#52?

More debate fuel! ESPN has concocted an arbitrary points system and ranked the college basketball programs in the "modern era" (since the NCAAT expanded to 64 teams in 1984-85). The Wolfpack landed at #52, placing us 6th in the ACC behind UNC, Duke, Wake Forest, Maryland, and Georgia Tech.

Some of the most well-known schools that failed to crack our Top 50 include NC State (52), Marquette (T-61), Boston College (T-70), Tennessee (99) and USC (T-132). These schools are mostly in these spots because they play in ultracompetitive conferences where they have failed to rack up tons of conference titles.

Considering how the '90s went for us, I'd have expected worse. Some schools ranked between 41-50: College of Charleston, Chattanooga, Butler, Western Kentucky.