Forget about the past, NC State basketball is living in the moment as ACC Tournament champions

WASHINGTON, D.C. — In the final minute of the 2024 ACC Tournament championship game, a worker at Capital One Arena loaded up a machine with red-and-white confetti. 

A moment 37 years in the making, NC State basketball no longer has to live in the past. The Wolfpack can live in the moment as ACC Tournament champions for the first time since 1987.

When the final buzzer sounded Saturday night, that red-and-white confetti shot toward the rafters and covered the court as the Wolfpack players and their fans celebrated the greatest run in ACC Tournament history. 

Final: NC State 84, North Carolina 76. 

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From seven losses in the final nine games of the regular season, including four straight defeats, to five wins in five days in the nation’s capital. From questions about head coach Kevin Keatts’ job security to Keatts cutting down a net and twirling it around his head in celebration. 

In his opening press conference in 2017, Keatts proclaimed himself a winner. Now, in his seventh season, he’s made NC State a winner. 

“We've been getting crushed — when I say we, NC State — by not delivering any championship in 37 years,” Keatts said Saturday. “Well, they can't say that now because we got one.” 

Victories against Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia and the Tar Heels paved the path on NC State’s road to earning an automatic bid in the NCAA Tournament. 

"I can't even put it into words right now," said Raleigh native DJ Horne, who had 29 points against UNC. "Just a week ago, it was looking like our season was about to be over, and here we are now, man, on top of the world."

DJ Burns, the ACC Tournament MVP, and Horne were the leaders of the Pack. But in supporting roles, Mo Diarra set an ACC Tournament record for rebounds and Michael O’Connell hit a buzzer-beating shot that will forever be connected to a championship.

"We knew we were capable of it," said Burns, who had 20 points Saturday. "It just doesn't feel real. It may eventually."

Many years from now, like NC State’s championship teams before them, that quartet will be remembered as legends that helped the Wolfpack create a title-winning memory. 

NC State soaked up every minute of the celebration this weekend. With red-and-white confetti covering the court from baseline to baseline, the net came down and Wolfpack players placed a fifth and final NC State sticker on the ACC Tournament bracket inside the tunnel that led to the locker room.

Once they reached the locker room, they put on ski goggles, drenched each other with water from commemorative bottles and passed around the trophy for photos.

“It's a great story. It'll be a great story for a long time,” Keatts said. “I have no idea if anybody will ever win five games in a row to win a championship.”

But NC State’s run isn’t complete. Selection Sunday has arrived and March Madness awaits.

“The job’s not done,” Horne said with a smile. “Why not us?” 

Staff writer Rodd Baxley can be reached atrbaxley@fayobserver.com or @RoddBaxley on X/Twitter.