Friedlander: Call it a miracle, call it whatever you like. Just make sure you call NC State the ACC champion

WASHINGTON, DC – Two NC State players walked down the hallway just off the court at Capital One Arena on Saturday still giddy from a celebration that was showing no signs of ending anytime soon.

“Hey, Mo,” Ernest Ross called out to Mohamed Diarra. “I still can’t believe that happened.”

Don’t worry, Ernest. You’re not the only one.

Even with an expanding lead and the game against rival North Carolina seemingly in hand as the final 2 minutes ticked ever so slowly off the clock, there was a palpable sense of uneasiness among the Wolfpack faithful in attendance.

They’d had their hearts ripped out too many times to let themselves get too excited too soon.

It couldn’t really be happening. Could it?

This time, it finally did. And the fact that it came against hated Tar Heels only made the accomplishment that much sweeter.

Thirty-seven years of disappointment and frustration erupted like the shower of red and white confetti that rained down from the rafters as State closed out an 84-76 upset of the ACC’s top seed to win its first conference tournament championship since 1987.

Call it improbable. Call it a miracle. Call it whatever you like.

None of those words are strong enough to accurately describe the history coach Kevin Keatts and his players made this week. And what it means to the most passionate, most tormented fan base in the ACC.

If not the entire country.

People talk about wins for the ages all the time. But this one really was. Many different ages and generations of Wolfpack fans who always hoped, but at the same time feared they’d never live long enough to see what they witnessed on Saturday.

“This says a lot,” Keatts said. “We’ve been getting crushed – when I say we, NC State – by not delivering any championship in 37 years. Well, they can’t say that now because we got one tonight.”

They did it with every player in their regular rotation making a meaningful contribution at one time or another during the tournament.

And then some.

While bullish big man DJ Burns won the Everett Case Award as the event’s Most Outstanding Player and guard DJ Horne scored 29 points to lead the way against UNC, the Wolfpack may not have survived the opening game against Louisville on Tuesday had seldom-used point guard Breon Pass not kickstarted things with a pair of key 3-pointers.

Or if even deeper reserve Ross hadn’t come off the bench late in the opening half of the championship game to make only his 2nd basket of the season.

There were moments in which it seemed as though the joyride was about to end.

The missed dunk and technical foul by Ben Middlebrooks against Duke. The 7-point deficit with just over 4 minutes remaining in regulation of the semifinal against Virginia. The rash of late turnovers that led to some nervous moments on Saturday.

Through it all, State channeled the spirit of the late Jim Valvano and never gave up. Even though they were clearly running on fumes.

Final.
State 84
UNC 76
NC State has won their 11th ACC championship and their first since 1987. ???
pic.twitter.com/A17NihYPLD

— John Lewis (@jrl_texas) March 17, 2024

During a timeout with 5:23 remaining and the Wolfpack clinging to a 5-point lead, Horne could be seen bent over at the waist gasping for air while teammate Casey Morsell was on the bench receiving treatment for a leg cramp instead of participating in the huddle.

“My legs hurt right now,” Burns said. “It’s been 5 days in a row, so of course guys are going to be a little tired. We knew nothing about this would be easy. So we knew that we had to get over ourselves and push it to the very absolute limit. And that’s what we did.”

Five days ago, the Wolfpack were on a 4-game losing streak and weren’t even in shouting distance of the NCAA bubble. Keatts was on the hot seat and the season couldn’t get over fast enough.

They were given odds of +10000 to win the tournament by all the major sportsbook apps.

But after winning 5 games in as many days to pull off a feat even the eternal optimist Jimmy V might have a hard time imagining – a gauntlet in which every opponent has won a national title since 2003 including top-3 seeds Virginia, Duke and UNC – State is suddenly the hottest team around, Keatts gets an automatic 2-year extension and the season continues thanks to the automatic NCAA bid Saturday’s victory secured.

“I’m proud, man. I’m emotional. I’m proud. I’m excited,” the 7th-year coach said. “Our players deserve this. We’ve got a tight group that sticks together with everything and we’ve been through some adversity. At the end of the day we found a way to come together for a common goal. These guys will have memories for the rest of their life that they can always know that they were ACC champions and won the tournament.”

The Wolfpack probably won’t go on to win the national title like their surprise 1983 ACC Tournament champions or the 2011 UConn team that also won 5 games in 5 days in the Big East did.

They might not even win a single NCAA Tournament game.

No matter what happens from here on out, Keatts and his players have already given their school and their long-suffering fans, especially those under the age of 37 who have never experienced anything close to this, a reward for their loyalty and patience.

An ACC Tournament championship for the ages.

Believe it or not.