florida State. The second player I mentioned every time is going to be Florida state. William Manning versus Azariah Rusher. That's #104 versus #81. I could see Florida State winning that one and including this next one. If you just go purely off of Rankins. North Carolina States, #117, Jules Leroux vs. #109 Luis Felipe Miguel. Florida State and one kind of doubles matchup where it's Miguel and Schiessl, who is #14 of the duo against Borisouk and Leroux, who is unranked. So this could be one for Florida State is able to kind of sneak in an upset. Especially since it feels like Rusher and Miguel are both higher ranked.
23:00
Logan Brumley
Then their opponents would just set the precedents that they win. It's gonna probably have to come down to the bottom. Guys don't have the name of right now going in and just dominating the latter half. It could be something where it's, you know, 5:1 or 4:2 in NC States favor. But that plus the doubles matchup which seems to be going in. Florida State's favor. This could be an upset alert. I doubt it. Those the men's are in Tallahassee too, which I think helps their case. But at home it's the women's. See, that's a good transition. I gotta double check the record but the female are also coming off a win streak. That puts them 9 and 4. They stumbled against a rough schedule, lose and 2. And this is all consecutive. #3, UNC, #4 Auburn. #5 LSU, #2 Ohio State.
24:14
Logan Brumley
But in the last three matchups, they won against Michigan at 17, 7 Cal and 21 Stanford. Florida State is dead last in the conference for the women's going 4 and 7. But I mean, since it looks like an NC state domination, but since they're here and they have a giveaway event like first hundred visitors get T shirt, we will kind of go a little bit more into it. Maybe FSU could beat them, but it doesn't look like it will happen. Especially when you consider you have #28, Lavania Tanaise against MB Deatherage. I just kind of wanted to say that name is kind of cool. For Florida State women's tennis, I have a player named Deatherage. Okay. All these matchups, I forgot to clarify, they're all hypothetical based on just kind of.
25:16
Logan Brumley
Because I believe it's just like number one player for team A playsagainst number one player for team B. And that's kind of what this is going off of. And it's kind of coming off of records rather than rankings. It seems like, especially since I have #31, Mia Slama against 109 Amelia Bisset. #38, Gabriella Broadfoot against unranked Eva Shaw. And there's no really ranked opponents in the double matchups. But looks like NC State does have the slight favor just based on purely better players. Especially since you have Broadfoot and Osuigwe against Cricchio and Death Ray playing against each other. Okay, yeah, Broadfoot and Osuigwe, I forgot to put it down. But they are number four. Women's doubles matchup at Zyranova/Conway likely played Bisset/Shaw and that's 29th. So domination to, you know, have this good weekend for NC State women's tennis.
26:31
Logan Brumley
But that's pretty much all I have for you today. Hope you have a good week. You know, make sure to support WKNC and people who work here. You know, we really love the work that we do bringing in niche music or with me, niche sports, sort of. And we appreciate you guys for watching. Have a good day and Go Pack.
