NC State Ousts Duke For First Final Four Since 1983

DALLAS -- When NC State added big man DJ Burns Jr. via the transfer portal two seasons ago, coach Kevin Keatts knew it would change his career.

He wouldn't learn the extent of that change until Sunday, when Burns led the charge to send Keatts and the Wolfpack to the men's Final Four, the program's first trip there since it won the NCAA tournament in 1983. Burns scored 21 of his 29 points in the second half as NC State beat Duke 76-64 to win the South Regional.

But behind the 21 points from Burns and 15 from guard DJ Horne, NC State shot 73% in the second half and scored 55 points. The Wolfpack outscored Duke 31-11 over a 12-minute stretch in the half to take control of the game, and the Blue Devils never made a serious threat after that.

Duke's strategy was to not double down on Burns when he got the ball down low, as many NC State opponents had done. In the Sweet 16, Marquette consistently sent a second defender to Burns, and he took just four shots and scored four points. Burns made the Blue Devils pay. He scored his 29 points on 19 shots.

NC State, at 26-14, has more losses than any other Final Four team ever. It is the seventh team to reach the Final Four as a double-digit seed, the last having been UCLA in 2021. None of the previous six won the title.

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The Wolfpack looked like a lost cause just three weeks ago heading into the NCAA tournament. They wouldn't have even qualified without taking down the ACC tournament field, which they did by winning five games in five days.

Now, their winning streak is up to nine with No. 1 seed Purdue up next Saturday in Glendale, Arizona.

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Filed Under: Duke Blue Devils, NC State, NCAA Men's Basketball Championship

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