Duke, NC State, North Carolina men's basketball all advance to Sweet Sixteen
Posted March 24, 2024 8:24 p.m. EDT
Updated March 25, 2024 9:43 a.m. EDT
For just the fifth time since the NCAA Tournament field expanded to 64 teams in 1985, North Carolina, NC State and Duke will all advance to the Sweet Sixteen. It's the first time this has happened since 2015. In the two previous postseasons with all three Triangle teams dancing into the second weekend, one of them came away with a national championship (Duke in 2015 and UNC in 2005).
1-seed North Carolina and 11-seed NC State locked up their trips to the Sweet Sixteen with wins on Saturday. The Tar Heels battled back from trailing by double figures to beat 9-seed Michigan State 85-69. In head coach Hubert Davis' three seasons, he's reached the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament twice. The Wolfpack continued its March winning streak, beating 14-seed Oakland in overtime 79-73. It's NC State's first Sweet Sixteen trip since 2015 and the first under head coach Kevin Keatts.
4-seed Duke crushed the red-hot James Madison Dukes on Sunday, 93-55. It's the first time Duke has reached the second weekend in the two seasons under head coach Jon Scheyer.
The Tar Heels will play the winner of 4-seed Alabama vs. 12-seed Grand Canyon in Los Angeles on Thursday. Duke and NC State will both play in Dallas on Friday. The Wolfpack will play 2-seed Marquette and Duke will face the winner of 1-seed Houston vs. 9-seed Texas A&M. Should both NC State and Duke win, they will face each other in the Elite Eight on Sunday.
The first time this trio of Triangle teams triumphed to the Sweet Sixteen was 1986, a season after expansion. UNC fell to Louisville in the Sweet Sixteen, NC State lost to Kansas in the Elite Eight, but Duke went the farthest, losing to Louisville in the National Championship game, 72-69. It was the first national championship appearance for Duke under head coach Mike Krzyzewski.
The next group appearance game just three years late in 1989. Both NC State and UNC lost in the Sweet Sixteen, the Wolfpack losing to Georgetown in what would be head coach Jim Valvano's final NCAA Tournament game with NC State, and the Tar Heels falling to Michigan. Duke made it to the Final Four, but lost to Seton Hall 95-78.
The other two trips, 2005 and 2015, finished with a UNC National Championship, the first under head coach Roy Williams, and a Duke National Championship, the most recent for the Blue Devils program.
