On Saturday night in Washington, D.C, North Carolina State's men's basketball team punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament by winning the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1987.
Kevin Keatts' Wolfpack squad became the first team in the history of the ACC Tournament to win five games in five days to capture the title. To cap off that magical run, DJ Horne scored 29 points to power N.C. State over its rival – top-seeded North Carolina – in the final, 84-76.
“We came into this tournament knowing that our season was on the line, so there was no room for mistakes,” Horne said. “I think everybody really took heed to that and took it personally.”
For much of the tournament, the Wolfpack played through forward DJ Burns Jr. – a throwback bruising big man who checks in at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds. Burns had 19 points and a career-high-tying seven assists in the final, his fifth straight game scoring double figures, and took home ACC Tournament MVP honors. Against UNC, N.C. State’s offensive sets began with Burns getting a touch in the post, and he’d either bulldoze his way to the basket – often scoring over Armando Bacot – or pass out to an open shooter.
“That’s what I work for. It’s not really a surprise to me,” Burns told WUNC on the red-and-white confetti-covered court after the win. “I tried my best tonight, and we came out on top. I’m so thankful… I think my parents were still teenagers (the last time N.C. State won an ACC title). Just to be a part of history, it’s literally everything to me, man. It’s the best feeling ever.”
N.C. State's unlikely victory was a fitting end to the last ACC Tournament of its kind. Next year, Stanford, Cal and SMU will join the conference, and the tournament field won't include every team as it changes its format to exclude the bottom-three teams in the final standings.
So now, N.C. State will join North Carolina and Duke – both of which received at-large bids – as the teams from the Tar Heel State in the NCAA Tournament this year.
Play begins on Thursday, March 21. Here’s a closer look at each of the squads from the Triangle.
UNC
- Seed: No. 1 in the West Region.
- Opening opponent: No. 16 Wagner, in Charlotte, N.C.
- When, how to watch: Thursday, March 21 at 2:45 p.m. on CBS.
- Top player: Senior guard RJ Davis was voted ACC Player of the Year and averages 21.1 points per game.
- They said it: “I don't know if there's anything that we can learn. I've said it before, for us to be the best that we can be, especially in games like this, you're just going to have to defend, rebound and take care of the basketball.” – UNC coach Hubert Davis after losing to N.C. State.
The Tar Heels are licking their wounds after coming up short in the ACC title game, but their body of work over the course of the entire season was good enough for them to still earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament. And that’s a big turnaround from last season, when UNC missed the 68-team field all together. This year, North Carolina – led by Bacot, the fifth-year senior – is one of the best rebounding teams in the country, ranking eighth nationally with 41.1 rebounds per game.
Duke
- Seed: No. 4 in the South Region.
- Opening opponent: No. 13 Vermont.
- When, how to watch: Friday, March 22 at 7:10 p.m. on CBS.
- Top player: The ACC Rookie of the Year last season, sophomore forward Kyle Filipowski averaged 17.1 points and 8.2 rebounds per game this season.
- They said it: “It's a disappointing loss for us. We wanted to make a run at this thing… We have to go get back to it and work. The biggest postseason is ahead of us, and we're going to be in the tournament. We're excited about that.” – Duke coach Jon Scheyer after losing to N.C. State in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals.
It’s been an uneven season for Duke, which had won eight-of-nine games before losing its regular-season finale at home to UNC, and then its ACC Tournament opener to N.C. State. The Blue Devils are a young team, as five of their top seven players in terms of minutes-played per game are underclassmen. When Duke is at its best, it does have a potent offense though, knocking down 37.7% of its 3-pointers this season, which ranks 14th nationally.
N.C. State
- Seed: No. 11 in the South Region.
- Opening opponent: No. 6 Texas Tech.
- When, how to watch: Thursday, March 21 at 9:40 p.m. on CBS.
- Top player: DJ Horne averages 16.9 points and 2.1 assists per game for the Wolfpack.
- They said it: “We never listen to anybody outside of our locker room because our locker room is the most important thing, and these guys will have memories for the rest of their life that they can always know that they were ACC champions and won the tournament.” – N.C. State coach Kevin Keatts after winning the ACC Tournament
The Wolfpack might be the hottest team in the country after winning five games in five days in Washington, D.C., but will that win streak carry into the NCAA Tournament? Should The Wolfpack win a few games, they could meet Duke for the fourth time this season in the Elite Eight. To get there, N.C. State will have to create some more magic against Texas Tech, and then probably Kentucky or Marquette. But the Wolfpack are riding high and playing like they have nothing to lose. Teams like those can be dangerous – and bust brackets – in March Madness.
