Tag: NC State Wolfpack

Broadcast information and tipoff times revealed for Final Four

The final leg of March Madness begins with the men’s Final Four in Phoenix at State Farm Stadium.

The Final Four is officially set as the NC State Wolfpack and Purdue Boilermakers both punched their tickets to Phoenix, or Glendale where the games are being played.

The Wolfpack continued their hot streak knocking off the Duke Blue Devils for the second time since the regular season ended. The Purdue Boilermakers had to fend off a really good Tennessee Volunteers team led by Dalton Knecht. Nothing was going to stop the Purdue redemption tour on that day.

Those two teams joined the Final Four field that already included the Alabama Crimson Tide and UConn Huskies. The action will get going on Saturday from State Farm Stadium. The winners will face off on Monday night for the NCAA national championship. The favorite has to be the champions but history isn’t on their side. No one has repeated as the top dogs since the Florida Gators did it in 2006 and 2007.

Below you will find the tipoff and broadcast details for the game.

NC State Wolfpack vs Purdue Boilermakers

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: April 6, 2024
  • Time: 4:09 p.m. MT
  • TV Channel: TBS
  • Live Stream: Sling TV (watch for free)

Alabama Crimson Tide vs UConn Huskies

Brian Fluharty-USA TODAY Sports

Here’s when you should tune in to see the game:

  • Date: April 6, 2024
  • Time: 6:49 p.m. MT
  • TV Channel: TBS
  • Live Stream: Sling TV (watch for free)

DJ Burns may not be a future NBA draft pick, but what about playing in the NFL? There’s already buzz

Could DJ Burns thrive in the NFL and NOT the NBA?

DJ Burns is the darling of the men’s 2024 NCAA tournament, with the forward dominating to lead NC State to the Final Four and showing his humor on social media.

Despite the fact that he’s been awesome for the Wolfpack, he may not be a future NBA draft pick (but maybe a UDFA?) despite measuring at 6-foot-9 and 275 pounds. But given that size and athleticism … what about playing on the offensive line in the NFL?

We’ve seen some hoops stars in college — Antonio Gates and Jimmy Graham come to mind — go to the NFL and flourish. Could that be a possibility?

First: he did play football before hoops, as you’ll see in the video below, and second, NFL Network’s Peter Schrager says he spoke to some scouts and GMs who sounded interested (note: I am fully aware he posted this on April 1, but no word yet on whether it was a joke or not):

O-lineman Justin Pugh wants him in the NFL:

And there’s this:

This could be really, really cool.

DJ Burns trolls Duke’s Jared McCain with an Instagram story with the TikTok star

DJ Burns trolled the Duke player and TikTok star after the March Madness win to clinch a Final Four spot.

DJ Burns is the biggest star now thanks to 2024 March Madness.

The NC State forward dominated Duke and fans loved his classy moments after he helped the Wolfpack clinch a Final Four berth.

But he did a little trolling after the win over the Blue Devils, too. He threw in an Instagram video with Duke’s Jared McCain — a TikTok star! — getting fooled and he used a little clip of McCain dancing.

Burns later said it was “all love” and that he was having fun, but this qualifies as trolling. Here’s the clip that everyone was sharing after he posted it:

NC State storms back in second half to eliminate Duke in Elite Eight

The Wolfpack couldn’t make a shot in the first half, but they couldn’t miss in the second as they stormed back to win the South region.

For the second time in the 2024 postseason, underdog NC State stunned Duke. The Wolfpack dominated the final 20 minutes to storm back for a 76-64 victory on Sunday, clinching a spot in the Final Four.

The in-state rivals battled for the third time in the month of March on Sunday, just weeks after NC State bounced Duke from the ACC Tournament quarterfinals. Neither of the first two contests held the same stakes as this Elite Eight matchup, however.

The two North Carolina teams combined for an inefficient, mistake-prone first half from the floor. Neither team finished above 31% from the floor, and the Wolfpack and the Blue Devils went a combined 3/14 (21.4%) from behind the 3-point line. Duke coughed up the ball five times in the first 20 minutes.

Despite the inefficiency, freshman Jared McCain found a way to shine through once again. He helped take the lid off of the basket early with a transition 3-pointer, stopping on a dime with the NC State defense still not settled around him. The bucket gave Duke the lead back five minutes into the game, and his five free throws over the next two minutes extended the advantage to three points.

He couldn’t match his torrid early pace from the James Madison game in the second round, when he buried six first-half triples en route to a 30-point game, but he did score 13 points before the break.

The Blue Devils fought through their offensive struggles to take a 27-21 lead into the locker room. The Wolfpack fared even worse, making just one of their 11 layup attempts and one of their seven 3-point efforts.

Sophomore 7-footer Kyle Filipowski, who scored just two points on five shots in the first half, laid in an easy bucket a minute and a half into the second half, and Duke led 29-23.

The Wolfpack kept themselves alive, however. The two DJs, forward DJ Burns and guard DJ Horne, traded baskets as NC State went on a run. Horne made a layup, Burns made a bucket, and the lead shrank to four. Horne fed teammate Mohamed Diarra for a dunk before burying a 3-pointer to pull within one.

Horne, an All-ACC Third Team member, drew a foul on the next possession, and his two ensuing free throws pushed the Wolfpack in front for the first time since the opening minutes. After a three-point play from Filipowski, Burns and Horne traded three more baskets between them.

All told, the two DJs combined to score or assist on 21 of NC State’s points during the 25-11 run, and the Wolfpack led 48-40 with eight minutes to play.

When NC State’s Michael O’Connell buried a triple to balloon the lead to nine with seven minutes on the clock, the game felt officially out of hand.

The Wolfpack run officially slowed down at 35-15, and they outscored Duke 55-37 in the second half for the 12-point victory. Burns and Horne teamed for 49 combined points, and the duo shot 14/18 from the floor over the final 20 minutes. Duke, as a team, shot just 11/33.

NC State advances to play Purdue in the Final Four.

How to buy NC State 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four tickets

Want to watch NC State’s first Final Four since 1983 in person? Tickets still remain for as little as $262.

For the first time since 1983, the North Carolina State Wolfpack are going to the Final Four.

No. 11 NC State continued its magical postseason run, defeated No. 4 Duke 76-64 behind 29 points from senior DJ Burns.

NC State will take on No. 1 Purdue in the National Semifinals on Saturday, April 6 at 6:09 p.m. EDT in Phoenix, Ariz.

SHOP: NC State vs. Purdue Final Four tickets

The NC State men join the NC State women, who clinched a Final Four berth earlier today with an upset of No. 1 Texas.

Purdue advanced to the Final Four after defeating No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon and advancing out of the Midwest Region.

Tickets to the Final Four are still available, and at the time of publication are available for as little as $262.

Final Four tickets give access to both North Carolina State vs. Purdue game and the matchup between No. 1 UConn and No. 4 Alabama.

Weekend passes are also available, giving access to both Final Four games on Saturday and Monday night’s National Championship. Weekend passes are available for as little as $470.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NC State Final Four tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/mVRGvP0″]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Final Four weekend passes” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/W4n5v8Q”]

How to buy NC State 2024 NCAA Men’s Final Four tickets

Want to watch NC State’s first Final Four since 1983 in person? Tickets still remain for as little as $262.

For the first time since 1983, the North Carolina State Wolfpack are going to the Final Four.

No. 11 NC State continued its magical postseason run, defeated No. 4 Duke 76-64 behind 29 points from senior DJ Burns.

NC State will take on No. 1 Purdue in the National Semifinals on Saturday, April 6 at 6:09 p.m. EDT in Phoenix, Ariz.

SHOP: NC State vs. Purdue Final Four tickets

The NC State men join the NC State women, who clinched a Final Four berth earlier today with an upset of No. 1 Texas.

Purdue advanced to the Final Four after defeating No. 2 Tennessee on Sunday afternoon and advancing out of the Midwest Region.

Tickets to the Final Four are still available, and at the time of publication are available for as little as $262.

Final Four tickets give access to both North Carolina State vs. Purdue game and the matchup between No. 1 UConn and No. 4 Alabama.

Weekend passes are also available, giving access to both Final Four games on Saturday and Monday night’s National Championship. Weekend passes are available for as little as $470.

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop NC State Final Four tickets” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/mVRGvP0″]

[afflinkbutton text=”Shop Final Four weekend passes” link=”https://stubhub.prf.hn/l/W4n5v8Q”]

ESPN has NC State above Duke in Elite Eight ranking

ESPN’s Myron Medcalf ranked the eight teams remaining in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday, and he had the Wolfpack over the Blue Devils.

There’s always reason to be nervous against the annual Cinderella team. After all, an 11-seed like NC State only reaches the Elite Eight if it’s in better form than its seed suggests.

However, ESPN’s Myron Medcalf thinks it’s more than just that.

The ESPN writer released a ranking of the last eight teams left in the NCAA Tournament field, and the Wolfpack (fourth) finished two spots above the Blue Devils (sixth).

“Anything seems possible at this point for a team that has won eight elimination games in 17 days, including against Duke, North Carolina, Texas Tech and now Marquette.,” Medcalf wrote about the Wolfpack.

“Is NC State a team of destiny? At this point, you have to admit it kind of feels that way.”

Duke also finished behind Clemson, whom Medcalf ranked fifth, to be the lowest of the three ACC teams left on the board. The ESPN writer highlighted Duke’s 41% shooting percentage against Houston and the injury to Cougars All-American Jamal Shead as his reasons for pause.

“It still seems like Duke has another gear it can reach in the final days of the 2023-24 season,” Medcalf added.

Defending national champion Connecticut sat in the top spot, the presumed favorite to cut down the nets, while Purdue sat in second.

Duke, NC State Elite Eight matchup is third intrastate regional final in NCAA Tournament history

Duke’s Elite Eight matchup with NC State is only the third intrastate regional final in NCAA Tournament history.

When the Duke Blue Devils take on the NC State Wolfpack, it will be just the third intrastate regional final in NCAA Tournament history.

Former ESPN researcher Jared Berson shared the statistic on Saturday morning. The other two in-state Elite Eight matchups, according to Berson, happened when Pitt played Villanova in 2009 and Kansas played Kansas State in 1988.

This will be the third time Duke and NC State will play this season (and the third time in the month of March), and this third matchup will be the rubber match.

The Blue Devils rolled past NC State in Raleigh, North Carolina, 79-64 on March 4. NC State then won the rematch in the quarterfinals of the ACC Tournament, defeating Duke 74-69 on March 14. The win was part of the Wolfpack’s miracle run as they won five games in five days to win the ACC Tournament, clinching their spot in the March Madness field.

Duke blew out Vermont and James Madison before the Blue Devils took down the 1-seed Houston Cougars to get to the Elite Eight. NC State knocked off Texas Tech, Oakland, and 2-seed Marquette Golden Eagles to extend their postseason winning streak to eight games.

The two teams will play for a spot in the Final Four on Sunday night.

Notre Dame baseball loses late to host NC State

The Irish look to salvage the series on Saturday

The weekend series has not gone like Notre Dame baseball had planned, as the series wraps up against NC State as the Irish look to salvage one game from the series.

On Thursday night, Notre Dame was blown out, 10-0 as the game was cut short in the 8th inning due to the run rule. The Irish looked to bounce back on Friday night, but failed to do so, falling 7-6 as their comeback bid fell short.

Notre Dame led 3-1 after four innings only to see the Wolfpack score 4 runs in the 6th and a single run in the seventh. The Irish would respond with three to tie the game at 6, but the home team had some magic in the bottom of the ninth and won the contest.

The loss puts Notre Dame season record at 14-11, a dismal 2-9 in ACC play. The series concludes on Saturday afternoon at 3:00 p.m. EST.

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Duke beats higher-seeded team for the first time in three decades

The Blue Devils ended a three-decade program streak when they took down No. 1 Houston on Friday night.

Duke did more than book a ticket to the Elite Eight on Friday night.

When the final buzzer sounded and Duke put the finishing touches on a 54-51 victory over No. 1 Houston, it marked the first time that the Blue Devils had defeated a higher-seeded team in the NCAA Tournament since 1994.

The last time the Blue Devils had defeated a higher-ranked team in March Madness, Grant Hill helped Duke past top-ranked Purdue in the Elite Eight.

Granted, Duke had been the higher-ranked team in a lot of its games since. The Blue Devils had only been the lower-ranked team in five tournament games since that win over the Boilermakers. But a trend broken is a trend broken either way.

Duke faces its third double-digit seed of the tournament on Sunday when it faces No. 11 NC State, the same team that upset them in the ACC Tournament.