{"id":2213956,"date":"2024-04-05T16:26:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-05T20:26:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-history-repeat-itself-nc-states-amazing-race-to-the-final-four\/"},"modified":"2024-04-05T16:30:55","modified_gmt":"2024-04-05T20:30:55","slug":"will-history-repeat-itself-nc-states-amazing-race-to-the-final-four","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/will-history-repeat-itself-nc-states-amazing-race-to-the-final-four\/","title":{"rendered":"Can History Repeat? NC State&#8217;s Journey to the Final Four"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwill-history-repeat-itself-nc-states-amazing-race-to-the-final-four%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2213956&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The NCAA\u2064 tournament, also known as March\u200b Madness, offers \u2064an unparalleled experience for sports fans. This year&#8217;s Final Four features expected teams like Purdue and \u2063UConn, as well as surprising\u200b underdogs like North Carolina\u200d State. NC\u2063 State&#8217;s unexpected \u200cjourney mirrors \u200bthe \u200chistoric\u2063 1983 team&#8217;s miraculous \u2064run, showcasing the enduring spirit of \u2062perseverance and \u200ccreating\u200c new heroes like\u200d DJ Burns Jr.\u200c The NCAA \u2064tournament, famously called March \u2062Madness, delivers an unmatched \u200dthrill for sports enthusiasts. The upcoming Final Four includes anticipated contenders such as Purdue and UConn, alongside unexpected \u2062challengers like North Carolina \u2062State. \u2064NC State&#8217;s unforeseen path echoes the \u200dlegendary 1983 team&#8217;s extraordinary\u2062 triumph, \u200dexemplifying resilience \u2064and introducing\u200d new icons like DJ\u2063 Burns \u200dJr.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">March Madness quite possibly offers the greatest postseason experience available to sports fans today. In fact, \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/show\/crain-and-company\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Crain &#038; Company\u2019s<\/a>\u201d Jake Crain goes so far as to say that it is, in fact, the greatest. Unlike other sports, the tournament layout allows for incredible underdog\/longshot stories and this year is no exception.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This year\u2019s Final Four consists of some expected teams, including two number one seeds in Purdue and returning champion UConn, a number four seed in Alabama, and is rounded out with the Cinderella 11 seed, North Carolina State \u2014 the most unexpected teams to be in this position.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">To understand how NC State elbowed its way into this year\u2019s NCAA Final Four, we have to go back a few weeks in the season. NC State plays in the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), a basketball division traditionally dominated by blue bloods like UNC and Duke. When the ACC Tournament rolled around at the end of the regular season, the Wolfpack were on a four<a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/college-football-what-to-watch-in-week-four\/\" title=\"COLLEGE FOOTBALL: What To Watch In Week Four\">-game losing streak<\/a> and head coach Kevin Keatts was in the hot seat.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_719593\" style=\"width: 874px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-719593\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Joe Sargent\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keatts tenure had been lackluster, with many fans and boosters calling for his head after this season. NC State\u2019s program had a mediocre ceiling that few believed would ever be broken. They hadn\u2019t won an ACC Championship title in 37 years.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Keatts and NC State needed to win their conference tournament to even get into the NCAA tournament and no one believed it would happen. Not only would they have to win out, but they\u2019d have to face Duke and UNC, two storied programs that have plagued the Tobacco Road rivalry.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Wolfpack went on to win five straight, including a buzzer-beater three that pushed the UVA game into double overtime.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Coach Kevin Keatts not only secured his job, he earned some <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/sports\/ncaab\/acc\/2024\/04\/01\/kevin-keatts-bonuses-nc-state-final-four\/73163196007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">sizable bonuses<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">ACC Championship title: A $400,000 pay increase, a $100,000 bonus, and a 2-year contract extension through April 2030.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">An additional $25,000 bonus for the team\u2019s first victory in the tournament, and $50,000 for each of the next three for a total of $175,000.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NC State\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/hunter-biden-email-reportedly-names-kamala-harris-others-as-key-contacts-for-joint-venture-with-china-energy-co\/\" title=\"Hunter Biden Email Reportedly Names Kamala Harris, Others as Key Contacts for 'Joint Venture' With China Energy Co.\">current run<\/a> as an 11 seed feels a lot like history repeating itself.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every Wolfpack fan, and likely every <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/battle-of-the-blue-bloods-in-new-orleans\/\" title=\"Battle Of The Blue Bloods In New Orleans\">college basketball fan<\/a>, knows the infamous story of the 1983 team and their epic tournament run to win the National Championship under head coach Jim Valvano. The 1983 season was an unbelievable tale of determination and more famously, \u201cnever giv[ing] up.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">For those unfamiliar, back in 1983, NC State needed to win an ACC Championship title to get into the NCAA tournament. Sound familiar? They started as a number 6 seed and made their way to the championship game where they faced off against the heavily favored Houston Cougars \u2014 who had future Hall of Famers Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Thanks to a buzzer-beating dunk by Lorenzo Charles after a missed desperation shot, NC State and coach Valvano defied the odds and pulled off a tremendous upset. <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">That 1983 run gave birth to more than a winning standard, it became a way to see the world and the things around you.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It inspired the infamous \u201cJimmy V Speech\u201d delivered on March 4, 1993, at the ESPYs and created a culture that continues to invigorate not only Wolfpack fans, but sports fans in general.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Once again, NC State has given the country something to believe in. Not only has this team re-ignited its fan base, but it has also given the country new heroes and underdogs who inspire them.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">One of those heroes, DJ Burns Jr., has played a critical role in the Wolfpack\u2019s success. Burns has proven to be a force on the court, has a contagious personality, and he\u2019s an outright likable guy. Burns has brought a popularity to the team that it hasn\u2019t seen in years.<\/span><\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Show this to anyone who says men\u2019s college basketball is dead and has no superstars.<\/p>\n<p>This is the line outside of an APPLEBEES! <\/p>\n<p>Final Four Fever has hit Raleigh. <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/cB37nNH0rf\">pic.twitter.com\/cB37nNH0rf<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Mid-Major Madness (@mid_madness) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mid_madness\/status\/1775531240520597798?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">April 3, 2024<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Burns started his career in the SEC at Tennessee, transferred to Winthrop back in his home state of South Carolina, and finally landed at NC State for the 2022\/2023 season. Burns made an immediate impact, but his star really started to rise during the postseason.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">He stands at 6\u20199,\u201d weighs 275 pounds, and after his performance this year he could arguably have a successful career in the NFL. In fact, several reporters have received communications from NFL teams with potential interest in adding Burns as an offensive tackle.<\/span><\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_719595\" style=\"width: 865px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-719595\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Carmen Mandato\/Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Against all odds, and 14 regular season losses, this team has continued its incredible postseason run with nine consecutive wins. The Wolfpack will now face off against another Goliath opponent in No. 1 Purdue this Saturday, perhaps the most difficult opponent they\u2019ve faced yet. Purdue\u2019s Zach Edey, standing at 7\u20194\u201d, has become a standout in his own right, dominating this year\u2019s tournament. The Burns-Edey match up makes this game a must-watch \u201cbattle of the bigs.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">NC State faces Purdue on Saturday, April 6, at 6:09 pm ET at The Phoenix Convention Center.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Current head coach Kevin Keatts and this NC State team have done something that hasn\u2019t been done since 1983. It\u2019s a run for the ages and a story of a lifetime. The spirit of that team can be felt in this year\u2019s tournament and has given fans something to celebrate \u2014 a true Cinderella story that transcends wins and losses.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Go Pack.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>March Madness provides sports fans with an unparalleled postseason experience. According to &#8220;Crain &amp; Company&#8217;s&#8221; Jake Crain, it stands out as the greatest. The tournament&#8217;s format enables remarkable underdog tales, making each year unique. This year&#8217;s Final Four continues to exemplify the tournament&#8217;s thrilling unpredictability<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3031,"featured_media":2213957,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2121059486.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[541],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2213956","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-daily-wire"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/dw-wp-production.imgix.net\/2024\/04\/GettyImages-2121059486.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213956","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3031"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2213956"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2213956\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2213957"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2213956"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2213956"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2213956"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}