Moore has N.C. State rocking at right time

CLEVELAND — During a tour of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame on their first night in town for the Final Four, several North Carolina State women’s basketball players picked up instruments and began jamming like a garage band.

The Wolfpack’s coach pitched in with vocals on a couple songs.

“When you’ve got a voice like this,” Wes Moore said playfully in his Southern-fried drawl, “you really want to stick with your strength, you know?”

On Friday night, Moore, who loves to sing his version of “My Girl” to loosen up his players before practice, is hoping they can hit all the right notes in a matchup against South Carolina, which is undefeated through its first 36-0 games this season.

It’s going to be a tall order for N.C. State (31-6), making its first appearance in the Final Four since 1998. But the Wolfpack have already knocked off a No. 1 seed (Texas) and a No. 2 seed (Stanford) in this NCAA tournament and also have some history on their side.

South Carolina may not be putting its streak of 60 straight home wins on the line, but the last team to beat the Gamecocks on their own floor was N.C. State in 2020.

Still, Moore knows what his squad is up against. He doesn’t need any Las Vegas oddsmakers to remind him of the daunting challenge.

“I can read the ticker,” said Moore, who just missed the Final Four two years ago, when the Wolfpack lost to Connecticut in double overtime in the Elite Eight. “They’re not worrying about hurting my feelings. Stanford and Texas, I think our chances of winning were 20-something percent. And now we’re maybe in the teens, if that, odds to win it.

“I also saw the odds of us winning a national championship are below 1 percent. But, hey, I’m that ‘Dumb and Dumber’ guy: ‘So you say there’s a chance?’”

It’s that kind of self-deprecating humor that has endeared Moore to his team and N.C. State’s fans.

The 66-year-old has restored pride in the program during his 11 seasons since leaving the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga for Raleigh, taking the Wolfpack to five Sweet 16s since 2018 and two Elite Eights in the past three seasons.

N.C. State fell short of the title game in 1998, but the Wolfpack hope to play again Sunday.*