NC State’s big men propel Pack to first NCAA Tournament win since 2015

PITTSBURGH — Each time NC State graduate forward DJ Burns caught the ball in the post against Texas Tech, the PPG Paints Arena crowd slowly morphed into PNC Arena North. He’d start to dribble and the crowd would grow louder and louder, standing on its feet. 

It didn’t matter if fans were wearing the Pack’s red and white, Kentucky’s blue and white or even Oregon’s green and yellow: a collective “yeahhhh” became deafening. And on most of those possessions, Burns was able to use one of his tricks to finish at the rim. 

Burns, who took social media by storm during the ACC tournament, did so again in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. But this time, he drew the attention of the 18,586 onlookers in the Steel City. 

“Like a folk hero,” NC State coach Kevin Keatts said, smiling. “Everybody in Raleigh knows who DJ is. Now, everybody in America is trying to figure it out.”

Those trips to the post led to 16 points for NC State’s leading big man — who along with the other two posts combined for 54 — to knock off 6-seed Texas Tech 80-67 on Thursday night. That effort helped propel the Wolfpack to the NCAA Tournament’s Round of 32 for the first time since 2015. 

While Burns has become a national sensation, his fellow centers, juniors Ben Middlebrooks and Mohmaed Diarra, have also been pivotal in the Pack’s postseason run. NC State has won six consecutive contests, and the interior has been the most consistent piece to the red and white’s puzzle. 

Diarra brings length and a knack for rebounding, while Middlebrooks is a tough player in the post, willing to scrap for any points. 

“We trust each other,” Diarra said with a grin afterwards. “Tonight was a great game. Our chemistry as a team, everybody was there for everybody. That’s why we played so great tonight. That was a big win.”

Let’s start with Middlebrooks, who scored a career-best 21 points against the Red Raiders. He came off the bench, like usual, and provided an almost consistent instant jolt as a reserve for the Wolfpack. He scored 14 points in just 11 first-half minutes to give the Pack a 4-point lead in the opening period. 

That has become Middlebrooks’ role. He was key in keeping the Wolfpack in the ACC semifinal against Virginia last Friday night in Washington, D.C., and he did the same against Texas Tech. 

“I’ve kind of fallen into my role on this team, really, as an energy bringer,” said Middlebrooks, who logged two blocks and two steals. “When I’m out there, I’m trying to do whatever I can do to bring life to the team and get everyone else going. It seems like today it just bounced back to me.”

While he has recognized his role, so have his teammates. Graduate guard DJ Horne, who scored 16 points in the win over the Red Raiders, noted the same thing.  

“I think Ben has really understood his role on this team and he’s executing that to a T,” Horne said. “He’s not trying to do too much, he’s not trying to do too little. He’s doing just what we need Ben to do.”

Though Middlebrooks brought the spark, Diarra brought the stability in the post. He logged four consecutive double-doubles at the ACC Tournament and Diarra did the same thing in the NCAA Tournament. 

Diarra logged 17 points and 12 rebounds against the Red Raiders. He has been the consistent force on the inside over the last 10 days. For Burns, the Frenchman has been the X-factor over the postseason run.

“If you ask me, he’s had the largest impact for our team,” Burns said. “He’s come in and consistently done scoring and rebounding, which is exactly what our coaches and our team ask of him. For a guy to come in and get his job done consistently at that rate is amazing.”

Diarra has recorded at least 12 rebounds in each of the last five games, including a 16-rebound effort against Duke last Thursday night. 

While the trio of centers have impacted each game in their own way, it has opened the floor for the rest of the roster. Horne had 16, while graduate guard Casey Morsell logged 8 points against Texas Tech. Graduate guard Michael O’Connell had 0 points, but logged a team-best six assists in the victory. 

For O’Connell, the big men have impacted the contests in various ways. 

“I think each one of them has been stepping up in different ways,” O’Connell said. “That’s a big thing for us right now. It’s not always going to be the same guy scoring all the points or getting all the rebounds, but we have a bunch of guys that can do that. Any given night someone’s going to step up and all the bigs stepped up and killed it tonight.”

Going into the contest, the Wolfpack’s big men thought they’d have the advantage. And well, they did. Burns, Diarra and Middlebrooks have all found ways to be productive and they play off each other well. 

That has created a winning recipe for the red and white. 

“I think it adds a different component to our team when we’re able to score with more than myself in the post,” Burns said. “My guys showcasing it like that, it’s going to open up a lot for the guards as the focus comes to us too. It just makes it that much harder to guard us.”

NC State’s post players wanted to score at will, and they did. Now, that set up a NCAA Tournament Round of 32 matchup with 14-seed Oakland on Saturday night at 7:10 p.m. 

But for now, Middlebrooks and the rest of the Wolfpack’s front line were pleased with their ability to dominate in the paint, a 42-20 advantage over the Red Raiders.  

“We didn’t think they could stop us” Middlebrooks said, “and I guess they couldn’t.”