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VIDEO: Wolfpack Opens With Win, 'Getting Better Still'

TJ Warren
gopack.com

N.C. State lives to play another game in this year's NCAA Tournament.  

The Wolfpack broke open a tight Midwest Region contest Tuesday night against Xavier University to win 74-59 and move on to the second round.  Sophomore forward and ACC Player of the Year T.J. Warren led State with 25 points despite some early fouling trouble.   

N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said the reason his team won is because they're not just a one-man team.

'Our players understand that T.J.'s a great scorer. But they also know we need some different things... And as everybody contributes, it makes us better.' - Mark Gottfried

"When we've got other guys step up and score and everybody's chipping in a little bit, we're much better," says Gottfried.  "Our players understand that T.J.'s a great scorer.  They watch him every day in practice.  But they also know we need some different things... And as everybody contributes, it makes us better."

Since Sunday, when the 68-team field was named, N.C. State has heard several so-called experts say they did not belong in the tournament.  
 
Gottfried says he's herd all those naysayers loud and clear.  But he's urging his team to let their play on the court prove them wrong.

'You want your team to keep getting better and I think we are getting better ... still.' - Mark Gottfried

"For us, it's just continue on with what we've been doing," he says.  "We're getting better at some things.  You know, I think the one thing that's really nice to see is our young players are really learning to play at this level..learning how to execute and defend.  And that's what you want as a coach.  You want your team to keep getting better and I think we are getting better ... still."

The 12th-seeded Wolfpack boarded a plane after Tuesday night's game for Orlando and a Thursday night matchup with Saint Louis University -- the fifth seed in the Midwest region.  

Duke, UNC and North Carolina Central won't play their first NCAA Tournament games until Friday night.

Gurnal Scott joined North Carolina Public Radio in March 2012 after several stops in radio and television. After graduating from the College of Charleston in his South Carolina hometown, he began his career in radio there. He started as a sports reporter at News/Talk Radio WTMA and won five Sportscaster of the Year awards. In 1997, Gurnal moved on to television as general assignment reporter and weekend anchor for WCSC-TV in Charleston. He anchored the market's top-rated weekend newscasts until leaving Charleston for Memphis, TN in 2002. Gurnal worked at WPTY-TV for two years before returning to his roots in radio. He joined the staff of Memphis' NewsRadio 600 WREC in 2004 eventually rising to News Director. In 2006, Raleigh news radio station WPTF came calling and he became the station's chief correspondent. Gurnal’s reporting has been honored by the South Carolina Broadcasters Association, the North Carolina Associated Press, and the Radio Television Digital News Association of the Carolinas.
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