Kevin Keatts lands $50k bonus for advancing to Sweet 16 of NCAA Tournament
It’s been an absolutely wild, magical ride for N.C. State head basketball coach Kevin Keatts. The Wolfpack’s NCAA Tourney hopes seemed all but dead in the closing minute of their ACC Tournament Semifinal matchup with the Virginia Cavaliers. But Mikey O’Connell banked in a miraculous three-pointer at the buzzer, and N.C. State prevailed in overtime. They went on to defeat UNC in the ACC Tournament Championship, officially punching their tickets to the NCAA Tournament.
In their first-round matchup against Texas Tech, the Wolfpack had no problems, prevailing 80-67. And on Saturday, N.C. State punched their tickets to the Sweet Sixteen after they survived an overtime matchup with Jack Gohlke and the pesky Oakland Golden Grizzlies. And in doing so, Keatts landed himself yet another hefty bonus of $50,000. The Wolfpack have now won seven games in 12 days.
Check out the extensive number of bonuses Keatts has landed in the past few weeks.
N.C. State’s game against Oakland was a battle until the end, and the Golden Grizzlies did not go away easily. The Wolfpack managed to outscore them 13-7 in OT to lift them to a 79-73 victory. Oakland sharpshooter Jack Gohlke still managed to put up pretty good numbers, drilling 6 of 17 three-pointers. He finished with 22 points.
N.C. State got a balanced scoring effort from all five starters, getting double digits from all of them. Big man D.J. Burns once again played like the dominant force he’s been the past few weeks for the Pack, stuffing the stat sheet with 24 points and 11 rebounds. He also dished out four assists, showing his remarkable skill as a passer.
Burns became the first NC State player to score 20 points and grab 10 rebounds in an NCAA Tournament game since 1985. Mohamed Diarra also had a double-double, scoring 11 points and grabbing 11 rebounds.
In the Sweet Sixteen, N.C. State will face the winner of the Colorado/Marquette matchup.
Heading into the ACC Tournament, the Wolfpack had lost four straight games and sat at 17-14 overall. They were clearly looking on the outside of the NCAA Tournament. Then they rattled off five straight wins in the ACC Tournament, propelling them to 22-14 overall, and landing Kevin Keatts a $100,000 bonus for winning the ACC Tournament Championship.
He also landed himself a $400,000 raise starting next season, to go along with a two-year contract extension, which pushes his contract to April of 2030.
What a wild ride it’s been for Kevin Keatts and his team. And Wolfpack fans will get to enjoy it for at least another week.