NC State women won ACC tournament last year. That just makes teams want to beat them.

N.C. State women’s basketball coach Wes Moore casually referred to last year’s ACC tournament run as a Cinderella story.

N.C. State, No. 3 in the country and the 2020 tournament champs, enters the tournament in Greensboro Friday as the No. 2 seed for the second straight season. The Pack (17-2) spent several weeks at No. 2 this season and has been in the top five since Dec. 7.

Louisville is the tournament’s No. 1 seed and the ACC’s regular-season champion, but it’s N.C. State that will roll into Greensboro as the team to beat.

“We know we’re going to have our hands full,” Moore said after N.C. State closed out the regular season with a 68-61 win at Syracuse on Sunday. “We know it’s going to be a big challenge. Last year was a great ending to our season, but the flip side of that is our kids know they can do it, they’ve been there.”

Moore returned four starters from last year’s ACC title team, replacing tournament MVP Aislinn Konig with graduate transfer Raina Perez. There is plenty of experience in the starting five, with two seniors - Kayla Jones, Kai Crutchfield - playing in their fourth tournament and center Elissa Cunane playing in her third.

N.C. State will take on Virginia Tech, the No. 7 seed, at 6 p.m. on Friday. The Hokies defeated 10th-seeded Miami 72-64 in the opening round Thursday. The Pack has a much-needed double-bye again this year, but Moore isn’t so sure that’s an advantage.

“It’s great to get the double-bye, don’t get me wrong, I love it,” Moore said. “But your first game, that means you’re playing somebody really good.”

Other teams will play harder against Wolfpack

The Hokies handed the Pack its first loss of the season, 83-71, in overtime on January 28. Four days earlier, N.C. State barely edged out Virginia Tech, 89-87, in Raleigh. Cunane missed both of those games while in COVID-19 protocol.

While the Wolfpack went an impressive 12-2 in ACC play, there were some close calls along the way. In the regular-season finale, the Pack needed a late run to pull away from the Orange for a seven-point win. They also needed a fourth-quarter rally to come back to defeat Boston College on the road in their ACC opener on Dec. 13.

Being ranked high, plus winning it all last year, means you get all the best shots. That comes with the territory. Cunane, the All-ACC center, feels like that prepared them for what’s to come.

“It’s been a tough year,” Cunane said. “Being a higher seed, having a number in front of our name, people are coming for us. They are going to play harder against us, have motivation against us more than any other team, we just have to stay ready every night.”

Cunane won’t make things easy. The 6-5 center from Summerfield is averaging 15.6 points and is shooting 55.7 percent from the floor. She’s scored in double figures in every ACC tournament game she’s played in, averaging 17.4 points in five games. She’s not the only weapon Moore has.

Fellow first-team member Jakia Brown-Turner, who started in the tournament as a freshman, is averaging 14.8 points per game, a five-point jump from a year ago. N.C. State has four players averaging double-figures, with Jones (13.0) and Jada Boyd, the ACC Co-Sixth Player of the Year, scoring 10.7 per outing. The Wolfpack rolls into the tournament on a five-game win streak, the longest active streak in ACC play. The Wolfpack hasn’t lost since Feb. 7, when it fell 76-69 to UNC.

Even with how well his team has played the last month of the season, Moore said the Wolfpack still needs to play with an edge if they want to win another tournament title.

“I need them to understand that I want them to play with some toughness,” Moore said. “A chip on their shoulder so to speak. I think we’ve played with a little more edge, a little more toughness and we have to keep that up.”

NC State vs. Virginia Tech

What: ACC women’s tournament

When: 6 p.m., Friday

Where: Greensboro Coliseum

Watch: Fox Sports South