Skimming through some of this final again. Just need to make sure I actually saw what happened lol. State was 100-1 odds to win this. Man! The ACC Tournament shows why it was once nicknamed the granddaddy of all conference tournaments.
This event over the years has given a bunch of teams new life. A lot of Duke teams! I think about the 1980 team, Bill Foster’s last season. Several talented players were still there from the 1978 final four. Gminski, Banks. Duke was actually ranked number one during that season for a few weeks and then injuries hit. Duke ended up the fifth seed and went on a run spanking Carolina by double digits in the semi’s before the dramatic last second win over Maryland in the final.
1988. Duke was on a three game losing streak when Carolina came to Cameron. Duke blew them out by 15, and beat them again a week later for the ACC championship and Duke went on to the Final Four.
2003. The JJ Redick game when State could almost taste it, up 15 and Duke storms back.
2005. After letting the lead slip away in Chapel Hill in a game that saw Carolina cut their own nets down. (Btw David Noel absolutely fouled Ewing that cause that turnover) Duke takes the title over Ga Tech.
2009. The experiment of putting Scheyer at point lead to an ACC championship run and was the starting foundation for a national championship a year later.
2011. Duke’s 19th title. Horrible bad luck losing Kyrie Irving for the ACC season helped Carolina finish 1st. Singler and Smith got revenge with a blowout of the Heels and Harrison Barnes for the Championship.
2017. One of the more injury riddled Duke seasons I can ever remember for a very talented team. At one point 3 of the 4 freshmen were hurt along with experienced upperclassman Jefferson. Duke wins four games in four days to win the championship.
2019. Zion and that damn shoe blowout that led to a knee injury cost Duke a chance to finish first. No Zion for a bunch of games. He comes back for the ACC Tournament and the Heels could not stop him in the semi final.
2023, when John finally got his team healthy he became only the third first year ACC head coach to ever win the ACC championship. (Vic Bubas and Guthridge the other two)
“Tournament basketball is championship basketball” - Everett Case
Reading pack pride last night a little bit kind of hammered home how we as Duke fans take this stuff for granted. So many of their fans had never experienced this before, even though their program has won this event now 11 times. Others pointed out how they were in college in 1987 when they last experienced this and never thought they ever would again. One poster talked about sharing this with his father who is very sick.
No Doubt what NC State did is cemented in ACC lore forever.
Congrats to the 2024 Atlantic Coast Conference Champions - NC State Wolfpack! 🏆
