ST. LOUIS — Don’t try and tell North Carolina State it’s playing with house money in this year’s NCAA tournament — 11th-seed be damned. The Wolfpack are in their first Sweet 16 in seven years, but they say their goals are far bigger and their aim far loftier: New Orleans and the Final Four.
“People are going to talk. I think we are a Cinderella team, [because] nobody expected us to be here,” said sophomore point guard Lorenzo Brown, who has led N.C. State into tonight’s Midwest Region semifinal against Kansas (10:18; TBS). “If we just keep believing in ourselves we’re going to make it to at least the Final Four.’’
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But the Wolfpack face a big test in second-seeded Kansas.
Even in what was to be a rebuilding year, the Jayhawks (29-7) have Big 12 Player of the Year Thomas Robinson and were expected to be here.
Hoboken-bred senior point guard Tyshawn Taylor agreed with that assessment.
“Why wouldn’t we be?” he said. “It’s what we do.”
But for North Carolina State (24-12), this marks a stunning nine-win improvement under first-year coach Mark Gottfried. But it won’t be satisfied until it’s at least a 10-win jump, for its best mark since 1983, its NCAA title-winning team under the late Jim Valvano.
“If you put your mindset in that frame of mind where we’re playing with house money, we’re not really supposed to be here, I just don’t know that you value it as much,’’ Gottfried said. “Our team feels like we’ve earned the right to be here just like anybody else, and we certainly feel like we belong.
“The previous staff did a nice job, recruited some good players. But we seemed very disorganized, didn’t have great direction. Our accountability was down. We just needed to tighten everything up.’’
The Wolfpack has done that, buying into Gottfried’s triangle-influenced offense with Brown averaging 14.6 points and 8.2 assists in postseason play while classmate C.J. Leslie has poured in 18.2 points on 59.7-percent shooting over his last 10.
Taylor recognized the challenge of facing a 6-foot-5 point guard in Brown, and said Leslie and Richard Howell matched Kentucky’s Anthony Davis and Baylor’s Perry Jones as the most athletic frontcourt player Kansas has faced. The Jayhawks are led by Robinson, the only Big 12 player to average a double-double (17.7 ppg, 11.8 rpg).
“Those guys can catch the ball 15 feet away, catch sweep and go, and just drive our bigs,” Taylor said. “It’ll be about team defense. I don’t see how they’re underdogs. They’re a good team and they showed they can win big games. We’ve definitely got to be ready.”
“I don’t think there’s really any upsets this time of year,” Kansas coach Bill Self said. “Once you get to this weekend, all the teams are good.
“We tell our guys, it’s not hard to have a good attitude and a great outlook if everything’s going perfect. The key is when it doesn’t go perfect, how are you going to respond?’’
brian.lewis@nypost.com
North Carolina State, Wolfpack, Wolfpack, Kansas, Kansas, Lorenzo Brown, Tyshawn Taylor, Mark Gottfried, Gottfried, NCAA, NCAA tournament, the Jayhawks, The Jayhawks, Thomas Robinson
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