North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek said he saw a small portion of the televised Sunbelt Conference Tournament championship game.

He should have watched more carefully.

N.C. State (20-9) will play Sunbelt Conference champion Louisiana-Lafayette (20-8) in Friday’s first-round game of the NCAA Tournament at Orlando, Fla.

Sendek was a casual viewer of the game, and what he saw was a Louisiana-Lafayette team that appeared deep and versatile.

If third-seeded N.C. State wins the tournament opener against the 14th-seeded Ragin’ Cajuns, it would meet the winner of sixth-seeded Vanderbilt and 11th-seeded Western Michigan on Sunday.

Not that the Wolfpack dares even peek ahead.

“I can’t look that far ahead into the future because then you blow a 20-point lead and you lose,” N.C. State junior Julius Hodge, referring to Saturday’s loss to Maryland in the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament semifinals. “The only team in our bracket is Lafayette. Hopefully, we can get a win against them.”

Hodge, too, saw part of the Sunbelt Conference Tournament final, during which the Ragin’ Cajuns defeated New Orleans 67-58 on Tuesday. New Orleans is coached by former N.C. State player Monte Towe.

This marks the third trip in a row to the NCAA Tournament for the Wolfpack. The No. 3 seed is the highest for the team in the three years it has received a bid under Sendek.

“It’s a real testament to the effort the guys had this year,” he said.

Sendek said he was pleased to be assigned to a site that starts Friday, giving extra time for injured players Scooter Sherrill and Jordan Collins to heal.

“Every day we can buy gives us a little better chance,” Sendek said.

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