Duke Trips In ACC Quarterfinal, Upset by History-Making NC State

By Raza Umerani

Staff Writer

March 14, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. — No. 10 seed NC State pulled off the biggest upset of the 2024 ACC Tournament thus far with its 74-69 win over No. 2 seed Duke inside Capital One Arena on Thursday night.

The Wolfpack (20-14) rode a balanced scoring effort — spearheaded by 18 points from standout guard DJ Horne — and a solid defensive showing, leading for over 32 minutes to become the first team to ever make it from the first round on Tuesday to the Semifinals on Friday since the ACC Tournament expanded to its current format in 2015.

Additionally, State became the first double-digit seed to win three games at this event since its 2010 team accomplished the feat as the No. 11 seed.

“I thought our guys were really focused and locked in from the start of the game to the finish,” Wolfpack head coach Kevin Keatts said postgame. “I thought we made big plays on both ends of the floor. We got stops. I thought we executed the game plan in the right direction and did everything right. 

“I'm proud of these guys. We're fighting, and that's a good thing about it. We talked about coming to this tournament and really not looking ahead. … Since we got here on Monday, these guys have been very professional, locked into everything we needed to do, and we've got three really good wins right now.”

Horne was one of four Wolfpack players to be in double figures; Mohamed Diarra recorded a double-double with 14 points and a whopping 16 rebounds, Michael O’Connell poured in 12, DMV native Casey Morsell had 11 and big man DJ Burns scored 10.

Aside from star forward and ACC first-teamer Kyle Filipowski, the Blue Devils (24-8) were out of sorts on offense from the jump. The Westtown, N.Y., native recorded a game-high 28 points and 14 rebounds, but his usually excellent surrounding cast couldn’t pick up the slack. While Filipowski shot 13-of-20 from the floor, the rest of the team combined to go 15-of-45 — a drab 33 percent.

Of those 15 made field goals, eight came from forward Mark Mitchell, who Duke’s second best player by far. He notched 18 points and snared eight boards, but it wasn’t enough to make up for the shortcomings of players like Jared McCain — who had just eight points after being bumped in the head and getting stitches in warmups — or Jeremy Roach — who had just five. Even Tyrese Proctor shot just 4-of-16 from the field, but still finished with a respectable 10 points, seven rebounds and five assists.

“I think both [Filipowski and Mitchell] were big-time competitors today,” Duke head coach John Scheyer told the media postgame. “They almost willed us to win the game. … I just thought they had the will to win, which is what you need. But we didn't have that collectively overall. For us, we have to go get back to it and work.”

Although this is their first one-and-done appearance in the ACC Tournament since 2013, the Blue Devils will be fine. They’re a projected top-three seed in the NCAA Tournament and have all the talent to make a run in the Big Dance.

But that’s not what games like this are about. It’s about the magic that this month provides. Despite losing seven of its last nine games to end the regular season — including the last four in a row — NC State finds itself just two wins away from the NCAA Tournament.

Only in March.

The Wolfpack will take on the winner of Thursday’s nightcap between No. 11 seed Boston College and No. 3 seed Virginia in the ACC Tournament Semifinals on Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET on ESPN.

“Both are good programs and well-coached,” Keatts said. “Obviously you can take a little bit from the games that we played against them, but everybody is a little bit different at this time. … We'll have to go back, and it's going to be a long night for my staff and we'll have to figure out how they're playing now and just try to prepare for tomorrow.”