The more N.C. State loses, the more frustration there is among Wolfpack fans and questions about coach Mark Gottfried's future.
After Saturday's loss to Wake Forest, the fifth in a row for the Wolfpack, Gottfried said his team can't worry about any speculation about his future and has to focus on the task at hand.
"You've got to kind of eliminate some of the other things that kind of are around us and we've got to kind of draw in a little closer as a team and stay together," Gottfried said.
The Wolfpack (14-12) has seen a once promising season slip away with a 3-10 ACC record and a series of lopsided conference losses. Gottfried pointed out after Saturday's 88-58 loss to the Demon Deacons that this team has also picked up some big wins, notably at Duke on Jan. 23.
"We're the same team that went into Cameron and won," Gottfried said. "We're the same team that beat Virginia Tech a couple days after they beat Duke by 20. It's the same group in that locker room. So we've got to figure it out."
Gottfried told CBS Sports after the game that he has not talked with N.C. State athletic director Debbie Yow about his future and he said: "I plan on being here a long time."
Gottfried, 53, has three seasons remaining on his contract. Yow, in a response to frustrated fans on Twitter during Wednesday's 95-71 loss at Florida State, said she would evaluate the program after the season.
Yow hired Gottfried before the 2011-12 season. Gottfried has a 122-81 overall record at N.C. State with a 47-54 ACC mark.
A comparison of Gottfried's six seasons to six previous seasons at N.C. State and in the context of how the rest of the ACC has done.
