DALLAS — As DJ Burns Jr. walked over to the roaring NC State fan section in the American Airlines Center, he held both forearms up, elbow down and palms facing the sky. Teammates followed with the same pose. A simple shrug and a smile.
That look sums up this current NC State team. An improbable run at a school known for some improbable runs, now heading to the program’s first Elite Eight in 38 years after handling No. 2 seed Marquette 67-58.
Where the heck did these guys come from? A No. 11 seed in the NCAA Tournament. A team that wasn’t even on the bubble until five wins in five days in Washington D.C. to win the ACC tournament. It’s now eight in a row.
“Why not us? We’re going to keep that going,” Burns said. “We get a lot of disrespect and people still don’t think we’re supposed to be here. We’re gonna keep trying to crash the party.”
NC State isn’t a Cinderella. Bid thief? Nah. What about Final Four thief? How can you doubt the Wolfpack anymore after they led the Golden Eagles for more than 36 of the game’s 40 minutes? Most of that time was a comfortable double-digit lead. This Marquette team ranked 19th nationally in offensive efficiency, but shot 33 percent from the field on Friday night and a putrid 4-of-31 from 3-point range, with many of those misses not even close.
The Wolfpack have the look and the feel of one of those classic March chaos teams that makes a run. They also have the look of a complete team. They’re deep, they’re versatile. They can play a variety of styles. Watching them makes you wonder how this team lost 14 games in the regular season. There’s no Cardiac Kemba here. When NC State needs a bucket, it can turn to a slew of players.
There’s Burns, the 6-foot-9, 275-breakout star of March Madness. The big fella can dish the ball and knew he’d have to deal with Marquette’s tendency to double-team in the post. He had a game-high seven assists.
GO DEEPER
‘He’s like a polar bear and a ballerina’: The incomparable DJ Burns is powering NC State
There’s guard DJ Horne, who hit a big bucket every time Marquette started to pull closer, including a 3-pointer to beat the shot-clock buzzer midway through the second half. He led NC State with 19 points.
DJ HORNE AS THE SHOT CLOCK EXPIRES 🤯#MarchMadness @PackMensBball pic.twitter.com/UxHcb00R8T
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 30, 2024
There’s forward Mohamed Diarra, who is fasting during sun-up for Ramadan but had a game-high 15 rebounds. The sun didn’t go down until the second half. Running on fumes, he grabbed a key offensive rebound and putback after Horne’s 3 in the second half.
“He’s been so valuable,” head coach Kevin Keatts said of Diarra. “We’re asking so much of him. He’s stayed true to his religion. He’s stayed true to our basketball team. We’re talking about a young man that gives us everything every time he steps on the court.
NC State starts five transfers, personifying the state of college sports these days. They didn’t all arrive in Raleigh this year. They took their own paths and made their own adjustments along the way. And they figured things out together just in time.
“With the changing landscape with rosters, sometimes it just takes longer for a team to come together,” said ACC commissioner Jim Phillips, wearing a red and white tie for NC State before changing into a blue tie for Duke in the following game.
NC State athletic director Boo Corrigan gave Phillips a bear hug in the tunnel with a “Let’s go!” Minutes prior, NC State’s women’s basketball team also reached the Elite Eight by knocking off No. 2 seed Stanford.
“It’s been magical,” Corrigan said of both teams. “There’s no other way to look at it. It’s a great time to be part of NC State.”
With the men’s program’s first Elite Eight since 1986, this run has begun to show shades of 1983, when Jim Valvano’s group won the ACC tournament to get into the big dance and took it all the way to a buzzer-beating national title win against Houston, which is also here in this Dallas regional. NC State’s other national championship opponent in 1974? Marquette. History already surrounds this NC State run.
“Every team has to create their own path,” Keatts said. “Our ’83 team and our ’74 team have been tremendous. They’ve been big brothers, uncles, maybe granddads to some of our kids. We don’t have to talk about that history now because we celebrate it the entire time.”
This NC State team is only halfway to that mountaintop, but there won’t be any nerves. Whatever stock you put in body language, NC State has it.
During Thursday’s practice, as the Wolfpack stood around Keatts, arms around each other, forward Ben Middlebrooks grabbed a hold of the lower part of Burns’ jersey. Burns tried to pull away, and Middlebrooks held firm. Burns smiled and shoved him away. In Friday warmups, NC State’s big men shadowboxed with each other, Burns with his arms up in a defensive pose while others pretended to take body shots. After the win, Burns recounted players making jokes at the pregame meal whenever a moment got tense.
It all played out that way on the court. Every time Marquette started to put something together and the Golden Eagles fans stood up to build momentum, NC State responded with calmness and composure.
Yeah, they’re happy to be here. They’re happy to advance, too. There’s been no stress. They’ve been playing with house money since they got to D.C. Why not take it to Arizona?
Forget the No. 11 seed. Forget the regular season record. This is clearly a new team, with a winning streak that is only behind UConn’s 10 games.
NC State will almost certainly be an underdog in Sunday’s Elite Eight matchup. And all the Wolfpack will do upon hearing that is shrug and smile.
(Photo of DJ Horne: Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
