2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team

The 2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team represented North Carolina State University during the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Wolfpack were led by seventh-year head coach Kevin Keatts and played their home games at PNC Arena in Raleigh, North Carolina as members of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).

2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
NCAA tournament South Regional Champions,
ACC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
ConferenceAtlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
CoachesNo. 13
APNo. 10
Record26–15 (9–11 ACC)
Head coach
Assistant coaches
Home arenaPNC Arena
Seasons
2023–24 ACC men's basketball standings
Conf Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 7 North Carolina 17 3   .850 29 8   .784
No. 9 Duke 15 5   .750 27 9   .750
Virginia 13 7   .650 23 11   .676
Pittsburgh 12 8   .600 22 11   .667
Wake Forest 11 9   .550 21 14   .600
No. 14 Clemson 11 9   .550 24 12   .667
Syracuse 11 9   .550 20 12   .625
Virginia Tech 10 10   .500 19 15   .559
Florida State 10 10   .500 17 16   .515
No. 10 NC State 9 11   .450 26 15   .634
Boston College 8 12   .400 20 16   .556
Notre Dame 7 13   .350 13 20   .394
Georgia Tech 7 13   .350 14 18   .438
Miami (FL) 6 14   .300 15 17   .469
Louisville 3 17   .150 8 24   .250
2024 ACC tournament winner
Rankings from AP Poll

The Wolfpack finished the regular season on an uninspiring four-game losing streak, consequently posting a regular season record of 17–14 (9–11 in conference play) and slumping to the ACC tournament as the 10th seed. They then went on a miraculous run in the ACC tournament, winning five games in the span of five days (including a victory over ACC regular season champion and rival North Carolina) to win their first ACC tournament since 1987. They became the first team to win their conference tournament with five wins in five days since the 2010–11 Connecticut Huskies (of the Big East) and the second team overall to do it since the NCAA tournament began in 1939.[1] This is the first time the Wolfpack made the NCAA tournament in consecutive years since they made the 2014 and 2015 tournament.

Earning an #11 seed in the South region of the NCAA tournament, they continued their Cinderella run from the ACC tournament by defeating #6 Texas Tech in the first round, #14 Oakland in overtime in the second round, #2 Marquette in the Sweet Sixteen, and their ACC rivals #4 Duke in the Elite Eight. The Wolfpack made their first Final Four appearance since 1983 as a result, having won nine straight games since the end of the regular season. They became the sixth #11 seed to reach the Final Four and the first since UCLA in 2021. Their miraculous run came to an end with a Final Four loss to Purdue, closing their season with a 26–15 record.

Previous season

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The Wolfpack finished the 2022–23 season 23–11, 12–8 in ACC play to finish in sixth place. They defeated Virginia Tech before losing to Clemson in the ACC tournament. They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 11 seed in the South region. There they lost to Creighton in the first round.

Offseason

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Departures

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Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for Departure
Terquavion Smith 0 G 6'4" 165 Sophomore Greenville, NC Declare for 2023 NBA draft/undrafted; signed with the Philadelphia 76ers[2]
Jarkel Joiner 1 G 6'1" 180 GS Senior Oxford, MS Graduated
Isaiah Miranda 3 F 7'1" 205 Freshman Pawtucket, RI Transferred to Oklahoma State
Jack Clark 5 G 6'8" 200 RS Senior Wyncote, PA Graduate transferred to Clemson[3]
Dusan Mahorcic 11 F 6'10" 225 RS Senior Belgrade, Serbia Graduate transferred to Duquesne[4]
Chase Graham 12 G 6'1" 180 Senior Raleigh, NC Walk-on; Graduated
Ebenezer Dowuona 21 F 6'11" 225 Junior Accra, Ghana Transferred to Georgia Tech[5]
Greg Gantt 23 F 6'8" 215 RS Junior Fayetteville, NC Transferred to UNC Asheville[6]

Incoming transfers

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Incoming Transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous School
DJ Horne 0 G 6'1" 175 GS Senior Raleigh, NC Arizona State[7]
Jayden Taylor 1 G 6'4" 195 Junior Indianapolis, IN Butler[8]
Kam Woods 2 G 6'2" 185 Junior Bessemer, AL North Carolina A&T[9]
M. J. Rice 3 G 6'5" 200 Sophomore Durham, NC Kansas[10]
Michael O'Connell 12 G 6'2" 195 Senior Mineola, NY Stanford[11]
Mohamed Diarra 23 F 6'10" 215 Senior Paris, France Missouri[12]
Ben Middlebrooks 34 F/C 6'10" 232 Junior Fort Lauderdale, FL Clemson[13]

2023 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for high school athletes
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Dennis Parker Jr.
#31 SF
Richmond, VA John Marshall High School 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Oct 26, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 81
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals.com.

2024 recruiting class

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US college sports recruiting information for 2024 recruits
Name Hometown High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Paul McNeil
#15 SF
Rockingham, NC Richmond Senior High School 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Feb 20, 2023 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 87
Tremayne Parker
#26 SG
Atlanta, GA Overtime Elite 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 166 lb (75 kg) Nov 16, 2022 
Recruiting star ratings: Rivals:    247Sports:     ESPN:    ESPN grade: 82
Overall recruiting rankings:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

Roster

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2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Weight Year Previous school Hometown
G 0 DJ Horne 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 175 lb (79 kg) GS Trinity Academy
Arizona State
Raleigh, North Carolina
G 1 Jayden Taylor 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Jr Perry Meridian
Butler
Indianapolis, IN
G 2 Kam Woods 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 185 lb (84 kg) So Pinson Valley
North Carolina A&T
Bessemer, Alabama
G 3 M. J. Rice 6 ft 5 in (1.96 m) 215 lb (98 kg) So Prolific Prep (CA)
Kansas
Henderson, North Carolina
G 4 LJ Thomas 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 205 lb (93 kg) So Bull Durham Prep (NC) Plant City, Florida
G 10 Breon Pass 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 175 lb (79 kg) Jr Reidsville Reidsville, North Carolina
G 11 Dennis Parker Jr. 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) 205 lb (93 kg) Fr John Marshall Richmond, Virginia
G 12 Michael O'Connell 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 195 lb (88 kg) Sr Blair Academy
Stanford
Mineola, New York
G 13 KJ Keatts (W) 5 ft 10 in (1.78 m) 165 lb (75 kg) So Grace Christian School Cary, North Carolina
G 14 Casey Morsell 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) 200 lb (91 kg) GS St. John's College
Virginia
Fort Washington, Maryland
G 20 Alex Nunnally (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 180 lb (82 kg) Jr Cary Academy Cary, North Carolina
G 22 Jordan Snell (W) 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 155 lb (70 kg) So Panther Creek Cary, North Carolina
F 23 Mohamed Diarra 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 215 lb (98 kg) Jr Redemption Academy (NY)
Missouri
Paris, France
F 24 Ernest Ross 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 200 lb (91 kg) Jr Santa Fe Alachua, Florida
F 30 D. J. Burns 6 ft 9 in (2.06 m) 275 lb (125 kg) GS York Preparatory Academy
Winthrop
Rock Hill, South Carolina
F 34 Ben Middlebrooks 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 240 lb (109 kg) Jr Westminster Academy
Clemson
Fort Lauderdale, Florida
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)

Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

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Date
time, TV
Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
November 1, 2023*
7:00 p.m.
Mount Olive W 89–79 
 14  Morsell   7  Tied   3  Tied  PNC Arena (–)
Raleigh, NC
Regular season
November 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
The Citadel W 72–59  1–0
 14  Morsell   7  Tied   3  Tied  PNC Arena (12,488)
Raleigh, NC
November 10, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Abilene Christian W 84–64  2–0
 22  Taylor   10  Diarra   4  Burns  PNC Arena (12,554)
Raleigh, NC
November 17, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Charleston Southern W 87–53  3–0
 18  Horne   6  Horne   4  Taylor  PNC Arena (12,331)
Raleigh, NC
November 23, 2023*
10:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. Vanderbilt
Vegas Showdown semifinals
W 84–78  4–0
 18  Tied   9  Tied   4  Tied  Michelob Ultra Arena 
Paradise, NV
November 24, 2023*
10:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. BYU
Vegas Showdown
L 86–95  4–1
 28  Morsell   7  Burns   4  Burns  Michelob Ultra Arena (2,647)
Paradise, NV
November 28, 2023*
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Ole Miss
ACC–SEC Challenge
L 52–72  4–2
 13  Middlebrooks   11  Middlebrooks   4  Thomas  SJB Pavilion (7,465)
Oxford, MS
December 2, 2023
4:00 p.m., ACCN
at Boston College W 84–78 OT 5–2
(1–0)
 21  Horne   18  Diarra   5  Horne  Conte Forum (5,249)
Chestnut Hill, MA
December 6, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Maryland Eastern Shore W 93–61  6–2
 21  Taylor   6  Rice   4  Horne  Reynolds Coliseum (5,500)
Raleigh, NC
December 12, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCN
UT Martin W 81–67  7–2
 22  Horne   12  Burns   4  Burns  PNC Arena (11,326)
Raleigh, NC
December 16, 2023*
10:00 p.m., ESPN2
vs. No. 12 Tennessee
Basketball Hall of Fame San Antonio
L 70–79  7–3
 16  Horne   5  Burns   5  Burns  Frost Bank Center (2,481)
San Antonio, TX
December 20, 2023*
7:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+
Saint Louis W 82–70  8–3
 21  Morsell   7  Parker   3  Burns  PNC Arena (12,555)
Raleigh, NC
December 23, 2023*
1:00 p.m., ACCN
Detroit Mercy W 83–66  9–3
 26  Horne   7  Tied   6  Tied  PNC Arena (12,594)
Raleigh, NC
January 3, 2024
9:00 p.m., ACCN
at Notre Dame W 54–52  10–3
(2–0)
 13  Burns   6  Diarra   2  Burns  Joyce Center (4,727)
South Bend, IN
January 6, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN
Virginia W 76–60  11–3
(3–0)
 15  Tied   7  Middlebrooks   5  O'Connell  PNC Arena (14,821)
Raleigh, NC
January 10, 2024
8:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 7 North Carolina
Rivalry
L 54–67  11–4
(3–1)
 12  Morsell   10  Horne   4  Horne  PNC Arena (19,500)
Raleigh, NC
January 13, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
at Louisville W 89–83  12–4
(4–1)
 27  Horne   11  Diarra   6  O'Connell  KFC Yum! Center (12,114)
Louisville, KY
January 16, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
Wake Forest
Rivalry
W 83–76  13–4
(5–1)
 21  Horne   13  Diarra   3  Horne  PNC Arena (13,836)
Raleigh, NC
January 20, 2024
12:00 p.m., The CW
Virginia Tech L 78–84  13–5
(5–2)
 19  Morsell   8  Diarra   5  O'Connell  PNC Arena (15,580)
Raleigh, NC
January 24, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Virginia L 53–59 OT 13–6
(5–3)
 13  Morsell   8  Diarra   2  Tied  John Paul Jones Arena (13,947)
Charlottesville, VA
January 27, 2024
7:00 p.m., ACCN
at Syracuse L 65–77  13–7
(5–4)
 15  Horne   7  Parker Jr.   4  Horne  JMA Wireless Dome (21,814)
Syracuse, NY
January 30, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
Miami (FL) W 74–68  14–7
(6–4)
 24  Horne   7  Taylor   5  O'Connell  PNC Arena (12,194)
Raleigh, NC
February 3, 2024
5:30 p.m., The CW
Georgia Tech W 82–76  15–7
(7–4)
 26  Horne   10  Burns   6  O'Connell  PNC Arena (15,523)
Raleigh, NC
February 7, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPNU
Pittsburgh L 64–67  15–8
(7–5)
 25  Horne   5  Tied   4  O'Connell  PNC Arena (11,366)
Raleigh, NC
February 10, 2024
4:00 p.m., ACCN
at Wake Forest
Rivalry
L 79–83  15–9
(7–6)
 31  Horne   12  Diarra   5  Taylor  LJVM Coliseum (12,571)
Winston-Salem, NC
February 17, 2024
7:45 p.m., The CW
at Clemson W 78–77  16–9
(8–6)
 27  Horne   9  Diarra   4  Burns  Littlejohn Coliseum (9,000)
Clemson, SC
February 20, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
Syracuse L 83–87  16–10
(8–7)
 32  Horne   10  Middlebrooks   4  Burns  PNC Arena (12,766)
Raleigh, NC
February 24, 2024
2:00 p.m., ACCN
Boston College W 81–70  17–10
(9–7)
 19  Burns   9  Tied   6  O'Connell  PNC Arena (14,642)
Raleigh, NC
February 27, 2024
9:00 p.m., ESPN2
at Florida State L 83–90  17–11
(9–8)
 24  Taylor   10  Diarra   6  Morsell  Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (4,727)
Tallahassee, FL
March 2, 2024
4:00 p.m., ESPN
at No. 9 North Carolina
Rivalry
L 70–79  17–12
(9–9)
 22  Taylor   8  Diarra   3  Morsell  Dean Smith Center (21,750)
Chapel Hill, NC
March 4, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
No. 9 Duke L 64–79  17–13
(9–10)
 27  Burns   7  Diarra   4  Burns  PNC Arena (19,500)
Raleigh, NC
March 9, 2024
7:45 p.m., The CW
at Pittsburgh L 73–81  17–14
(9–11)
 28  Taylor   9  Diarra   4  Burns  Petersen Events Center (10,700)
Pittsburgh, PA
ACC tournament
March 12, 2024
4:30 p.m., ACCN
(10) vs. (15) Louisville
First Round
W 94–85  18–14
 25  Morsell   8  Taylor   3  Tied  Capital One Arena (7,523)
Washington, D.C.
March 13, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN2
(10) vs. (7) Syracuse
Second Round
W 83–65  19–14
 18  Taylor   14  Diarra   6  Diarra  Capital One Arena (13,445)
Washington, D.C.
March 14, 2024
7:00 p.m., ESPN
(10) vs. (2) No. 11 Duke
Quarterfinals
W 74–69  20–14
 18  Horne   16  Diarra   4  Tied  Capital One Arena (17,627)
Washington, D.C.
March 15, 2024
9:30 p.m., ESPN2
(10) vs. (3) Virginia
Semifinals
W 73–65 OT 21–14
 19  Burns   12  Diarra   3  O'Connell  Capital One Arena (18,722)
Washington, D.C.
March 16, 2024
8:30 p.m., ESPN
(10) vs. (1) No. 4 North Carolina
Championship
W 84–76  22–14
 29  Horne   14  Diarra   7  Burns  Capital One Arena (19,218)
Washington, D.C.
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2024*
9:40 p.m., CBS
(11 S) vs. (6 S) No. 22 Texas Tech
First Round
W 80–67  23–14
 21  Middlebrooks   12  Diarra   6  O'Connell  PPG Paints Arena (18,586)
Pittsburgh, PA
March 23, 2024*
7:10 p.m., TBS/truTV
(11 S) vs. (14 S) Oakland
Second Round
W 79–73 OT 24–14
 24  Burns   13  Diarra   8  O'Connell  PPG Paints Arena (18,595)
Pittsburgh, PA
March 29, 2024*
7:09 p.m., CBS
(11 S) vs. (2 S) No. 8 Marquette
Sweet Sixteen
W 67–58  25–14
 19  Horne   15  Diarra   7  Burns  American Airlines Center (18,751)
Dallas, TX
March 31, 2024*
5:05 p.m., CBS
(11 S) vs. (4 S) No. 13 Duke
Elite Eight
W 76–64  26–14
 29  Burns   11  O’Connell   6  O’Connell  American Airlines Center (16,969)
Dallas, TX
April 6, 2024
6:09 p.m., TBS
(11 S) vs. (1 MW) No. 3 Purdue
Final Four
L 50–63  26–15
 20  Horne   7  Middlebrooks   4  Burns  State Farm Stadium (74,720)
Glendale, AZ
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
S=South region. MW=Midwest Region.
All times are in Eastern Time.

Source[14]

Rankings

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Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRVRVRVRV10
CoachesRVRVRVRV13

References

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  1. ^ https://www.cbssports.com/college-basketball/news/nc-state-stuns-north-carolina-wins-acc-tournament-behind-d-j-burns-jr-dj-horne-and-an-unshakeable-spirit/
  2. ^ "Ricky Council IV and Terquavion Smith Signed to Two-Way Contracts". nba.com. Philadelphia 76ers. July 1, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  3. ^ Long, Christina (April 18, 2023). "Clemson basketball lands Jack Clark, an NC State transfer guard". greenvilleonline.com. The Greenville News. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  4. ^ Vukovcan, Mike (May 20, 2023). "Duquesne Dukes add NC State transfer forward Dusan Mahorcic". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  5. ^ "Transfer Ebenezer Dowuona Inks Grant-in-Aid with Tech". ramblinwreck.com. Georgia Tech Athletics. April 19, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  6. ^ "Men's Basketball Adds NC State Transfer Greg Gantt". uncabulldogs.com. UNC Asheville Athletics. April 25, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  7. ^ "Transfer DJ Horne Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  8. ^ "Transfer Jayden Taylor Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. April 12, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  9. ^ "Transfer Kam Woods Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. June 16, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  10. ^ "NC State basketball portal haul continues as Kansas transfer is joining Wolfpack". The News & Observer. April 19, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  11. ^ "Transfer Michael O'Connell Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. May 23, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  12. ^ "Transfer Mohamed Diarra Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. May 1, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
  13. ^ Wiseman, Steve (April 18, 2023). "A transfer portal trade? Not exactly, but NC State, Clemson basketball swap players". newsobserver.com. The News & Observer. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
  14. ^ "2023–2024 Schedule". Go Pack. North Carolina State University Athletics. Retrieved August 27, 2023.