What's at stake for UNC, NC State in ACC Tournament title game

By Brian Murphy, WRAL

North Carolina State Wolfpack	84
4North Carolina Tar Heels	76
Final

Top-seeded North Carolina was expected to reach Saturday's ACC Tournament championship game.

The Tar Heels, after all, won the conference's regular-season title, have been in contention for a top NCAA Tournament seed all year and circled the ACC Tournament as one of its benchmarks.

"That's been one of our biggest goals all year," UNC center Armando Bacot said.

The Tar Heels' opponent, however, carried few expectations into the tournament in Washington, D.C.

Tenth-seeded NC State carried a four-game losing streak into the event, but has won four games in as many days during an improbable run that puts the Wolfpack one win from its first ACC title since 1987 — and an unlikely NCAA Tournament berth.

"When we got on that plan to come here on Monday, we talked about being in this situation, and I told them to visualize it," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "I asked everyone on our team. I said, I want you to bring something with you that's lucky, that's really lucky to you and I don't know if any of them listened to me."

Tip-off is at 8:30 p.m. on ESPN.

The paths

UNC overpowered No. 9 seed Florida State 92-67 in Thursday's quarterfinals and outlasted No. 4 seed Pittsburgh 72-65 in Friday's semifinals.

For all the Tar Heels have accomplished in recent years, including an appearance in the 2022 NCAA Tournament national title game, they have not won an ACC Tournament title since 2016.

"It would mean a lot to this program just because we haven't won it in a couple of years," said UNC guard RJ Davis, the ACC Player of the Year. "It just shows how much of a team we are and how resilient we are. We set goals at the beginning of this year, and for us to be one more games away means a lot. But the job is not finished."

Watch: UNC's postgame press conference after Pitt victory

NC State trailed No. 15 seed Louisville at halftime, but secured a 94-85 victory without star guard DJ Horne in Tuesday's first round. The Wolfpack knocked off No. 7 seed Syracuse 83-65 in Wednesday's second round.

In Thursday's quarterfinals, NC State upset No. 2 Duke 74-69, despite a series of late-game mistakes (missed free throws, missed dunk that led to technical) that allowed the Blue Devils to hang around. And in Friday's semifinal, the Wolfpack stunned No. 3 Virginia 73-65 after guard Michael O'Connell banked in a game-tying 3-pointer at the end of regulation and DJ Burns took over in overtime.

Watch: O'Connell's 3-pointer at the buzzer

"Michael's shot, man, that's a great shot," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "I had a direct view of it. As it went up I was like, man, that shot is going in, it's going in, and then luckily it did."

NC State is seeking:

• First ACC Tournament title since 1987

• 11th ACC Tournament title, third-most all-time. NC State is playing in its 18th ACC Tournament championship game (10-7 in previous 17 appearances).

• To become the first double-digit seed to win the ACC Tournament or any Power 6 conference tournament (ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC or Pac-12). NC State is just the sixth double-digit seed to reach the finals of one of those tournaments and just the second in the ACC, joining the 2007 NC State team.

• To clinch the ACC's automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament

• Its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance for the first time since the Wolfpack made four consecutive tournaments from 2012 to 2015

• To become the first team to win five games in a single ACC Tournament

• A third win over UNC in the ACC Tournament championship game (1959, 1987) in seven meetings

• To become just the 4th team to follow up an overtime victory in the tournament with another win. Teams coming off an overtime win in the tournament are 3-14 since 1999, a record that includes Virginia's loss to NC State. The Cavaliers defeated Boston College in overtime on Thursday.

North Carolina is seeking:

• First ACC Tournament title since 2016

• 19th ACC Tournament title. UNC is in its ACC-record 36th ACC Tournament final and is 18-17 in those previous 35 games.

• A likely No. 1 seed in next week's NCAA Tournament

• To enter the NCAA Tournament on a nine-game winning streak

• First ACC Tournament title for third-year coach Hubert Davis, this season's ACC coach of the Year

• First ACC Tournament title for program stalwarts Armando Bacot, the program's all-time leader in rebounds, and RJ Davis, the ACC Player of the Year

• A third win over NC State this season and 25 wins in its last 30 meetings against NC State

• A fifth ACC Tournament title game victory over NC State in seven meetings (1968, 1975, 1997, 2007), including a third straight win over NC State in the title game