NC State Just Pulled Off One of the Most Improbable Wins in All of College Basketball in 2023-24

NC State just pulled off one of the most improbable wins I’ve ever witnessed, defeating Notre Dame 54-52 on the road, improving to 10-3 overall, and 2-0 in ACC play.

The Wolfpack won a game in which they shot an atrocious 28.8% from the field, and 17.6% from three. It goes without saying that this was the worst shooting game of the season thus far by NC State, and somehow they won. The only game this season that the Wolfpack shot worst from beyond the arc was in a loss on the road against Ole Miss, shooting 12% against the Rebels. Believe it or not, NC State shot worse in the 2nd half than the first, shooting 35.5% in the 1st half, and 22.9% in the 2nd half.

Just how improbable was this win?

Here is another fun stat from tonight.

Entering today, teams that shot <=30% from the floor and made at least 4 fewer 3PT’s than their opponent were 0-134.

NC State becomes the first win, shooting 29% w/ 4 fewer made 3’s than ND.

H/T to @collegebb_ref’s Play Index.

— Matt Eisenberg (@matteise) January 4, 2024

So, uh, NC State just shot 28.8% from the field (19-66) and beat Notre Dame 😳

That is the lowest FG% by a winning team in ACC play since 2008. 11th-lowest in a power six conference game.

(For those wondering, VT shot 35.6% from the field in that game vs. N.C. State in 2019.) pic.twitter.com/dKcJfiBGTY

— Andrew Weatherman (@andreweatherman) January 4, 2024

NC State shot 28.8% in its win over Notre Dame.

That is the lowest FG pct in a win for the Wolfpack since shooting 28.6% against Penn State on Nov. 25, 1996!

— Bryan Ives (@awaytoworthy) January 4, 2024

How on earth do you win a game like this?

For starters, NC State buckled down on defense in the 2nd half. In the 1st half, the Irish shot 50% from the field, and 46.2% from three, sinking 6 from deep. In the 2nd half, the Wolfpack held Notre Dame to 30.4% from the field, and 16.7% from three, making only one from deep.

Also, despite how poorly NC State shot the ball tonight, they weren’t sloppy with the ball, turning the ball over only 4 times, which is a season low. On the other hand, Notre Dame had 13 turnovers, and the Wolfpack scored 13 points off of those turnovers. The Irish only scored 5 points off of turnovers.

The Wolfpack also had 17 offensive rebounds, which was also a season high. NC State scored 8 second chance points. The Wolfpack might have shot poorly, but they managed to take 19 more shots than the Irish.

Finally, NC State wouldn’t have won this game without their sharp shooting from the free throw line, making 81.3% from the charity stripe (13-16). The Wolfpack entered the game shooting 68.2% from the free throw line.

The Wolfpack went on a run when it mattered, going on an 8-0 run in the final 1:58.

The last time NC State started 2-0 in the ACC was in 2020-21, when the Wolfpack started off with victories over #17 UNC and Boston College at home. The last time the Pack started off with 2-0 on the road in conference play was in 2011-12, when they defeated Wake Forest and Miami to start off the ACC road slate.

NC State led for only 0.6 seconds this evening, but they led when there was no time left on the clock, and I guess that’s all that matters. After saying that, I feel the need to declare this to be the ugliest and most pitiful win I think I’ve ever watched.

The Wolfpack’s next game will be in PNC Arena on Saturday against UVA at 2pm.