NC State is a team playing on a mission and won its third game in three days by upsetting No. 11-ranked Duke on Thursday in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in Washington, D.C.
NC State (20-14 overall) will play the winner of Boston College/Virginia at 9:30 p.m. Friday. The Wolfpack swept the Eagles and split the season series with the Cavaliers.
“They are as good as advertised and a top 10 team in the country, with really good players,” NCSU coach Kevin Keatts said. “I thought our guys were really focused and locked in from the start of the game to the finish. We made big plays on both ends of the floor.”
NC State’s run to the Friday semifinals is the first time it has happened for a ACC “Tuesday” team, and Duke (24-8) lost its first ACC Tournament opener since 1996.
“To accomplish what we did today is good and we’ll celebrate it, but it’s going to be a short turn-around for tomorrow,” NC State senior guard D.J. Horne said. “The job is not done. We have to do it again.”
With rumors regularly circulating about Keatts’ status on social media, and not getting a public show of support by the athletic department, which happened in 2022, the Wolfpack have become a feel-good story after wins over Louisville, Syracuse and Duke.
“I’m proud of these guys and we are fighting,” Keatts said. “We talked about coming to this tournament and not looking ahead.
“If you are part of Wolfpack Nation, we survived and advanced.”
NC State’s win wasn’t a fluke, with Duke only leading 3 minutes, 5 seconds of the game. NC State closed the first half and opened the second half strong with a crucial 13-2 run to create breathing space and a 41-32 lead.
Duke responded as expected with a 9-2 run to cut it to 50-48 with 11:47 left. It became a dog fight from there. Duke turned inside to sophomore post player Kyle Filipowski, and sophomore power forward Mark Mitchell took advantage of being played off of.
The two post players combined for 28 second half points, but the three guards had a combined nine points and freshman guard Jerod McCain got into foul trouble. Filipowski finished with 28 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out, and Mitchell had 18 points and eight boards.
NC State also found ways to score down the stretch when Duke ratcheted up the defensive pressure. Senior wing Casey Morsell scored all 11 of his points in the second half. One crucial sequence was when the local DMV native converted a three-point play and then later had a dunk down the lane to push it to 55-50.
NC State only made two field goals in the final three minutes of the game, but both proved big, with Horne making a jumper and senior center D.J. Burns bullying his way inside for two to make it 71-64 with 1:23 left.
"NC State is playing their best basketball probably," Duke coach Jon Scheyer said. "Give them credited. They are talented. When you are playing in the postseason, teams don't want to go way. You have to make them go away."
Things got a little bizarre thanks to junior center Ben Middlebrooks missing a wide-open dunk and then he hung on the rim to get the ball with 30.3 seconds left. He received a one free-throw technical foul and the Wolfpack maintained possession up 71-67.
“I was already shocked, but the tech itself threw us all into awe,” Morsell said. “All we could do is focus on the next play. It was good that we got the ball back.”
The sequence was wild, but then Middlebrooks was who kept the ball alive on Morsell’s big dunk and also had a big offensive rebound and assist to junior guard Jayden Taylor, who knocked down a three-pointer when the game was getting tight.
The script Thursday was much difference than the meeting March 4 in Raleigh, which Duke won 79-64. NC State tried to slow it down and pound the ball inside to Burns repeatedly, and it worked for about 30 minutes. Instead, the Wolfpack played more up-tempo and loose. Burns was still a major factor, especially with his passing in the first half, but it proved to be junior power forward Mohamed Diarra who took center stage at both ends of the court.
Diarra came through with 14 points, 16 rebounds, four big blocks and three steals in 37 minutes of action. He was NC State’s best defensive threat against Filipowski. Diarra and Middlebrooks also helped NC State get a 18-8 advantage in second-chance points.
“Mo has just gotten better and he was our leading rebounder,” Keatts said. “He can play inside-out and is doing a lot of good things for us.”
Diarra was one of five NC State players in double figures, with Horne scoring a team-high 18 points. Senior point guard Michael O’Connell added 12 points and four assists in the win.
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