Going nine for nine: How NC State won nine consecutive games to reach the Final Four
One thousand to one.
Before the ACC Tournament, Vegas oddsmakers said those were the odds of N.C. State winning the NCAA Tournament this year.
But with the Final Four this week, the Pack sits at 20-to-1. It has a place at the table in Arizona, facing Purdue in the semifinals Saturday after winning nine consecutive games.
Nine in a row. How did the Wolfpack do it? Here are nine reasons why:
DJ Burns
What better starting point than the big man who has become the biggest personality in the NCAA field? Burns was the MVP of the ACC Tournament. He was the Most Outstanding Player in the South Regional. If he were to win one more of those awards …
One miss, one make
It all goes back to Virginia’s Isaac McKneely standing at the free throw line with a one-and-one and the Cavaliers leading by three with five seconds left in the ACC Tournament semifinal. If McKneely makes, the rest is moot. The Pack’s NCAA Tournament hopes die. End of story.
But he didn’t. State guard Michael O’Connell banks in a 3 at the buzzer to bring on overtime and the Pack survives to play another day – to play five more games, that is.
Mo rebounds
During an interview this season, the Pack’s Mohamed Diarra was asked if he had heard of Dennis Rodman. He said he had not. Told about Rodman’s mentality in his NBA days was that “every rebound is mine,” Diarra smiled. “I like it,” he said.
In the nine-game run, the 6-10 Diarra has had 10 or more rebounds seven times, with a high of 16 against Duke in the ACC Tournament. A lot of rebounds have been his. And he has five double-doubles in the run including his 17-point, 12-rebound game in the NCAA opener against Texas Tech.
Defense wins the big ones
One of Kevin Keatts’ most memorable quotes this season came after a loss at Florida State when he said, “Our defense didn’t travel.” That was then. It has traveled well in the ACC and NCAA tournaments.
In the Pack’s four NCAA wins, no team has shot better than 40% from the field -- Duke shot 32% in the regional final. Nor did Virginia or North Carolina in the ACC Tournament. The Pack’s four NCAA opponents have shot 24% from 3. Keatts likes to say his guys are “locked in.” They have been.
Second-half surges
When the Pack trailed Duke at halftime of the regional final, shooting poorly, no one panicked. Keatts said to stay the course and all would be well - again. He was right. State outscored Duke 55-37 in the second half as Burns torched the Blue Devils for 21 of his 29 points.
In the second halves of the NCAA games, the Pack has a plus-20 point differential and also outscored Oakland 13-7 in the overtime of the second-round win.
Team basketball wins
When D.J. Horne sat out the ACC Tournament opener with a hip issue, the Pack found a way to win without its leading scorer. The players moved the ball well, shared the ball, spaced the floor, got everyone involved.
The Wolfpack beat Louisville without Horne, who then returned. O’Connell scored in double figures each game in the ACC Tournament. Horne had 29 in the ACC title game against North Carolina. Others hit big shots in the NCAAs, including Jayden Taylor in overtime against Oakland. The strength of the wolf was in the pack.
Championship mentality
Win five games in five days for a conference championship and anything seems possible. The Wolfpack, for the first time since 1987, went into the NCAA Tournament with the tag “ACC champions.” It has lived up to it, refusing to lose.
Spirit of Jimmy V
Even when State was losing games, and it did 14 times, Keatts often remarked about his team’s fight and compete level in the games. Potential blowouts were closer as the Wolfpack did its best to claw back into games, even in falling short. It brought back to mind the indefatigable spirit of the late Jim Valvano, who coached the Pack to the ‘83 NCAA title and later, fighting cancer, urged everyone to “Never, ever give up. Don’t ever quit.” This Wolfpack team hasn’t and the reward was a Final Four.
“I’m so proud of our guys,” Keatts said Wednesday when the team arrived in Phoenix. “From where we were at three or four weeks ago and no one thought we could win the ACC, let alone be in the Final Four, it means a lot. All the credit goes to the guys.”
The man at the top
Kevin Keatts is aware he had those who doubted his ability to make Wolfpack basketball relevant again. Some questioned his ability to recruit, to develop players. They questioned his offensive system. and in-game adjustments.
But Keatts’ “stay the course” mentality and belief in himself and his program has won out in his seventh season as head coach. Where are the doubters now?
