The Cardiac Pack is back.
NC State men’s basketball’s championship run was nothing short of a miracle. A team that lost nine of its last 13 games proceeded to win five games in five days, a feat only done one other time in the history of the NCAA.
Not only that, but the Wolfpack downed Tobacco Road rivals Duke and UNC, both top ten in the NET rankings. The only way for the Pack to make the NCAA tournament was to win the ACC Tournament, and it was able to punch its ticket in dominant fashion.
The historic run was full of incredible moments, from graduate guard DJ Horne’s 29 points in the championship to junior forward Mohamed Diarra’s record-breaking 60 rebounds across all five games. However, the most memorable moment came in the conference semifinals against Virginia.
A back-and-forth game eventually led to Virginia’s largest lead at seven points with four minutes to go. The battle continued, and the Wolfpack was down three points with 17 seconds remaining. After missing the game-tying 3-pointer, the red-and-white was forced to foul and send Virginia’s best shooter to the line, shooting one-and-one free throws from the stripe.
After missing the first free throw, NC State rebounded the ball and found itself with one final chance at tying the game with 5.3 seconds left. The Wolfpack had shot just 2-16 from beyond the arc. Instead of giving the ball to Horne, the most consistent 3-point shooter, the ball was placed in the hands of graduate guard Michael O’Connell.
What happened next was one of the most defining moments in NC State history. The 28-foot, heavily contested shot banked off the backboard and rolled around the rim twice before dropping through the hoop, keeping the Wolfpack’s tournament hopes alive. The Pack would go on to win the game in overtime and eventually win the ACC Championship, all because of a single shot.
Though the shot was the most impactful play of the run, O’Connell was making plays throughout all the matchups. The Stanford transfer originally came off the bench as the sixth man but found himself in the starting rotation late in the season.
Before the tournament, O’Connell scored in double digits just three times during the regular season. But with his team’s back against the wall, he came to life, scoring in double digits in all five games while shooting 56% from beyond the arc.
Though averaging just 5.7 points this season, O’Connell’s awakening is one of the key reasons his squad found so much success in the postseason. He settled into his role on the team and proved a clutch shooter when needed. His performance was so impactful that he earned the nickname “Tournament Mike,” and rightly so. Without his historic shot, the Wolfpack wouldn’t have made it to the ACC Championship, beat UNC or even made the NCAA Tournament.
Every player will need to be playing the best basketball of their career to achieve a run in the NCAA Tournament, and it all starts with O’Connell. If he continues playing at this high of a level, it is hard to imagine the Pack will falter. His playmaking and sharpshooting have carried the team this far, and have the potential to take them even further.
The No. 11 seed Wolfpack will face off against the No. 6 seed Texas Tech Raiders in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, March 21. Tip-off is set for 9:40 p.m.
