Scrappy Wolfpack squad proving that March is for believers

Jack Brizendine

Editor in Chief

March 15, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Nobody expected No. 10 seed NC State to make a run in Washington. Nobody outside of the Wolfpack locker room, at least.

Kevin Keatts’ State (20-14) squad won its third-straight game on Thursday night in the ACC Tournament quarterfinal over No. 2 seed Duke (24-8), 74-69. It was the first time the Wolfpack has advanced the semifinal round since 2014. No double-digit seed had made it to Friday night since State did it back in 2010.

In fact, no team has made it from the first round to the semifinals since the tournament expanded to its current format in 2015.

Until now.

“Throughout the good times and bad throughout the season, we've always been connected,” State guard Casey Morsell said postgame. “We've always believed.”

Despite their recent success, there’s been quite a bit of bad this season for the Pack.

In Keatts’ seventh year at the helm, his team tumbled to a 17-14 record to finish regular season, getting drubbed in its final four games. It lost by seven or more points in all four defeats.

The late-season slide bumped up the temperature on his seat by a few degrees, while forcing NC State to play on the first day of the tournament for the second time in three seasons.

Primed for a program-wide reset following an expected early exit in DC, the Wolfpack has flipped its narrative on a dime.

In Tuesday’s nightcap against middling No. 15 seed Louisville, it had its best offensive performance of the season, racking up 94 points off of 53 percent shooting.

Beating the Cardinals didn’t change much of the talk around the Wolfpack's chances of making a run, nor did it cool off Keatts’ seat. Blowing out No. 7 seed Syracuse 83-65 a night later started to turn heads.

Leading just 35-32 to end the first half, State suckerpunched the Orange for 48 points in the second. It outscored ‘Cuse by 15 over the final 20 minutes.

“We play with desperation, so we have to win every night to play the next game,” State forward Mohamed Diarra said after the win. “That's why we played so well.”

Getting past Louisville and Syracuse was one thing. 

Beating No. 2 seed Duke? A nearly impossible challenge.

The Blue Devils romped the Wolfpack in the regular season, winning decisively 79-64.

A projected No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament in ESPN Bracketologist Joe Lunardi’s latest projections, Duke didn’t need to win on Thursday night. State did.

The desperation that carried the Wolfpack to quarterfinals powered it past the Blue Devils, winning 74-69. 

“I thought our guys were really focused and locked in from the start of the game to the finish,” Keatts said after the win over Duke. “I thought we made big plays on both ends of the floor. We got stops. I thought we executed the game plan to 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. I just told them I have no idea who's next, but we wanted to concentrate on just our next opponent, and I would say 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.”

Next on the docket for Keatts’ and Co. is No. 3 seed Virginia, who split the regular season series with the Pack.

The Wolfpack handily beat the Cavaliers in Raleigh in its ACC home opener 76-60 before falling in overtime in Charlottesville 59-53 three weeks later.

State will enter as David for the third night in a row on Friday night, ready to take on the Goliath that now takes the form of UVa.

Underdogs yet again, the Wolfpack knows that anything can happen. It is March after all.

“We said when we got to the tournament, we can play and we can beat anybody in this league,” Keatts said. “The unfortunate thing about it is that everybody else can do the same thing. So I think we're locked in.”