VOLUME 9 ISSUE 4
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WWW.NSJONLINE.COM
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 20, 2024
Run to the title TUESDAY, MARCH 12 NC State 94, Louisville 85 Playing without leading scorer DJ Horne, the Wolfpack got double-digit by 25 from Casey Morsell, to advance out of the ACC NC State forced 16 turnovers and made 33 of 40 free throws compared to Louisville’s 11-for-11 night at the stripe.
WEDNESDAY, MARCH 13 Syracuse 83, Louisville 65
history in D.C.
a two-point lead early in the second half, the Wolfpack went on a 22-2 run to seize control of their second-round game and beat the Orange. Horne returned, scoring 16 points in 19 minutes, but it was Jayden Taylor (18 points) and Mohamed Diarra (14 rebounds) who led the way for NC State.
THURSDAY, MARCH 14 NC State 74, Duke 69 Facing the 11th-ranked Blue Devils, the Wolfpack were up three at the half and never relinquished the lead in the was again big for NC State, scoring 14 points while grabbing 16 rebounds with four blocks, and Horne added a team-high 18 points.
FRIDAY, MARCH 15 NC State 73, Virginia 65 (OT) The Wolfpack had their biggest moment against the Cavaliers. Trailing by six with 51 seconds left, NC State took advantage of Virginia’s miscues and struggles at the free-throw line, setting up Michael O’Connell’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer that sent the game to overtime. The Wolfpack held UVA without a point in the championship game.
SATURDAY, MARCH 16 NC State 84, UNC 76 The Wolfpack were in full Team of Destiny mode, retaking the lead with 18:16 left in the game and never looking back against the No. 4 Tar Heels. DJ Burns Jr., the tournament MVP, had 20 points on 9-of-12 shooting and a season-high seven assists, outplaying UNC’s Armando Bacot and conference title in 37 years.
SUSAN WALSH / AP PHOTO
NC State forward DJ Burns Jr. holds up a piece of net in Washington, D.C., after the Wolfpack beat UNC on Saturday to win the ACC Tournament and earn an NCAA Tournament berth. By Shawn Krest North State Journal WASHINGTON, D.C. — NC State doesn’t cut down the nets as frequently as some teams, but when they do, dear Lord, do they make up for lost time. This past week in Washington, D.C., will be one that Wolfpack fans and alumni bring up when putting their grandchildren to bed for years to come — perhaps 37 years to come. As the red-clad kiddies ask for a story, will take its place among tales of Coach Case, David Thompson and the Greatest Game Ever, and Jimmy V running around, looking for someone to hug. On Monday, State worked out at Capital One Arena, seemingly a dead team walking. Two players didn’t make the trip and D.J. Horne was limping, trying to determine if he could play through an injury. He ended up missing what many thought would be the Wolfpack’s last game of the season, and possibly coach Kevin Keatts’ NC State career, on Tuesday afternoon. The day before, however, he still struck a hopeful note. “We have nothing at all to lose,” Horne said. “I told the guys, ‘March is crazy. Anything is possible going into these tournaments. Anything is possible. Why not us?’” Over a 102-hour span from Tuesday to Saturday, the WolfACC team and just the second the feat. They would beat second-seed Duke, third-seed Virginia in a comeback scripted by
“Anything is possible. Why not us?” D.J. Horne, NC State guard
each other. We just found a way. We never didn’t believe.” Heroes were everywhere for the Pack. Michael O’Connell banked in a 3-pointer at the buzzer to send Friday’s semitime. DJ Burns Jr. scored sevovertime, making up for what
the hackiest Hollywood screenwriter imaginable, and top-seed North Carolina to win the ACC Championship and turn the Capital One Center court bright red with confetti. They were just the sixth team to beat all three top seeds in the ACC Tourney, the lowest seed to win the championship. The Pack won their 11th ACC saved their coach’s job — the tournament title earned him an automatic two-year contract extension — and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. “When you think about NC State, a couple things that stand out are the ’74 (national) championship and the ’83 championship,” Keatts said. “If we could make any of those guys proud, and hopefully, they are by what we did at the ACC’s, that’s a great thing. All the players that came before us and were so close, it’s not just our championship, it’s everybody’s championship.” It wasn’t supposed to be like this. In another, more realistic timeline, Keatts would lose with the skeleton crew that dressed out for the game on either Tuesday or Wednesday, and by Saturday’s title game, the season would be a distant memory and State’s coaching search would
be in high gear. Instead, Keatts
that sent UVA to the line for
one end of the court, taking the scissors from his son, walk-on Kevin Jr. “Words can’t even describe it,” said Ben Middlebrooks. “The amount we’ve come together
with 1:10 remaining. “I told myself, ‘You’ve got two options: you can get in your feelings or you can go win this game,’” Burns said. Virginia would miss four free
we’ve had. The things we’ve had
to open the door for O’Connell and Burns, who then added 20 against Carolina in the title game to win the tournament MVP award. After missing the opener to recover, Horne scored 71 points in four games, including 29 against the Heels. “Our biggest thing was just don’t beat ourselves,” Morsell said. “Have somebody else beat us, and if somebody’s going to beat us, they’re going to have to outplay us.”
I don’t think any other team in the country could have done something like this.” State trailed in the second Virginia going to the line with nals. Somehow, the Wolfpack found a way to win, surviving, advancing and apparently feeling no fatigue as the playing time minutes mounted. “Getting an opportunity to play at this level in this tournament and for a championship, it doesn’t matter how many overtimes, how many games you play in a row,” said UNC coach Hubert Davis. “We knew that they would play with great energy, and they did from the start and throughout the entire game.” “We stayed together,” said Casey Morsell. “Even though we were in a hole, we always loved each other, always believed in
alumni will tell their grandchildren about at bedtime, no one in the ACC could.
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