NC State to seek revenge in Final Four rematch against Purdue headlines Rady Children’s Invitational showdown 

The NC State Wolfpack will have a chance at redemption for their season-ending loss against a Zach Edey-less Purdue Boilermakers. The two teams will face off early in pre-season on Nov. 28, Thanksgiving Day at UC San Diego's LionTree Arena as part of the opening games for the Rady Children's Invitational.

The winner of the matchup will enter the championship game of the two-day event, meeting either Ole Miss or BYU. The losing team will compete for third place on Nov. 29.

NC State’s 2023-24 run ended with a low-scoring 63-50 loss to Purdue. However, it has since skyrocketed the program’s stock, giving it national visibility over the offseason and allowing it to level up its pre-season schedule. The 2023-24 journey was one of their best NCAA runs ever as the Wolfpack became just the third program to make the Final Four and Men's College World Series at the same time.

Another highly anticipated non-conference game for the Wolfpack is the SEC/ACC Challenge against the Texas Longhorns on Dec. 4. Both teams are currently tied at 2-2 in their all-time head-to-head matchups.

For Purdue, the non-conference calendar opens against the Creighton Bluejays on Oct. 26 followed by facing Alabama Crimson Tide on Nov. 15 and December matchups against Texas A&M and Auburn Tigers.

ACC releases NC State Wolfpack's season schedule

Matt Painter and Purdue Boilermakers are still waiting for their season to shape up while the ACC announced NC State’s first-ever season schedule in the 18-team conference.

The schedule includes seven home-only games against Boston College, the Florida State Seminoles, Louisville Cardinals, Notre Dame, Clemson, SMU and Pitt. Their away-only game are against the Duke Blue Devils, Georgia Tech, Stanford, Miami, Syracuse Orange, Virginia Tech and Virginia.

The remaining six games will feature home and away games against the program’s current partners. The game date and time will be announced in early October.

If coach Kevin Keatts can lead the Wolfpack to another successful season, they could quickly mark their candidacy for the ACC Men's Basketball Tournament from March 11 to 15 in North Carolina. Only 15 teams from the ACC will be eligible for the league tournament.