From Final Fours to football, NC State athletics had a year for the record books. From August to April, the Pack won several ACC Championships, a national championship and made its way to not one, but two Final Fours.
Let’s take a look back at the best moments in one of the best years in NC State sports history.
1. Men’s basketball and women’s basketball advance to Final Four on same day
For the first time in school history, the men’s and women’s basketball teams made the Final Four in the same year. The women took down No. 1 seed Texas in the Elite Eight, and just a couple hours later, the men beat No. 4 seed Duke to advance to the Final Four.
It was an unlikely run for both squads. The men entered the NCAA Tournament as an 11-seed and were the underdog in all their games except one. It wasn’t as surprising the women made the Final Four, given they beat many ranked teams throughout the season and were Top 10 for a majority of the year. But they were unranked entering the season and picked to finish eighth in the conference, so they blew their preseason expectations out of the water.
These squads’ success in the postseason made NC State’s campus the spot to be. Thousands of students celebrated at the Belltower after each win, and the vibes on campus were at an all-time high.
2. Men’s basketball wins first ACC Championship since 1987
While the Belltower was rightfully packed once both men’s and women’s basketball teams made the Final Four, the congregation at the hallowed place was just as momentous when the men’s squad finished off its miracle ACC Championship run weeks earlier.
The Wolfpack defeated conference titan after titan on its way to its first ACC Championship since 1987. While there were several miraculous moments that added to the sheer unbelievability of the run, the Wolfpack beat none other than UNC-Chapel Hill in the final round to win it all.
Toting the tagline, “Why Not Us?” all tournament long, NC State embraced its underdog mentality more than ever before. After winning five games in its five days of the tournament, the tagline “Why Not Us?” soon turned into “Five wins in five days,” as NC State became the lowest-ever seed to win an ACC title.
3. Michael O’Connell’s ACC Tournament shot
The ACC Championship and Final Four run would cease to exist if it wasn’t for the second-greatest shot in NC State men’s basketball history. With NC State down three, graduate guard Casey Morsell misfired on the tying 3 and Virginia’s Isaac McKneely came down with the rebound.
McKneely went to the line to seal the game for Virginia but missed on the front end of a one-and-one. Morsell came down with the rebound and passed it ahead to graduate guard Michael O’Connell. O’Connell took a couple of dribbles then pulled up with just seconds remaining, launching the basketball into orbit. The basketball was in the air for what felt like an eternity, finally coming down and kissing off the backboard before rolling around the rim a couple of times and falling through.
After he saw it go in, O’Connell just stood there with an ice-cold face and flexed while his teammates mobbed him. What makes the shot even more improbable is that it was the first time all season McKneely had missed two free throws in a game as he had already missed one in the contest. Wolfpack Nation will always be grateful for McKneely.
4. DJ Burns Jr. becomes America’s big man
Every year, March Madness produces a star that all of America falls in love with. This year, it was easy for everyone to root for graduate forward DJ Burns Jr. The big man with impeccable footwork and a big gap-toothed grin stole the hearts of America.
NC State fans already knew about the joy that Burns played with on the court, but when everyone else saw it, they fell in love just like Wolfpack fans did the first time they saw him. He was dubbed “America’s big man” and was the catalyst in taking the Wolfpack back to the Final Four for the first time since 1983.
5. Women’s basketball beats No. 2 UConn in Reynolds
After a disappointing season the previous year, most didn’t know what to expect from NC State women’s basketball. They would find out early though as it faced then-No. 2 UConn in just its second game of the season at Reynolds Coliseum.
Junior guard Saniya Rivers put her name on the map against the Huskies, dropping a career-high 33 points in a 92-81 win on ESPN. This win set the tone for the rest of the season, showing the Wolfpack was back as one of women’s basketball elites.
6. Football blowout win over UNC
It seemed as though all hope was lost for NC State football’s 2023 season after its blowout loss at Duke in October.
Around a month later, though, the Wolfpack had turned its season around. The red-and-white rattled off five straight wins to end its regular season, capping off that streak with a 39-20 rout over the rival Tar Heels.
While the past two seasons’ duels between the rivals had come down to the wire, this one wasn’t even close. Quarterback Brennan Armstrong and then-freshman wideout Kevin Concepcion were firing on all cylinders, stunning the Drake Maye-led Heels as the Wolfpack ran up the scoreboard. By the end, NC State had chased the Tar Heels all the way back to Chapel Hill with its dominating win.
7. Oakland men’s basketball overtime game
The one game Burns wasn’t the most-loved player on the court was NC State’s second-round game against No. 14 seed Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies were coming off an upset win over No. 3 seed Kentucky and guard Jack Gohlke took the college basketball world by storm when he made 10 3s and scored 32 points on the Wildcats.
It was the only game the Wolfpack was favored in, but it ended up being its most hard-fought win. After leading for most of the game, Oakland came back and took the lead with a few minutes left. Down one with about a minute left, O’Connell crossed over his defender and drove to the rim making an acrobatic layup while drawing the foul.
Gohlke hit two free throws on the other end to send it to overtime. Once it got to overtime, Burns took over, scoring or assisting on nine of the Pack’s 13 overtime points. It may have collectively raised the blood pressure of Wolfpack Nation, but NC State got the win and was going to the Sweet 16 for the first time in nine years.
8. Women’s cross country continues dynastic run with third straight NCAA Championship
Few programs across the country have the right to call themselves a dynasty. But NC State women’s cross country has earned that right in every sense imaginable.
Less than a month after notching its eighth straight ACC Championship title, the Wolfpack won its third-straight NCAA Championship title. Senior Katelyn Tuohy, who commanded the Pack’s reign in her time on campus, was unsurprisingly NC State’s top runner and placed fifth overall in the championships.
As a perennial championship contender — and winner — NC State cemented its place at the mountaintop of Wolfpack greatness with its three-peat win.
9. Wrestling ACC Championship
After a dominant regular season, the Wolfpack brought home the ACC Championship trophy for the sixth straight season. The Pack was in a league of its own, posting 116 points, 29.5 points ahead of second place and had seven wrestlers win an individual title.
The championship victory marked head coach Pat Popolizio’s seventh ACC Championship in Raleigh. Popolizio now holds the second-longest title streak in conference history, a well-deserved achievement. No. 2 redshirt senior Trent Hidlay finished his historic, program-elevating season with his fourth straight ACC title.
10. Gymnastics catches fire, wins ACC Championship
In the first year back with the ACC competing in college gymnastics, NC State dominated on the floor, beam, vault and bars all-season long, capping its 2024 regular season conference campaign by raising the ACC Championship trophy.
Soon after claiming the regular season trophy with an undefeated conference record, the Pack torched the competition once it got to the championships. Led by graduate students Chloe Negrete and Emily Shepard, NC State brought the program to a new height with its 197.575-point win over Clemson in the title bout.
