DALLAS — NC State men’s basketball took down the Duke Blue Devils 76-64 with a dominant second half in the latest game of its breathtaking tournament run. Graduate forward DJ Burns had a career night against the No. 4 seed fellow Triangle team when the lights were the brightest, scoring a team-high 29 points and rocketing the Wolfpack to the Final Four.
Burns was awarded Most Outstanding Player of the South Regional Tournament, helping his team cut down the net and hoist the trophy.
Although a North Carolina venue did not host the game, the American Airlines Center was packed with NC State and Duke fans, almost split evenly down the middle. Both groups were loud and boisterous until the final five minutes of the game when NC State players and fans took over Dallas.
“It’s funny, I was thinking about it last night,” said head coach Kevin Keatts. “Like, man, we both could have just flown home and played this game somewhere — probably at the PNC would have been a good idea.”
No. 11 seed NC State began its comeback against Duke in the second half, eventually mounting a double-digit lead to knock its ACC foe out of the NCAA tournament. The Wolfpack trailed by as much as nine points during the game but never let Duke put the game beyond reach.
Burns scored the first four Wolfpack points through mid-range jump shots, a form of scoring he has not often visited during this tournament run. Unlike Marquette and Oakland, Duke did not double Burns in the post, allowing the big man to go to his bread-and-butter post-up, proving to be as effective as ever.
Outside of the early scoring from Burns, the red-and-white struggled mightily on offense. The team shot 26.5% from the field and 14% from 3-point range, amounting to a dreadful 21-point half. The Wolfpack failed to move the ball around the perimeter, instead opting to attack the elite interior defense of the Blue Devils.
Duke also struggled to get an offensive rhythm going but relied on guard Jared McCain as a source of offense throughout the game. McCain scored a game-high 32 points, with 13 of those coming in the first half.
NC State had a hard time keeping its composure and not letting emotions show during all facets of the game — a blessing and a curse. The emotional environment added to the celebration at the final buzzer but also cost NC State two points due to a technical foul called on Keatts.
One person who didn’t let his emotions get the best of him was graduate guard Michael O’Connell. Going into the half, O’Connell and the Wolfpack started to gain momentum, cutting the lead to six. O’Connell had an opportunity to cut it to four with a fast break layup but was stripped by McCain leading the ball to fall out of bounds off of O’Connell.
On the replay, it looked as if the ball touched McCain last and a scoring opportunity for the Pack was lost, leading to a roaring “ref you suck” chant from the NC State faithful. Regardless, O’Connell did not complain to the officials, his coaches or teammates.
“I’m not going to stress myself out over things I can’t control,” O’Connell said. “At the end of the day … it’s not in my control it’s not my decision, it’s the refs’ decision. I’m not gonna … add extra pressure in the moment.”
O’Connell’s rebounding and Burns’ scoring weren’t enough to beat a tough Duke team with lots of talent. Someone else needed to step up to the plate — graduate guard and Raleigh native DJ Horne was the man for the job.
Horne is the Wolfpack’s top scorer, but he’s been streaky during the NCAA tournament. Despite this, he scored 15 second-half points, starting with a contested 3 with 13 minutes of game time left. Shortly after that 3-pointer, Horne found himself at the charity stripe, where his two free throws gave the Wolfpack a 36-35 lead — its first of the half.
This momentum continued to build until the game ended, with Duke’s star forward Kyle Filipowski fouling out with five minutes left to play in a moment that NC State fans basked in. Filipowski’s exit essentially sealed the Blue Devils’ fate as the Wolfpack held on to advance to the Final Four.
NC State will continue its improbable quest for a national championship, advancing to the Final Four to face off against Zach Edey and the No. 1 seed Purdue Boilermakers next weekend in Arizona.
“It means everything,” said graduate guard Casey Morsell. “Just the story of being the underdog, we embrace being underdogs. It’s still surprising with every game we go in, people are still doubting us.
“The fact that I get to be part of an underdog of this magnitude and help put this team in a position to make history, to go to a Final Four. It’s the best feeling in the world; I wouldn’t want it any other way.”