Can NC State continue to survive and advance in the 2024 NCAA Tournament?
Posted March 19, 2024 12:00 p.m. EDT
Updated March 22, 2024 12:26 a.m. EDT
 North Carolina State Wolfpack |
80 |
 22Texas Tech Red Raiders |
67 |
| Final | |
Many NC State Wolfpack fans are familiar with the “survive and advance” mantra.
This season’s team did just that by winning five games in five days to claim the ACC Tournament title. The championship was the program’s first since 1987, which helped the Wolfpack secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.
Head coach Kevin Keatts has taken the Wolfpack to the big dance three times in seven years, but he has a 0-4 record as a head coach in the NCAA Tournament during his tenures at NC State and UNC Wilmington.
The Wolfpack last won an NCAA Tournament game in 2015 under former head coach Mark Gottfried. That season’s team made it to the Sweet 16.
"I don't think our guys listened to what other people thought," Keatts said on Wednesday. "Chip on their shoulder? Possibly. But I don't think it's because people didn't think we could make it here. It never crossed our mind in our locker room. We have always stayed as a close-knit group."
Here’s a look at how NC State (22-14, 9-11 ACC) could continue its winning ways.
NC State’s outlook before the 2024 NCAA Tournament
NC State goes as its “dueling DJs” do: Guard DJ Horne (16.9 points per game) and DJ Burns (12.4 points per game).
Horne sat out in the ACC Tournament opener against Louisville with a hip injury. He scored double figures in three of his team’s next four games. It included 29 points in the ACC title game victory against North Carolina.
Burns is listed at 6-foot-9, 275 pounds. He knows how to use his size to his advantage offensively. He’s got the build of a lineman in football but has excellent footwork.
"The one thing he's become since coming here is a really elite passer," Keatts said of Burns. "He's also a prideful young man. He didn't make first-team, second-team, third-team, honorable mention in our league. I think that bothered him a little bit."
Burns posted double-digit scoring in each of the Wolfpack’s five conference tournament games. His passing is impressive too, finishing the title game with 20 points and seven assists.
During the ACC Tournament, ESPN announcer Jay Bilas said defending Burns was “like trying to guard a tank.”
Burns is like college basketball’s version of Zach Randolph, who is also left-handed, had great touch and knew how to use his size. Burns also reminds me a bit of former LSU star Glenn “Big Baby” Davis.
A big question going into the NCAA Tournament is: What impact – if any – will winning five games in five days have on NC State?
Casey Morsell is the team’s best perimeter defender, but was seen hobbling on the court in the conference championship with an apparent groin injury. When Morsell wasn’t in the game, cameras showed him using a massage gun to try to loosen up.
First-round game pit two teams on win streaks
We know that NC State will face sixth-seeded Texas Tech (23-10) in Pittsburgh on Thursday, March 21, at 9:40 p.m at PPG Paints Arena on CBS.
Texas Tech (23-10, 11-7 Big 12) advanced to the Big 12 Championship semifinals, losing to No. 1 seed Houston 82-59.
In the quarterfinals of the Big 12 Tournament, Texas Tech beat BYU, 81-67.
Texas Tech entered the the conference tournament on a three-game winning streak.
The Red Raiders have talented guards.
Sophomore guard Pop Isaacs is the Red Raiders’ leading scorer at 15.9 points per game.
Senior guard Joe Toussaint is the team’s second-leading scorer (12.1 points per game). Toussaint is the team’s assists (4.3 assists per game) and steals leader (1.4 steals per game).
Sophomore guard Darrion Williams averages 11.4 points per game and 7.5 rebounds per game.
Three Red Raiders received All-Big 12 Awards: Williams was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team and All-Big 12 Newcomer Team, Isaacs earned All-Big 12 Third Team and Toussaint was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention selection.
The Red Raiders were 6-9 against Quad 1 teams in the 2023-24 regular season.
Texas Tech is led by first-year head coach Grant McCasland.
Calipari, Kentucky could be waiting on the weekend
If NC State beats Texas Tech, the Wolfpack would play either No. 3 seed Kentucky or No. 14 seed Oakland.
Per usual, John Calipari’s squad features some of the best individual talent among the teams in the NCAA Tournament.
Freshmen Rob Dillingham and Reed Sheppard are considered by some experts as top-five picks in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Senior guard Antonio Reeves (20.0 points per game, 44.1% from 3) should be an All-American.
Oakland head coach Greg Kampe is in his 40th year with the program. This year marks his fourth NCAA Tournament appearance.
Oakland junior forward Trey Townsend (16.9 points per game) and his teammates will try to help Kampe secure his first win in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
Marquette, Florida most likely Sweet 16 opponents for 'Pack
No. 2 seed Marquette and No. 7 seed Florida are most likely advance to the Sweet 16 in the South region.
Marquette senior guard Tyler Kolek is dealing with an injury. However, head coach Shaka Smart said Kolek will play in Friday's game against Western Kentucky.
Entering the Big East tournament, Kolek missed the previous three games with an oblique injury. Kolek recorded 34 assists in his final three games before the injury.
Florida boasts wins over Kentucky, Alabama and Auburn. The Gators won 11 of their last 15 games entering the SEC tournament quarterfinals against Alabama.
NC State could face No. 1 seed Houston or familiar foe Duke in Elite Eight
No. 1 seed Houston and No. 4 seed Duke are the two most likely teams to advance to the Elite Eight in the South.
Houston is considered the second-best favorite to win the 2024 NCAA Tournament behind UConn.
The Cougars are loaded with talent: Former Baylor transfer L.J. Cryer (15.3 points per game), Big 12 Player of the Year Jamal Shead (13.1 points per game and 6.2 assists per game), Emmanuel Sharp (12.2 points per game) and J’Wan Roberts (9.4 points per game and 6.8 rebounds per game).
The question is whether Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson can finally win a national championship. In the past four seasons, Sampson has led his team to the Sweet 16 twice, the Elite Eight once and the Final Four.
There's a possibility NC State could play Duke in the Elite Eight. It would be quite a rematch after the Woflpack beat the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament.
Nebraska features Japanese basketball star Keisei Tominaga, who will represent his home country in the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Tominaga leads the Cornhuskers in scoring (14.8 points per game) and is a good shooter (38% from beyond the arc in Big Ten play).
Texas A&M boasts wins over Iowa State, Kentucky and Tennessee. However, the Aggies had two losses to Arkansas and a road loss at Vanderbilt.
Wisconsin beat six top-50 KenPom teams with a 16-4 overall record and an 8-1 start in Big Ten play. The Badgers went 3-8 in their final 11 games of the regular season.
Some people have picked James Madison to upset Wisconsin in the first round. Terrence Edwards Jr. leads James Madison in scoring at 17.4 points per game.
Vermont has won 10 straight games entering the NCAA Tournament, including the American East conference championship game – the Catamounts’ third straight -- in a 66-61 win over UMass Lowell.
Friday’s game will mark the Catamounts’ third consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Under head coach John Becker, Vermont has made the NCAA Tournament in 2012, 2017, 2019, 2022 and 2023. However, the Catamounts have yet to make it out of the first round in Becker’s tenure.
