All double-digit seeds in the tournament did not make it to the Sweet 16 this March, except for one team that might be the hottest in college basketball. Led by the two leading scorers of the regular season DJ Horne and DJ Burns Jr, the Wolfpack weren’t even expected to make the NCAA tournament.
They were in the first round of the ACC tournament, which is not a good sign because the ACC tournament grants the first eight seeds a bye for the first round. In terms of chances to be in the March Madness tournament following this poor seeding, North Carolina State would need to win the entire ACC tournament to get an automatic bid into the big one.
That’s exactly what NC State did, beating Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia, and North Carolina, five total teams in five days. They have not lost since, as they entered the NCAA Tournament as an 11 seed and beat 6-seeded Texas Tech as well as 14-seeded Oakland.
Awaiting them on March 28 in the Sweet 16 is the number two seed Marquette Golden Eagles, their biggest test so far on this winning streak.
“I’ve been saying it, you know; welcome back!” Burns Jr. said in an interview after the game against Oakland. “They didn’t believe in us, and they probably still don’t, but that doesn’t matter to us, we’re still gonna stay together.”
According to FanDuel’s Championship odds, they currently have the worst betting odds at +11000. For reference, the UConn Huskies are the betting favorites at only +220, a staggering difference between the two schools.
But for the Wolfpack, they have been the underdog all season long, and they are still here, fighting for a chance to reach the Final Four. It won’t be easy but given DJ Burns Jr’s comments after their impressive victory over Oakland, they seem to have fully embraced the underdog mentality.