NC State vs Duke Men’s Basketball Championship – South Region – Elite 8
What to know as Duke, NC State meet in South Regional final
It’s an all-ACC — and all-Carolina — matchup in the South Regional final Sunday, when No. 4 Duke and No. 11 NC State play to determine the last spot in the Final Four.
Time: 5:05 p.m. ET
TV: CBS
Duke-NC State predictions
Our staff picks for No. 4 Duke versus No. 11 NC State:
Nicole Auerbach: NC State
John Hollinger: Duke
Brendan Marks: NC State
Austin Mock: Duke
Joe Rexrode: NC State
The best basketball conference during the 2023-24 college basketball regular season was objectively not the Atlantic Coast Conference. But the best showing by any conference during the 2023-24 NCAA Tournament, by virtually any measure, belongs to the ACC.
The beleaguered league — which had four teams with below .500 records in the regular season and seven teams that finished outside the top-80 of the NET, most among all major conferences — has three of the final eight teams remaining in this year’s March Madness leading into Saturday night’s action. It is guaranteed at least one of the spots in the Final Four with NC State and Duke facing each other Sunday in the South Regional final. And it could punch a ticket as early as Saturday night as No. 6 seed Clemson looks to make its first Final Four when it faces No. 4 seed Alabama.
Despite getting just five bids to the NCAA Tournament, which was fifth-most among major conferences despite having the most teams among major conferences, the ACC so far has gone a combined 11-2 overall. Every ACC team won its first-round game. Every ACC team won its second-round game. And come Monday, we very well might have a Final Four comprising two ACC teams.
“I think the ACC prepares you with the amount of different opponents you see,” said Duke coach Jon Scheyer on Friday, before the Blue Devils upset No. 1 seed Houston in Dallas to earn an Elite Eight berth. “Like, that’s a big thing.”