NC State basketball’s regular season is over after it couldn’t find another team to play

N.C. State’s regular season is officially over. The school made an official announcement Friday after it was unable to find an opponent to replace Virginia Tech.

The Wolfpack was scheduled to host the Hokies on Saturday in PNC Arena. That contest came in doubt when Virginia Tech canceled their contest versus Louisville on Tuesday because of COVID-19 protocol within the Virginia Tech program.

“While we have made significant efforts to find a replacement opponent for Saturday, the timing with postseason so close has prevented us from finding a matchup,” head coach Kevin Keatts said in a statement. “We’ll turn our attention to Greensboro and the ACC Tournament. I love how my team is playing right now and we’re excited for the next opportunity.”

N.C. State finishes the regular season 13-9 overall and 9-8 in the ACC. The Wolfpack will have to wait to see when it will start tournament play. N.C. State’s fate is in the hands of its fellow Triangle ACC members. If UNC defeats Duke on Saturday, the Wolfpack will finish ahead of Duke and get a first-round bye. If the Blue Devils win N.C. State will play on Tuesday.

The Wolfpack will head into the ACC tournament having played 21 games. N.C. State has had eight games canceled or postponed due to COVID-19 this season. Only one of those games, versus Virginia, was made up during the season.

The Wolfpack missed four straight games from Dec. 5-16 and two in a row Jan. 16 and 20th. There have been 37 ACC games postponed or canceled this season due to COVID-19.