Wolfpack try to avoid looking ahead, meet Tulsa in first round

3/16/2006 1:48 AM

When North Carolina State's name was unveiled in the NCAA tournament brackets, it didn't take long for the Wolfpack to look ahead at the opponent it could meet in the second round - DePaul - at Rosemont, Ill.

The fifth-seeded Wolfpack (19-11) also realize they must first focus on Tulsa (25-5) in a first-round matchup Saturday at the Allstate Arena.

North Carolina State isn't exactly thrilled about the prospects of facing a powerful DePaul team in front of a pro-Blue Demons crowd. The Wolfpack want to get past the Golden Hurricane first.

``It will be tough,'' said N.C. State coach Kay Yow. ``But we have to win game one before we worry about it, so it's not even in my thoughts right now.''

Another factor that N.C. State must contend with is rust. By tip-off Saturday, it will be exactly two weeks since its last game, a 90-69 loss March 4 to top-ranked North Carolina in the semifinals of the ACC tournament.

The team practiced for four days after the ACC tournament before taking some time off. Yow feels the break will have her team ready for the NCAA tournament.

``Over spring break a lot of us had the time to see our families and rest our bodies up a little bit,'' guard Ashley Key said. ``We had practice, but we had off time and there was no school, so I think that break helped us.''

The Wolfpack, who have won six of their final eight games, have lost first-round games in each of the two previous seasons. They haven't won an NCAA tournament game away from their home floor since 1999.

N.C. State features three players who average in double figures, led by Key's 11.0 points per game. Billie McDowell, who averages 10.9 points, is the lone senior in the starting lineup.

``It's kind of emotional when we you think about it, but I just want to have a good outcome,'' said McDowell, who suffered a torn ACL in last year's NCAA loss. ``I'm just going to pump my team up and go ready to play.''

Tulsa is making its first NCAA tournament appearance after winning the Conference USA tournament crown in its first year in the league. The 12th-seeded Golden Hurricane are led by conference player of the year Jillian Robbins, who averages 18.1 points and 13.0 rebounds.

``Again, within everything that we wanted to be able to take care of was just to have the attitude to be prepared to play whomever,'' Tulsa coach Charlene Thomas-Swinson said. ``It is N.C. State and we are looking forward to it.''

The Golden Hurricane split two games against ACC opponents this season, beating fourth-place Florida State and losing to last-place Georgia Tech.

``I don't know much about them, but they must be pretty good because they are in the field of 64, and they are a No. 5 seed,'' Robbins said. ``They better be ready because we are coming and we are going to come with everything we got.''

The winner of this game will play either No. 4 seed DePaul or 13th-seeded Liberty in the second round Monday.