NC State carving its own space with March Madness run in shadow of Duke, North Carolina

DALLAS — For the last 40 years, North Carolina State has arguably been the most difficult job in college basketball.

It’s not a resource thing because NC State has had more than enough to win. It’s not a fan base thing because this is one of the few schools in America that can regularly fill a 19,000-seat arena. And it’s not a history thing because NC State has had some of the sport’s most iconic teams and personalities, forever linked to Jim Valvano and one of the great upsets in the sport’s history to beat Houston for the the 1983 national title. 

But for more than a generation, NC State has undeniably been the third wheel in a rivalry between Duke and North Carolina that largely defined college basketball from the mid-1980s all the way until Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski’s final game against the Tar Heels at the 2022 Final Four. 

In this case, three has truly been a crowd − and four fired coaches before Kevin Keatts have the scars to prove it. 

"I think like any place, you have to carve your own space," Keatts said on Saturday, one day before his Wolfpack team plays Duke with a chance to reach the Final Four for the first time in 41 years. "I’m into ‘Shark Tank,’ and I watch that show all the time. They talk about having shelf space and how do you get your product on the shelf?

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"The one thing I always said when I took this job, I never wanted to be compared to Duke or Carolina. We do things a little bit different. I try to get our guys to be the best version of themselves and our program to be the best version of itself." 

For NC State, the last few weeks has shown all of us what that looks like. On March 12, the Wolfpack were a 17-14 basketball team playing on the first day of the ACC tournament − and trailing woeful Louisville at halftime. 

A mere 17 days and eight wins later, NC State players were lined up on the court at American Airlines Center after beating Marquette, posing in an exaggerated shrug as if to say, "Why not us?"

Throughout this run for NC State, much of the focus has been on history and the potential parallels to 1983 when Valvano’s team won it all as an unlikely No. 6 seed. On Saturday, most of that talk turned to rivalry as the schools are just 25 minutes apart and have played each other 160 times in men’s basketball (Duke has a 96-64 edge).

"Growing up as a player and coach at Duke, you learn very quickly it’s the best area for college basketball," Blue Devils coach Jon Scheyer said. "When you have the triangle, but then add in Wake Forest all within an hour of each other, I think that’s unique. We’ve always had big-time games against them." 

But realistically, there’s only been room for two at the top. 

And the inability to hang in that tier with Duke and North Carolina has been a definitive part of the NC State experience for a long, long time. 

Les Robinson couldn’t live up to that standard. Herb Sendek had 10 years and a decent amount of success but ultimately couldn’t make a dent in the power structure. Sidney Lowe was a complete disaster. Mark Gottfried had some moments, but that’s all they were. 

In any other context given the fan base, the passion for basketball and the ability to recruit from in a talent-rich area of the country, NC State should be one of the best coaching jobs in the country. But even if Keatts doesn’t want to be compared to Duke or UNC, that’s impossible given the closeness of the three schools − and it’s proven to be a constant uphill battle.

But maybe the equation is changing. 

The retirements of Krzyzewski and Roy Williams have inevitably brought the rivalry temperature down. And Keatts, having now had the opportunity to establish his program over the last seven years, is finally carving out that shelf space he talks about. 

"When I took over this program, they were coming off four wins in the conference," he said. "Right before my first practice, it was mentioned the FBI is investigating us. I went through four years of not getting recruits, losing recruits, not knowing what the NCAA was going to do to us. And we did it. We walked the program through it as champions and never complained. We had some bad luck. And it’s now paying off at the end because we have built a program."

Keats is right about one thing: He didn’t just inherit the typical NC State inferiority that his predecessors had to fight against, he had to clean up shrapnel from the FBI investigation into college basketball that was ultimately resolved in December 2022 with some minor penalties for the school. 

Still, that’s a long time to coach under a cloud of uncertainty. And it nearly got Keatts onto the hot seat this year. Had NC State lost that ACC tournament opener to Louisville, he may well have been remembered as just one more fired Wolfpack coach who couldn’t hack it in the shadow of Duke and UNC.

Now he has a chance to beat one of the Tobacco Road titans and bring NC State back to the mountaintop. But even if he can’t do it Sunday, Keatts has already injected a confidence into a fan base and school that hasn’t had the easiest four decades. Maybe the pendulum is starting to swing back just a little bit. 

"We’re on this nice run because we’ve carved space out," Keatts said. "And we’re doing things our way and not trying to be someone else. We’ve done a good job. We’re (ACC) champions, and that’s something you want to strive to be and we still have another opportunity to win another championship and another tournament. This is great for our fan base because I know they get involved with it as much as anybody. But I love where we’re at and love what we’re doing as a program."