WASHINGTON — DJ Burns Jr. and DJ Horne combined for 49 points to help the unranked N.C. State men’s basketball team (22-14, 9-11 ACC) upset No. 4 UNC (27-7, 17-3 ACC) in the ACC tournament championship, 84-76, at Capital One Arena on Saturday night. This is the Wolfpack's first ACC title win since 1987.
“[We] got to the championship game and came up short,” senior guard RJ Davis, who scored a game-high 30 points, said. “We didn't play our best basketball today. I know that was one of our goals going into the season, but we just came up short.”
To double, or not to double? That was the question for UNC in the early minutes as Burns Jr. went to work over Armando Bacot. A double team freed up N.C. State’s Michael O’Connell and Horne for triples, a one-on-one matchup allowed Burns Jr. a hook-shot jumper in the paint and the Wolfpack led by 10 points after six minutes of play.
Enter Davis, the ACC Player of the Year, who soon knocked down a triple. Then, after some back-and-forth play, a layup. Then a 3-pointer, a stare down of Kevin Keatts and the N.C. State bench, and another 3-pointer from the other side of the court.
“RJ always has great performances,” sophomore guard Seth Trimble said. “He's always carrying our belt in a way.”
Suddenly, the contest was tied at 28-28. New life. New game.
The Tar Heels stayed neck and neck throughout the rest of the period, with Cormac Ryan hitting a 3-pointer to give UNC a one-point advantage heading into halftime.
But N.C. State reestablished its lead through the first six minutes of the second half, with Horne and Burns Jr. doing most of the damage.
“I thought that we would have the most energy because they played five games in five days,” junior forward Harrison Ingram said. “They weren't even warming up and you know, they came out and they hit us in the mouth.”
