NC State Are Your 2024 ACC Champions, First Time Since 1987
Washington - The NC State Wolfpack win their fifth game in as many days to beat the North Carolina Tar Heels, 84-76. No surprise that the Wolfpack played their butts off to begin the game. By the first media timeout, they had a 14-4 lead over the Tar Heels. DJ Horne was inserted back into the starting lineup, and it was like he never left as he scored immediately. Winning five games in five days has only been accomplished one time by the Kemba Walker-led UCONN Huskies. It wasn’t long until RJ Davis and company got going offensively as they hit back-to-back threes to time the game with 6:24 left in the first half. The two teams kept on trading baskets for the rest of the half. As Horne picked up his third foul of the half, this was something to monitor for the rest of the game. Cormac Ryan flushed a corner three as time expired to give the Tar Heels a one-point lead going into the break.
DJ Burns and Armando Bacot continued to enforce themselves as the dominant big man for their respective teams. Both teams struggled to score in the initial stretch as defense began to become the priority. The thought of winning the ACC gave each team the motivation to play their absolute hardest. Horne picked up his fourth foul at the 12:28 mark and not even 10 seconds after Cormac Ryan had to be helped off with a non-contact injury. It was a weird sequence of events.
Burns was the Wolfpack offense when Horne went to the bench. There were no ifs and or buts about it. It was clear as day that the ball was going to the 6’9 275 pounder and North Carolina still could not defend it. RJ Davis took the challenge to ignite the offense upon himself. The second half never seemed to end as both teams entered the bonus relatively early and there was a stoppage with every foul. With a 10-point lead with four minutes remaining, NC State had showcased how far a gutsy and “never say die” attitude can take you.
As the final seconds ran off the clock, you could see the raw emotion embraced by the Wolfpack nation. It is an incredible feat to win the ACC Championship, let alone as the #10 seed. Armando Bacot still has never won an ACC Championship in his six years with North Carolina. Horne and Burns combined for 49 of the team’s 84 total points. As the saying goes, special players make special plays.
North Carolina will await Selection Sunday to see if they are either a #1 seed or #2 seed. NC State has caused some commotion within the selection committee as they have stolen an automatic bid into the NCAA tournament. Teams like Indiana St., Virginia, St. Johns, FAU, Providence, and Texas A&M are all on the outside looking in. The bubble watch is more intriguing than ever as important decisions will have to be made.
