By SAM LANCE
It’s a bad day to be a bubble team. Two schools, NC State and Oregon, have effectively stolen bids by winning their respective conference tournaments.
Starting with NC State, the Wolfpack won five games in five days against to secure the ACC Tournament crown and punch a bid to the NCAA Tournament. The 84-76 win over the Tar Heels on Saturday night is the Wolfpack’s first ACC tournament title since 1987.
What’s especially impressive is Kevin Keatts and company went through the top three seeds — including two in-state rivals in Duke and Carolina — to win the tournament.
“Man, I’m at a loss for words right now,” said NC State’s leading scorer and transfer guard DJ Horne on ESPN postgame. “I came home with a mission and to just see this right now, all the confetti all over the place, red and white. This is for the city, man. This is for 919, man. I love my brothers. I couldn’t play in the first game because I was hurt and they got the dub for me and gave me the opportunity to make this happen. I wouldn’t be here right now if it weren’t for them. Shoutout Wolfpack nation, man. The jobs not done. And like I said from the jump, why not us?”
Horne had several big baskets and finished the game with a team-high 29 points. His biggest basket, though, was probably an and-1 layup around the 8-minute mark that stopped a slight North Carolina run and gave NC State a 65-58 lead. After the play, Horne was rather animated.
The senior — playing on his last year of eligibility — is orginally from Raleigh (NC), where NC State’s campus is located. In addition to Horne, senior big man DJ Burns dropped in 20 points vs. North Carolina and dished out seven assists while shooting an efficient 9-of-12 clip. Junior forward Mohamed Diarra also had a huge game with an 11-point, 14-rebound double-double. This NC State run will likely go down as one of the craziest and most unlikely runs to a conference tournament championship of all-time. The Wolfpack had lost seven of its last nine games to end the regular season. They were a No. 10 seed. They were down by 12 points to 8-24 Louisville in the first round of the tournament. They banked in a buzzer-beating three to force overtime against Virginia. They again won five games in five days while most teams don’t even practice that schedule. And now, NC State is going to the NCAA Tournament. “Just a week ago it was looking like our season was about to be over,” Horne said. “Now here we are at the top of the world.” With the win, Keatts was awarded a two-year extension, per his contract. He was previously thought to be on the hot seat.😤 DJ HORNE 😤
— ACC Men's Basketball (@accmbb) March 17, 2024
🎥 ESPN | @PackMensBball pic.twitter.com/LPMiD7vO4T
As for Oregon, the Ducks defeated Colorado, 75-68, to become champions of the last-ever Pac 12 Tournament. Dana Altman is now heading to his eighth NCAA Tournament in 14 years as the Ducks head man. “We believed,” sixth-year guard Jarmaine Couisnard said on FOX postgame. “I don’t feel like anybody believed in us this weekend. I just told my team this weekend, ‘Keep believing. I’m going to do whatever it takes for us to win.'” Cousinard helped Oregon secure the title with 14 points and a team-high eight assists, but it was senior center N’Faly Dante who stole the show vs. Colorado. He finished with a game-high 25 points and was a perfect 12-of-12 from the field. Dante also missed a double-double by one rebound. Oregon needed to win the Pac 12 Tournament be included in March Madness, making the Pac-12 title ever-so sweet. There was pretty much no chance of the Ducks receiving an at-large with a loss on Saturday. So, Oregon left no doubt by winning three games in three days and beating UCLA, Arizona and Colorado. “This is unreal” Couisnard said of making the tournament. “I’ve been dreaming about this. I’ve just been dreaming all my life about this. It’s just something I really wanted.” With Oregon and NC State’s wins to secure automatic bids, many bubble teams are going to bed unhappy and will probably be left out of the NCAA Tournament. So much has happened this weekend in regards to the bubble. Temple and UAB will be battling for a bid after Temple beat FAU and UAB beat No. 1 seed USF in the American semifinals on Saturday. New Mexico played itself off the bubble with a Mountain West tournament crown. Mississippi State beat Tennessee to likely move itself into the field. Providence secured a great win vs. Creighton. St. John’s defeated Seton Hall in a battle of bubble teams. And whoever wins the Atlantic 10 tomorrow between 5-seeded VCU and 6-seeded Duquesne will be stealing another bid. The bracket isn’t out yet, but the Madness has already begun. And this is only the beginning. Follow Sam Lance on Twitter Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter Follow ZAGSBLOGHoops on Instagram And Like ZAGS on FacebookNC State isn’t just a BID STEALER, but the Pack beat North Carolina to punch its ticket.
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 17, 2024
Doesn’t get any better than this for NC State fans — who deserved it!!
And Kevin Keatts gets a 2-year extension for winning the ACC tourney!! pic.twitter.com/YV2Girb30T
