The Cardiac Pack is back.

Not even a year transpired between Athletics Director Debbie Yow hiring Mark Gottfried as N.C. State’s 19th head basketball coach and Georgetown’s Jason Clark missing a three-point heave at the buzzer to make a Wolfpack trip to the Sweet 16 official. 

Somewhere in between, State came together and shocked even its most ardent supporters. 

“I bet nobody in the world thought we’d be here right now,” junior forward Richard Howell said.  ”I just want to prove a lot of people wrong by keeping on going.”

After pulling off upsets of No. 6-seeded San Diego State and 3-seeded Georgetown, the Pack has earned a ticket to St. Louis, Mo. to face Kansas under the bright lights of the Edward Jones Dome – home of the NFL’s St. Louis Rams. NCSU had to hold off a ferocious rally from the Hoyas in the final minute, as an 11-point lead evaporated down the stretch.

Sophomore point guard Lorenzo Brown made several key plays in the final minute, including a pair of vital free throws with 10.6 seconds remaining, but all he could do was rejoice in the 66-63 triumph after Georgetown’s last attempt went begging. Clark could only mutter two sentences when asked about the miss.

“I feel like I had a shot,” Clark said. “But it was off.”

Much has changed in the past 348 days since Brown saw his new coach take over. Perhaps the biggest change is success — Gottfried is the first Pack coach in program history to deliver a Sweet 16 appearance in his first year. 

“I’m extremely proud of our team and these young guys,” Gottfried said. “They’ve grown up a lot this year. I think today, when you look how were were down early and came back and took the lead, just shows how tough-minded they have become. It makes you very proud, as a coach.”

C.J. Williams, Scott Wood and C.J. Leslie led State against the Hoyas with 14 points a piece. For the senior Williams, getting an opportunity to bounce back after a disappointing 15-16 season is indeed a sweet feeling. 

“I told C.J. [Williams], when we had like three minutes left, this is not his last game,” Brown said. “He said he knows, he’s ready to make some big shots, get some rebounds. He just played his heart out today.”

Prior to dominating the offensive glass and defeating the Hoyas , State battled the Aztecs of San Diego State two days earlier. With four Pack players in double digits, Howell led his team with 22 points en route to a 79-65 victory inside of Nationwide Arena. Although Howell made more of an impact in Sunday’s game apart from scoring — the Marietta, Ga. native had 10 rebounds against Georgetown — his performance against San Diego State caught everyone’s attention. 

“I wanted to win, I didn’t want this to be my last game,” Howell said. “I felt free in the first half; I felt like I could do anything because I didn’t have any fouls. Things changed in the second half, but I didn’t want to lose focus just because I was in foul trouble.” 

One part of the transition from an April 5 press conference introducing Gottfried and advancing to the Sweet 16 was Howell’s transformation. The big man who lost 30 pounds during the offseason has impressed his head coach. 

“He made himself much more agile and quicker, and I think he’s done really well in our offense this year,” Gottfried said. “He’s typically smaller from a height position than everybody he plays against, he’s always going against taller guys. He’s played pretty good this year. [Friday] was probably his best half offensively this year.” 

Complementing State’s size, athleticism and basketball IQ, Aztec head coach Steve Fisher had high praise for the way Howell and his teammates competed against his team. 

“It’s one thing to be big. It’s another thing to be good. They’re big and good,” Fisher said. “Today was more about what North Carolina State did than what we didn’t do.” 

The game ended with boos from the Aztec fans after the SDSU defense left an open lane to senior guard C.J. Williams, who took advantage of the lenience and closed the scoring with a powerful one-handed dunk with 13.1 seconds left. 

The Pack would close out the competition with a 14-point victory leading up to Sunday’s victorious battle versus Georgetown. Joining the Pack in St. Louis will be the No. 2 Kansas Jayhawks , who face off Sunday night in Omaha, Neb. 

When asked about the time that has elapsed since the Wolfpack’s basketball glory days, Gottfried made his intentions clear.

“We always talk about how we have such great history at State,” Gottfried said. “But it’s time to build some new history.”