# 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). The NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team drew an average home attendance of 13,491 in 17 games in 2023-24.
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. This is the first time the Wolfpack made the NCAA tournament in consecutive years since they made the 2014 and 2015 tournament.
Receiving 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

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
### Departures

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 |
| 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 |
| Dusan Mahorcic | 11 | F | 6'10" | 225 | RS Senior | Belgrade, Serbia | Graduate transferred to Duquesne |
| 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 |
| Greg Gantt | 23 | F | 6'8" | 215 | RS Junior | Fayetteville, NC | Transferred to UNC Asheville |

### Incoming transfers

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

### 2023 recruiting class

College recruiting information :
| 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 |
| 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

College recruiting information (2024) :
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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: "2024 Team Ranking". Rivals.com. |||||||

## Schedule and results

| 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

## Rankings

Ranking movements Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking — = Not ranked RV = Received votes :
| | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week | Week |
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | Final |
| AP | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 10 |
| Coaches | — | RV | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | RV | 13 |