Coming in from gopack.com:
DALLAS – The NC State men’s basketball team isn’t done yet, as Kevin Keatts’ team is headed to the Final Four in Glendale, Az. The Wolfpack defeated second-seed Duke, 76-64, Sunday evening inside American Airlines Center to advance to the national semifinals for the first time since 1983.
The Wolfpack won its ninth-straight game to become only the seventh double-digit seed in history to make it to the Final Four
America’s sweetheart, DJ Burns, Jr., led the Pack with a season-high 29 points, while DJ Horne added 20. Michael O’Connell added a career-high 11 rebounds.
NC State shot 73.1 percent in the second half and outscored Duke, 55-37, to turn a six-point halftime deficit.
The Pack will play No. 1 seed Purdue in the Final Four. Tipoff in Phoenix is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on TBS.
from GreensboroSports.com:
This might be one of those teams of destiny, but Purdue is going to be mighty tough…The battle in the post between Zach Edey, Purdue’s big man, and DJ Burns, N.C. State’s big man is going to awesome and collossal….Edey with 40 points and 16 rebounds in Purdue’s win over Tennessee on Sunday…Burns with 29 big points in the post for N.C. State, and Ben Middlebrooks added 7 points in the paint for State…36 post points for State vs. what Edey was able to do in the lane and around the basket…
Sunday’s win by N.C. State over DUKE in Dallas was huge, but that can’t be the satisfying finish…N.C. State must prepare well for Purdue, and now be set to take down the Boilermakers….Every game is a one-game season now, and the Wolfpack of N.C. State must be ready for the next GAME coming up this Saturday night….So far, State has been more than ready every time out…
The Duke Blue Devils made more free throws than they did baskets from the field on Sunday…Duke was 21-26 at the Free Throw line, while the Blue Devils went 19-59 from the field…When you are looking to win, that don’t add up…
N.C. State with just 21 points in the first half, but the Wolfpack roared in the second half of the game, scoring 55 big points…
This Wolfpack team from N.C. State makes me think of the 1983 National Championship Team, and also brings back memories of the National Championship in 1974…
But, I really like to think back to the players that laid the groundwork for N.C. State was able to do in ’74, and again in ’83, plus now they go for it here in 2024, but those early players that paved the way for today’s guys, those are the heroes to me….
Players like Vann Williford, Paul Coder, Bill Benson, Rick Holdt, Eddie Leftwich, Joe Cafferky. Steve Nuce, Dan Wells, Al Heartly, and others…Those were the men that built the foundation for what you are seeing today….
As some basketball fans have said for years, “these are the best days of your life”…..