NC State, Virginia on collision course? Breaking down Wolfpack’s NCAA Tournament road

N.C. State guard Casey Morsell is so focused on Creighton he didn’t even know about Virginia.

Morsell was talking Monday about facing the Bluejays in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament, and how his past experience in the NCAA’s could help his teammates prepare.

Asked about the other ACC team in the South Region bracket with the Wolfpack, Morsell drew a blank.

“I’m not going to lie, I’ve just kind of looked at it as us versus Creighton,” he said.

Told Virginia also was also in the South Region, Morsell said, “Oh, are they? Oh, OK.”

That’s Morsell’s old school. He played for the Cavaliers and coach Tony Bennett for two seasons before transferring to N.C. State, playing in Virginia’s loss to Ohio in the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

Morsell and the Pack wouldn’t mind facing Virginia in the NCAA’s this year. That would be in the regional final, with the winner going to the Final Four. It also would mean that Alabama, the No. 1 seed in the South, had been ousted.

Wolfpack’s regional road

The Wolfpack’s path to a regional final starts with sixth-seeded Creighton on Friday in Denver, and could include games against Baylor, the No. 3 seed, and second-seeded Arizona should the Pack win and keep advancing..

Alabama, the No. 1 overall seed for the first time in the program’s history, has many basketball observers believing it will be in Houston for the 2023 NCAA Final Four when all is said and done.

The Wolfpack (23-10), seeded 11th, will be the underdog, which isn’t always a bad thing in the cauldron of pressure that’s the NCAA Tournament. Creighton (21-12), from the Big East, is the No. 6 seed and has been made a 5.5-point favorite in the opener.

“We’ve always been the underdog in a lot of our matchups,” Morsell said. “It’s something we value, and I think it’s something we use to our advantage.”

Looking more closely at the regional, Alabama (29-5) has perhaps the nation’s best player in 6-8 freshman Brandon Miller, but some — including ESPN analyst Jay Bilas — are picking second-seeded Arizona to get out of the regional.

With Miller comes a lot of scrutiny, and it will stay that way in the NCAA Tournament.

Darius Miles, one of Miller’s former teammates, has been charged in a capital murder case in Alabama. Police say Miller transported the gun that was used Jan. 14 to kill a 23-year-old woman. Miller has not been charged, but was interviewed as a witness along with Alabama teammate Jaden Bradley.

Miller, named the SEC player of the year, has not been held out of the Crimson Tide lineup. Potentially the No. 1 NBA prospect in the NCAA field, he’s averaging 19.5 points and eight rebounds a game.,

While the Tide might have the most overall talent in the South, Arizona (28-6) could have enough strength throughout its lineup to get to Houston.

The Wildcats had some injuries crop up in winning the Pac-12 Tournament — junior guard Kerr Kriisa suffered a dislocated shoulder and 7-footer Oumar Bello a broken bone in a hand. That could shake up Arizona’s seven-man rotation, but Kriisa and Bello are expected to be ready for the Wildcats’ NCAA opener against Princeton.

Arizona’s Azuolas Tubelis, a 6-11 junior, has averaged almost 20 points a game this season, and had 19 points and 14 rebounds in the win over UCLA in the Pac-12 title game. He’s a handful.

The Baylor Bears, the 2021 NCAA champions, have gone through an inconsistent, roller coaster of a season. But the Bears (22-10) are a No. 3 NCAA seed for the third straight year and have wins over Kansas, Texas, UCLA and Gonzaga this season.

Wolfpack guard Jarkel Joiner said Monday he has been in “hyper drive” much of the season with a goal of reaching the NCAA Tournament.

And now that the Pack is in?

“Oh, man, even more motivation,” Joiner said. “We’ve put the work in and we’re ready. We’re ready to play.”