No one could've called the NC State Wolfpack even a bubble team entering the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament a week ago. They were 17-14, and their only hope of making the Big Dance was running the table as a 10-seed in the conference tournament to earn an automatic bid.
Well, they did just that, becoming only the second team to win any conference tournament as a double-digit seed. After the game, NC State head coach Kevin Keatts said it was “a miracle” his team punched its ticket after winning five games in five days.
Few expected a Wolfpack team that was beyond lucky to even play in the tournament to make much noise as the South region's 11-seed. However, their Cinderella story continues to roll on. NC State beat No. 6 seed Texas Tech 80-67 as 5-point ‘dogs in the opening round. They caught a break when No. 14 seed Oakland upset No. 3 seed Kentucky, setting up a date with the Golden Grizzlies instead of the Wildcats in the Second Round.
Oakland gave NC State all it could handle Saturday in what was the game of the tournament thus far. In the end, though, the Wolfpack came out on top in a 79-74 overtime thriller. They’re heading to the Sweet 16 after being +500 long shots to reach the round before the tournament started.
It was a tight battle the entire night between NC State and Oakland, yet the Wolfpack led for virtually all of regulation. The Golden Grizzlies didn’t take their first lead of the night until an and-one with 2:49 left to play. Both teams had chances to win it at the end of regulation but came up empty, sending it to overtime. The extra session was a tight affair with neither team leading by more than one score until the Wolfpack went up five with 1:20 left on a 3 by Jayden Taylor.
NC State was +25000 to win the title and +4600 to reach the Final Four heading into the tournament. They were +12000 to win it all and +1100 to make it to Arizona after beating Texas Tech. The Wolfpack now await the winner of Sunday’s game between the No. 2 seed Marquette Golden Eagles and another one of this year’s darlings, the No. 10 seed Colorado Buffaloes.
