After the NC State Wolfpack upset Stanford within the Candy 16, coach Wes Moore arrived on the postgame information convention drenched with slick-back hair and mentioned, “Simply name me Elvis.”
On the finish of his off-day media availability Saturday, Moore reiterated, “Hopefully Elvis will make one other look tomorrow.”
The excellent news for NC State? Elvis has not left the constructing.
The Wolfpack trailed 4-0 within the opening minutes and traded the lead with Texas for almost all of the primary quarter. However they took management of the sport with a 6-0 run close to the tip of the interval, capped off by — you guessed it — a 3-point jumper from Aziaha James and by no means seemed again in a 76-66 victory.
“A flood of feelings and ideas,” Moore mentioned. “I consider Kay Yow, 34 years at NC State, and took this program to a Last 4 in ’98. I consider the gamers two years in the past that have been a double-overtime recreation away from being on this precise spot. So I consider them. After which I consider these gamers, once more, overcoming all of the doubts and questions and simply — Last 4, y’all.
“I imply, that is my thirty fifth 12 months as a head coach, and it’s wonderful.”
The Wolfpack advance to face No. 1 general seed South Carolina within the nationwide semifinals Friday. The 2 groups final met within the 2021-22 season opener, when the Gamecocks gained 66-57 en path to their program’s second nationwide title.
It’s the Wolfpack’s second journey to the Last 4 in program historical past and their first look since 1998. Moore makes it to the nationwide semifinals for the primary time as a part of a Division I program, as his prior look within the last weekend additionally got here in 1998, however as the pinnacle coach of Division II Francis Marion.
As was the case this season, the 1998 Wolfpack squad was unranked within the preseason earlier than making the Last 4. This 2024 iteration of NC State is now the seventh group to make the soar from unranked to nationwide semifinals, and the primary since Washington in 2016.
The Wolfpack obtained there behind James, who adopted up her 25-point second half in opposition to Stanford with 21 within the first half in opposition to the Longhorns, together with a scorching 5 of 5 from 3-point line. Backcourt teammates Saniya Rivers and Zoe Brooks have been capable of repeatedly blow by their defenders off the dribble and kick out to James past the arc, the place the junior didn’t disappoint. She completed with a program-record seven 3-pointers in an NCAA Event recreation.
“She’s actually good off the bounce, so it wasn’t like you may give her one factor,” Shay Holle mentioned about defending James. “It’s not like she performed out of her thoughts, as a result of she’s greater than succesful.”
“(James) is a extremely good participant, and immediately she was excellent,” Texas coach Vic Schaefer mentioned.
A number of 3-pointers additionally got here in transition, because the Longhorns couldn’t sustain with NC State’s velocity within the open courtroom. The trio of Rivers, James and Brooks accomplished various fast-break highlights for 16 first-half transition factors, pushing the tempo to beat their Texas’ measurement in within the half courtroom. The Wolfpack have been outrebounded by 13, however they’d fewer turnovers and shot extra effectively from the sphere to take care of their benefit.
“We’re unstoppable in relation to transition, as Coach Moore says,” James mentioned postgame. “That was our go-to each time, and it was simply working good for us.”
When the tempo slowed within the second half and the Longhorns ran James off the 3-point line, River Baldwin was capable of win her matchup within the paint. She had 12 factors on good taking pictures within the fourth quarter, enjoying as many minutes within the last interval as she did within the first off. Baldwin was efficient posting up in isolation or catching dump-off passes from her driving guards.
NC State is at its finest when it could actually improve the tempo, however Baldwin was a helpful security valve throughout slower stretches. Her 16 factors have been tied for her third-highest scoring whole this season.
“Everytime you get in early foul hassle like that, it’s straightforward to take a look at,” Baldwin mentioned. “Staying locked in mentally and realizing that when your time comes and also you hit the courtroom once more, you want to step up on your teammates and never be caught up in no matter’s happening in your individual head.”
NC State is the one program remaining within the NCAA Event that has by no means performed in a nationwide championship recreation, which now turns into the newest hurdle to beat in what has been a historic season for the Wolfpack. They’ve gained the second-most video games at school historical past, and will tie the 2021-22 group with 32 victories in the event that they hold this journey going till the ultimate day of the season.
They’ve been counted out all season — unranked within the AP ballot to start out and projected to complete eighth within the ACC. As an alternative, they’ve outperformed expectations to get up to now, upsetting their final two opponents and exhibiting no indicators of slowing down.
After their males’s group joined them in advancing to the Last 4 on Sunday, it’s an incredible day for NC State basketball.
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(Picture: Soobum Im / Getty Photographs)