{"id":6224,"date":"2024-10-28T11:25:47","date_gmt":"2024-10-28T15:25:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/?p=6224"},"modified":"2025-01-06T11:28:05","modified_gmt":"2025-01-06T16:28:05","slug":"what-a-ride","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/2024\/what-a-ride\/","title":{"rendered":"What a Ride"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\n\n\n

WHAT A RIDE. Memorial Auditorium and the Shimmer Wall sculpture downtown were bathed in red. Heck, if Raleigh had an Empire State Building, it would\u2019ve been lit red, too. After all, as our men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams made their glorious runs to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, The New York Times<\/em> called Raleigh \u201cthe new epicenter of college basketball.\u201d Raleigh\u2009\u2014\u2009not the Triangle, not Chapel Hill, not Durham. Raleigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It started in March. Going into the ACC tournament, the Wolfpack men had lost four straight games to end their regular season. Prospects for the post-season seemed dim. But the team won five games in five days to take home the trophy, beating both Duke and Carolina along the way. That earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament\u2009\u2014\u2009and then, and then, the guys went on to win four more games to make it to the Final Four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"NC State<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"NC State<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Kevin
There were plenty of hugs and lots of confetti\u2009\u2014\u2009not to mention a countless number of wolf signs\u2009\u2014\u2009to celebrate wins by the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Wes Moore, head coach of the women\u2019s team, even hugged the trophy his team got for winning their NCAA regional, while junior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers expressed their joy with a chest bump.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Aziaha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"NC State<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"NC State<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Wes<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The Wolfpack women had started their season unranked, but quickly won 15 games in a row. They took off in March, going on to chart their own path to the Final Four. By then, the phrase \u201cWhy not us?\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009first used by star guard DJ Horne during the ACC tournament\u2009\u2014\u2009turned into \u201cWhy not both?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NC State
Fans thronged to Hillsborough Street and the Talley Student Union to watch the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams, respectively, as they competed in the Final Four. It was the first time the men\u2019s team had made it to the Final Four since 1983, and the first trip to the Final Four for the women\u2019s team since 1998\u2009\u2014\u2009putting the Wolfpack back on the map in college basketball. \u201cIt\u2019s the most amazing thing I\u2019ve ever seen in basketball,\u201d said Jay Bilas, former Duke player and longtime ESPN basketball analyst, talking about the men\u2019s streak through the ACC and NCAA tournaments.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Students<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Technician<\/em> used those words on the cover of a special edition heading into Final Four weekend. The paper quadrupled its press run, and lines stretched around campus as students and fans waited to get their copy. T-shirts were churned out, and Wolfpack Outfitters was swamped. An Applebee\u2019s in north Raleigh turned into a mob scene when Horne and the tournament\u2019s folk hero, DJ Burns Jr., showed up to sign autographs and pose for pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into Final Four weekend, Wolfpack alumni and fans all over the country scheduled game watches. Hours before the men\u2019s game against Purdue, the city of Raleigh closed off Hillsborough Street to traffic. Mitch\u2019s Tavern erected a giant screen at the corner of Horne Street\u2009\u2014\u2009or is that DJ Horne Street? \u2014\u2009so the throngs could watch the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"NC State<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"DJ<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"NC State
DJ Horne signed autographs as the team bus returned to Raleigh, James and freshman forward Maddie Cox did a little dance, and fans waved signs for a couple of magical weeks that NC State fans will long remember.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Aziaha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Wolfpack<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Fans<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The runs for both teams ended at the Final Four. Purdue proved too much for the men\u2019s team, and in the women\u2019s tournament, undefeated South Carolina bested the Wolfpack. Jayden Taylor, a junior guard, was asked how he\u2019d like the postseason to be remembered. \u201cWe made people believe,\u201d he said.\u201d Like, we gave people hope. Through all the noise, we still ended up in the Final Four. … No matter what, you can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to our contributing photographers. They are: Hallie Walker and Cate Humphreys from the <\/em>Technician; Ethan Hyman from the <\/em>News & Observer; Becky Kirkland, NC State, Chris Seward \u201980, John Hansen (\u00a9John Hansen Photography) and the photographers from the Department of Athletics<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false,"raw":"\n\n\n\n\n

WHAT A RIDE. Memorial Auditorium and the Shimmer Wall sculpture downtown were bathed in red. Heck, if Raleigh had an Empire State Building, it would\u2019ve been lit red, too. After all, as our men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams made their glorious runs to the Final Four in the NCAA tournament, The New York Times<\/em> called Raleigh \u201cthe new epicenter of college basketball.\u201d Raleigh\u2009\u2014\u2009not the Triangle, not Chapel Hill, not Durham. Raleigh.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It started in March. Going into the ACC tournament, the Wolfpack men had lost four straight games to end their regular season. Prospects for the post-season seemed dim. But the team won five games in five days to take home the trophy, beating both Duke and Carolina along the way. That earned them a spot in the NCAA tournament\u2009\u2014\u2009and then, and then, the guys went on to win four more games to make it to the Final Four.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"NC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"NC<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Kevin
There were plenty of hugs and lots of confetti\u2009\u2014\u2009not to mention a countless number of wolf signs\u2009\u2014\u2009to celebrate wins by the men\u2019s and women\u2019s basketball teams in the ACC and NCAA tournaments. Wes Moore, head coach of the women\u2019s team, even hugged the trophy his team got for winning their NCAA regional, while junior guards Aziaha James and Saniya Rivers expressed their joy with a chest bump.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Aziaha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"NC<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"NC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Wes<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The Wolfpack women had started their season unranked, but quickly won 15 games in a row. They took off in March, going on to chart their own path to the Final Four. By then, the phrase \u201cWhy not us?\u201d\u2009\u2014\u2009first used by star guard DJ Horne during the ACC tournament\u2009\u2014\u2009turned into \u201cWhy not both?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"NC
Fans thronged to Hillsborough Street and the Talley Student Union to watch the men\u2019s and women\u2019s teams, respectively, as they competed in the Final Four. It was the first time the men\u2019s team had made it to the Final Four since 1983, and the first trip to the Final Four for the women\u2019s team since 1998\u2009\u2014\u2009putting the Wolfpack back on the map in college basketball. \u201cIt\u2019s the most amazing thing I\u2019ve ever seen in basketball,\u201d said Jay Bilas, former Duke player and longtime ESPN basketball analyst, talking about the men\u2019s streak through the ACC and NCAA tournaments.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Students<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Technician<\/em> used those words on the cover of a special edition heading into Final Four weekend. The paper quadrupled its press run, and lines stretched around campus as students and fans waited to get their copy. T-shirts were churned out, and Wolfpack Outfitters was swamped. An Applebee\u2019s in north Raleigh turned into a mob scene when Horne and the tournament\u2019s folk hero, DJ Burns Jr., showed up to sign autographs and pose for pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Heading into Final Four weekend, Wolfpack alumni and fans all over the country scheduled game watches. Hours before the men\u2019s game against Purdue, the city of Raleigh closed off Hillsborough Street to traffic. Mitch\u2019s Tavern erected a giant screen at the corner of Horne Street\u2009\u2014\u2009or is that DJ Horne Street? \u2014\u2009so the throngs could watch the game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n
\"NC<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"DJ<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"NC
DJ Horne signed autographs as the team bus returned to Raleigh, James and freshman forward Maddie Cox did a little dance, and fans waved signs for a couple of magical weeks that NC State fans will long remember.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Aziaha<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Wolfpack<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n
\n
\"Fans<\/figure>\n<\/section>\n\n\n\n

The runs for both teams ended at the Final Four. Purdue proved too much for the men\u2019s team, and in the women\u2019s tournament, undefeated South Carolina bested the Wolfpack. Jayden Taylor, a junior guard, was asked how he\u2019d like the postseason to be remembered. \u201cWe made people believe,\u201d he said.\u201d Like, we gave people hope. Through all the noise, we still ended up in the Final Four. ... No matter what, you can do anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thank you to our contributing photographers. They are: Hallie Walker and Cate Humphreys from the <\/em>Technician; Ethan Hyman from the <\/em>News & Observer; Becky Kirkland, NC State, Chris Seward \u201980, John Hansen (\u00a9John Hansen Photography) and the photographers from the Department of Athletics<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n"},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the 2024 \u2013 25 basketball season set to tip off, NC State magazine takes a look back at the Wolfpack teams\u2019 historic March Madness runs last spring.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":6226,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"views\/single-immersive.blade.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"source":"","ncst_custom_author":"","ncst_show_custom_author":false,"ncst_dynamicHeaderBlockName":"ncst\/default-immersive-post-header","ncst_dynamicHeaderData":"{\"backgroundColor\":\"gray_600\",\"displayCategoryID\":9,\"showAuthor\":true,\"showDate\":true,\"showFeaturedVideo\":false,\"subtitle\":\"With the 2024 \u2013 25 basketball season set to tip off, NC State<\/em> magazine takes a look back at the Wolfpack teams\u2019 historic March Madness runs last spring.\"}","ncst_content_audit_freq":"","ncst_content_audit_date":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5,8,9],"tags":[1330,1682,1656,1666,1664,246,1661,1658,1665,1640,1663,521,1660,1670,1667,1659,1662,1652,1653,808,1655,1657,1654,1339,1130,1251],"_ncst_magazine_issue":[],"class_list":["post-6224","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-best-bets","category-newswire","category-stories","tag-acc-tournament","tag-autumn-2024-feature","tag-aziaha-james","tag-becky-kirkland","tag-cate-humphreys","tag-chris-seward","tag-dj-burns-jr","tag-dj-horne","tag-ethan-hyman","tag-final-four","tag-hallie-walker","tag-hillsborough-street","tag-jay-bilas","tag-jayden-taylor","tag-john-hansen","tag-kevin-keatts","tag-maddie-cox","tag-march-madness","tag-memorial-auditorium","tag-mitchs-tavern","tag-ncaa-tournament","tag-saniya-rivers","tag-shimmer-wall","tag-talley-student-union","tag-technician","tag-wes-moore"],"displayCategory":{"term_id":9,"name":"Stories","slug":"stories","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":9,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":260,"filter":"raw"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6224","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6224"}],"version-history":[{"count":26,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6224\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6293,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6224\/revisions\/6293"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6224"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6224"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6224"},{"taxonomy":"_ncst_magazine_issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magazine.ncsu.edu\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/_ncst_magazine_issue?post=6224"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}