NC State has produced some of the ACC's best players, including Tom Burleson, Rodney Monroe, Monte Towe, and Ron Shavlik.

[5] In 1910 Guy Bryan formed a special committee that proposed to the university administration the organization of the school's first basketball team.

The Wolfpack's first player to garner significant national recognition was Bud Rose, who, after the 1931–32 season, was named as an honorable mention All-American.

Construction was stalled due to the involvement of the United States in World War II, and the skeleton structure of the arena was left unfinished for nearly six years until its completion in 1949.

Per Clark's suggestion, Harrelson and his father Stejem Mark met with Indiana native Chuck Taylor who was in Raleigh to coach his army team in an exhibition game against NC State.

[16] In February 1947, his first season at NC State, Case defeated North Carolina in Chapel Hill, 48–46 in overtime, beginning a streak of 15 consecutive victories over the Tar Heels.

That evening the game was officially canceled after fans were found sneaking through bathroom windows, breaking down doors, and hiding in the basement.

[18] Soon after his arrival, Case was named "Tar Heel of the Week" by the Raleigh News and Observer, citing that "since the little man came here from Indiana...basketball has almost supplanted politics as the favorite topic of discussion in the North Carolina capital.

Attempting to usurp Duke's Cameron Indoor Stadium as the largest basketball arena in the area,[11] Case insisted that the blueprints be changed to increase the maximum capacity from 9,000 seats to 12,400.

The Dixie Classic was a three-day tournament held each December until 1961 that matched the four Tobacco Road schools of NC State, North Carolina, Duke, and Wake Forest against four of the top teams from across the country.

In an effort to create a more balanced round-robin schedule and thus secure an automatic bid to the Orange Bowl, the top eight football schools from the conference—Maryland, Duke, UNC, Virginia, South Carolina, Clemson, Wake Forest, and NC State—left to form the Atlantic Coast Conference.

The team finished third in 1958 and was ranked 20th in the nation at the season's end but again lost early in the ACC tournament, this time to North Carolina in the quarterfinals.

Included in the field were eight players who eventually earned All-American honors, including NC State's Lou Pucillo and John Richter, North Carolina's Lee Shaffer, York Larese, and Doug Moe, Cincinnati's Oscar Robertson, Michigan State's Johnny Green, and Louisville's Don Goldstein.

After State defeated eighth-ranked Duke in the championship game, 91–85, Case, by then using a wheelchair, was rolled on court to cut the final strand from the net.

The following spring, Sloan signed the remaining pieces of the 1974 championship nucleus, 6'4" David Thompson, 5'7" point guard Monte Towe, and 6'7" power forward Tim Stoddard.

[29] At the time, the NCAA prohibited freshmen from competing on varsity squads and the team struggled in the following two seasons, finishing seventh in the ACC in 1970–71 and fifth in 1971–72.

[11] On January 14, 1973, NC State played in the first nationally televised Super Bowl Sunday college basketball matchup.

On February 19, with just four regular season games remaining, NC State overtook UCLA for the top spot in the AP poll; it was the program's first ever #1 ranking.

As a #6 seed in the NCAA tournament, the Wolfpack won narrow victories over Pepperdine (in double overtime) and UNLV (71–70) before defeating Utah in the Sweet Sixteen, 75–56.

The Cougars, nicknamed Phi Slama Jama for their athletic, fast-paced style of play that featured Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon, were expected to win easily over the underdog Wolfpack.

NC State escaped with their second national title after a last-second air ball by Dereck Whittenburg was caught and dunked by Lorenzo Charles.

[1] Valvano's 1984 team finished 7th in the ACC and lost in the first round of the NIT to future conference foe Florida State.

The following season, with the addition of guard Vinny Del Negro, the Pack began a run of five consecutive trips to the NCAA Tournament.

[11] Valvano's final season in Raleigh was mired in controversy after the release of the book, Personal Fouls, written by Peter Golenbock.

Additionally, NC State was voted as preseason favorite to win the ACC title in the conference's annual media survey and the inaugural league coaches’ poll.

Mark Gottfried began his third season as head coach of the Wolfpack having lost five of seven players who logged significant minutes (four of which were starters).

Coming into Gottfried's fourth season, NC State had lost T. J. Warren, the ACC's leading scorer the previous year, to the NBA draft.

They also upset #15 UNC in the Dean Smith Center for the first time since 2003, holding the Heels to their lowest home point total ever.

In Gottfried's fifth season, NC State lost half of its scoring threat with Trevor Lacey declaring for the draft and Ralston Turner and Desmond Lee graduating.

Seeded 11th in the NCAA Tournament's South Region, the Wolfpack reached the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015 after an upset of Texas Tech and an overtime win over Oakland.