Phoenix, AZ – The NC State men’s basketball team arrived in Phoenix, Ariz., Wednesday afternoon for the 2024 Final Four.
photo courtesy of NC State SID
The Pack opens play in the Final Four on Saturday evening when it faces No. 1 seed Purdue. Tipoff against the Boilermakers is scheduled for 6:09 p.m. ET and the game will be televised on TBS.
NC State fans can also listen to Gary Hahn and Tony Haynes call the action on the Wolfpack Sports Network.
Pack Notes
– NC State won the South Region and advanced to the Final Four for the first time since 1983 with a 76-64 win over Duke in the Elite Eight on Sunday evening.
– The Pack put together a dominating second half, outscoring Duke 55-37, to overcome a six-point halftime deficit. NC State shot 73.1 percent from the field in the final 20 minutes (19-26), including 85% (17-of-20) on two-point field goals.
– For the sixth consecutive game, NC State’s defense held its opponent under 40 percent shooting as Duke shot just 32.2 percent from the field. The Blue Devils field goal percentage was a season-low for an NC State opponent.
– In the two games in Dallas, NC State’s defense held Marquette and Duke to a combined 32.8 percent shooting from the field and just 17.6 percent (9-of-51) from three-point range. Duke’s 64 points were the second fewest it scored in a game this season while Marquette’s 58 points were just fourth time it was held under 60 points.
– DJ Burns, Jr., led NC State over Duke with a season-high 29 points. He finished the game 13-of-19 from the field and added three assists (zero turnovers) and two blocks. Burns was dominant in the second half as he scored 21 of his 29 points in the final 20 minutes and was 9-of-11 from the field.
– Burns, Jr., was named the South Region’s Most Outstanding Player. In four NCAA Tournament games, Burns is averaging 18.3 points per game and shooting 73.3 percent from the field. He is also averaging 5.0 rebounds per game and 3.5 assists per contest.
– DJ Horne added 20 points in the win over Duke. He is averaging 16.5 points per game in the NCAA Tournament and 2.5 three-pointers made per contest. Horne is just the third player in program history – joining Scott Wood (2012-13) and Rodney Monroe (1990-91) – to hit over 100 three-pointers in a single season. Wood and Monroe are currently tied for first place on the program’s single-season three-point list with 104. Horne needs just two three-pointers to become the program’s single-season three-point leader.
NC State Series with Purdue
– Saturday is the 7th all-time meeting between NC State and Purdue. The Pack leads the all-time series, 4-2, but Purdue has won the last two games.
– The two programs last met on December 12, 2021 in the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., with top-ranked Purdue defeating NC State in overtime, 82-72. NC State never trailed in regulation and led by as many as 13 points in the second half. The Pack still had an eight-point lead at the final media timeout of the second half, but Purdue closed regulation on a 12-4 run to force overtime and ran away with the win in the extra five minutes.
NC State in the NCAA Tournament
– This is the Pack’s second consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance and 29th all-time. NC State has an all-time record of 41-26 in the NCAA Tournament.
NC State in the Final Four
– This is NC State’s fourth appearance in the NCAA Final Four.
– It previously made the Final Four in 1950, 1974 and 1983.