WRAL Sports Fan

North Carolina State University

NC State basketball season ticket sales hits 5-year high

Oct 31, 2012

Raleigh, N.C. — With nine days remaining before the Wolfpack men’s basketball home opener, NC State supporters have already purchased 1,900 more season tickets than last year, posting the highest season ticket sales mark in five years.

“Our fans continue to show why they are the best in the nation,” said Director of Athletics Debbie Yow.

Limited quantities of upper-level season tickets remain, non-conference single game tickets are on sale now and four-game ACC mini-packs are scheduled to go on sale in mid-November based on ticket availability.

The increased ticket sales mirror the high expectations for the Wolfpack team. NC State was voted the preseason favorite to win the ACC by both the league’s coaches and media, while junior forward C.J. Leslie is the conference’s Preseason Player of the Year pick by both groups. Freshman guard Rodney Purvis has been tabbed as the Preseason Freshman of the Year by the conference’s press corps, while the coaches named him as the Preseason Rookie of the Year.

The Pack was ranked as the nation’s No. 6 team in the recently released Associated Press preseason poll.

In addition to Leslie, the Wolfpack returns starting junior guard Lorenzo Brown and senior forwards Richard Howell and Scott Wood from last year’s 24-13 (9-7 ACC) squad that advanced to the Sweet Sixteen of the NCAA Tournament. NC State also welcomes the freshman class of Tyler Lewis, Rodney Purvis and T.J. Warren, all of which were McDonald’s All-America selections as high school seniors were ranked as one of the nation’s top recruiting classes.

Among the non-conference teams that Wolfpack fans will see at PNC Arena this year are defending NIT champion Stanford (Jan. 22), and NCAA participants Norfolk State (Dec. 15), UNC Asheville (Nov. 23) and St. Bonaventure (Dec. 22). NC State also entertains Miami (OH) in the Nov. 9 season opener, and closes out the 2012 portion of its schedule with contests against Western Michigan (Dec. 29) and UNC Greensboro (Dec. 31).

In its only Reynolds Coliseum appearance, the Pack hosts Cleveland State at 1 p.m. on Dec. 8.

This year, NC State faces in-state rivals Duke, North Carolina and Wake Forest in ACC action at PNC Arena. The Wolfpack opens the conference portion of its home schedule against Georgia Tech on Jan. 9 followed by a Jan. 12 visit from the Blue Devils. Clemson also comes to town on Jan. 20, followed by a Jan. 26 meeting with North Carolina. That game will be the feature site for ESPN’s CollegeDay coverage, marking the first time the network will broadcast its college basketball tip-off show from Raleigh.

The Demon Deacons will close out the Pack’s home schedule on March 6 for Senior Night.

Also on NC State’s home schedule are Virginia Tech (Feb. 16), defending ACC champion Florida State (Feb. 19) and Boston College (Feb. 27).

The Wolfpack plays its only exhibition contest on Saturday, Nov. 3, when it hosts Belmont Abbey at PNC Arena. Tipoff is scheduled for 30 minutes following the NC State-Virginia football contest. The game is free to the public and seating is general admission.