2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball team

American college basketball season

2023–24 NC State Wolfpack men's basketball

NCAA tournament South Regional Champions, ACC tournament champions
NCAA tournament, Final Four
Conference	Atlantic Coast Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 13
AP	No. 10
Record	26–15 (9–11 ACC)
Head coach	Kevin Keatts (7th season)
Assistant coaches	Joel Justus Kareem Richardson Levi Watkins Larry Dixon
Home arena	PNC Arena
Seasons← 2022–23 2024–25 →

2023–24 ACC men's basketball standings
v t e	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 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.

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

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
Dennis Parker Jr. #31 SF	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
Paul McNeil #15 SF	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
Tremayne Parker #26 SG	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.

Roster

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

Kevin Keatts (Ferrum)

Assistant coach(es)

Joel Justus (UNC Wilmington)
Kareem Richardson (Evansville)
Levi Watkins (NC State)
Larry Dixon (Johnson C. Smith)

Legend

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

Injured
Current redshirt

Roster

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	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	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	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	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
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

References

http://fs.ncaa.org.s3.amazonaws.com/Docs/stats/m_basketball_RB/Attend.pdf
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/
"Ricky Council IV and Terquavion Smith Signed to Two-Way Contracts". nba.com. Philadelphia 76ers. July 1, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
Long, Christina (April 18, 2023). "Clemson basketball lands Jack Clark, an NC State transfer guard". greenvilleonline.com. The Greenville News. Retrieved August 27, 2023.
Vukovcan, Mike (May 20, 2023). "Duquesne Dukes add NC State transfer forward Dusan Mahorcic". Yahoo!. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Transfer Ebenezer Dowuona Inks Grant-in-Aid with Tech". ramblinwreck.com. Georgia Tech Athletics. April 19, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Men's Basketball Adds NC State Transfer Greg Gantt". uncabulldogs.com. UNC Asheville Athletics. April 25, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Transfer DJ Horne Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. April 20, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Transfer Jayden Taylor Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. April 12, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Transfer Kam Woods Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. June 16, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"NC State basketball portal haul continues as Kansas transfer is joining Wolfpack". The News & Observer. April 19, 2023. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
"Transfer Michael O'Connell Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. May 23, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
"Transfer Mohamed Diarra Joins the Pack". gopack.com. NC State Athletics. May 1, 2023. Retrieved September 7, 2023.
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.
"2023–2024 Schedule". Go Pack. North Carolina State University Athletics. Retrieved August 27, 2023.

v t e NC State Wolfpack men's basketball
Venues	Thompson Gym (1925–1949) Reynolds Coliseum (1949–1999) Lenovo Center (1999–present)
Rivalries	East Carolina North Carolina Wake Forest
Culture & lore	Dixie Classic / Big Four Tobacco Road 1961 gambling scandal 2018 corruption scandal
People	Head coaches NBA players Statistical leaders
Seasons	List of seasons 1910–11 1911–12 1912–13 1913–14 1914–15 1915–16 1916–17 1917–18 1918–19 1919–20 1920–21 1921–22 1922–23 1923–24 1924–25 1925–26 1926–27 1927–28 1928–29 1929–30 1930–31 1931–32 1932–33 1933–34 1934–35 1935–36 1936–37 1937–38 1938–39 1939–40 1940–41 1941–42 1942–43 1943–44 1944–45 1945–46 1946–47 1947–48 1948–49 1949–50 1950–51 1951–52 1952–53 1953–54 1954–55 1955–56 1956–57 1957–58 1958–59 1959–60 1960–61 1961–62 1962–63 1963–64 1964–65 1965–66 1966–67 1967–68 1968–69 1969–70 1970–71 1971–72 1972–73 1973–74 1974–75 1975–76 1976–77 1977–78 1978–79 1979–80 1980–81 1981–82 1982–83 1983–84 1984–85 1985–86 1986–87 1987–88 1988–89 1989–90 1990–91 1991–92 1992–93 1993–94 1994–95 1995–96 1996–97 1997–98 1998–99 1999–2000 2000–01 2001–02 2002–03 2003–04 2004–05 2005–06 2006–07 2007–08 2008–09 2009–10 2010–11 2011–12 2012–13 2013–14 2014–15 2015–16 2016–17 2017–18 2018–19 2019–20 2020–21 2021–22 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25
NCAA national championships in bold; NCAA Final Four appearances in italics

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