RALEIGH If it weren't for that little home stumble against Georgia Tech, N.C. State might be very much on track for the 11 ACC wins their coach - astutely - thinks it will take to make the NCAA tournament.

For a team that's made so much progress this year, that one slip-up in the midst of what should have been an easy four-game opening stretch of the league schedule stands out as one of the Wolfpack's bigger mistakes.

Thursday, a win at Georgia Tech won't rectify that error - it's still a game N.C. State should win and needs to win - but it might make the Wolfpack feel a little better about things.

"We felt like we let one go the last time we played them, and we want to get that one back," N.C. State swingman C.J. Williams said after Saturday's win over Wake Forest.

Just when it looked like the ACC was doomed to four NCAA bids at most, barring an upset in Atlanta, Miami proved Sunday by winning at Duke that nothing can be taken for certain in the ACC this season.

Both Miami and Florida State have won at Cameron Indoor Stadium, an unthinkable turn of events for the Blue Devils but a promising sign for the ACC teams on the furthest outreaches of the bubble, Miami and N.C. State.

Both of those teams are going to have to win games they are not expected to win to make the NCAA tournament. Miami just won one. N.C. State missed a huge chance last weekend with a one-point home loss to Virginia. But N.C. State, after visiting Georgia Tech, will get more: at Duke, vs. Florida State, vs. North Carolina.

"You always have confidence when you're winning," N.C. State forward Scott Wood said. "That's the main thing for us, as long as you keep winning, you're going to be happy and you don't have to worry about too many things. Hopefully we can keep this thing moving."

If the Wolfpack can win one of those games, then win out at Clemson, at home against Miami and at Virginia Tech, there's still a chance. And since that Georgia Tech loss, the Wolfpack has taken care of business, most recently with wins at Boston College and against Wake Forest on Saturday.

"People expected us to win these games, and you have to win those if you want to be a tournament team," Williams said.

Neither Miami nor N.C. State has a nonconference win of note beyond the Wolfpack's win over Texas, so it'll probably take 11 conference wins to make a realistic case. There's no chance if the Wolfpack loses again to Georgia Tech, the ACC's last-place team.

"The thing I always tell my guys is each game stands by itself, and what happens in one game sometimes doesn't have a bearing on the next game," N.C. State coach Mark Gottfried said. He was talking about the difference between the two games against Wake Forest, but it's a concept that generally applies universally.

Not Thursday: What happened in the last Georgia Tech game will certainly have a bearing on this one. For N.C. State, there's unfinished business, with everything on the line.