NC State lands 4 on ACC all-tournament team
NC State won the ACC tournament championship with an 84-76 win over top-seed North Carolina on Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The Wolfpack, which became the first-ever double-digit seed to win the event, landed four players on the all-tournament team.
Graduate forward DJ Burns was named the ACC tournament MVP after he became just the seventh player to log at least 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in the championship game.
Burns was a key cog in the Wolfpack’s tournament success with five straight double-figure performances. He scored 12 points in the first round win over Louisville, 15 against Syracuse, 10 against Duke, a team-best 19 against Virginia in the semifinals and 20 in the championship game.
The former Winthrop transfer logged a career-best seven assists in the win over the Tar Heels as he consistently stuffed the stat sheet in the nation’s capital. He added at least three rebounds in the final four games and recorded at least three assists in three games.
While Burns won the major award of the tournament, he was joined by graduate guards DJ Horne and Michael O’Connell on the first team list.
Horne, who played with an injured hip, logged a 29-point effort in the championship win over the Tar Heels on an efficient 9-of-15 shooting. He also scored 16 points in the tournament opener, 18 against Duke in the quarterfinals and 8 in the semifinal overtime win against Virginia.
O’Connell, meanwhile, kept the Pack’s season alive with the game-tying buzzer-beater three against the Cavaliers, posted five double figure scoring efforts in the tournament. He had just three in the regular season, none in back-to-back games.
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The Mineola, N.Y., native scored 16 points in each of the first two games, while he dropped 12 in the following two and 10 points in the title win over North Carolina.
Rounding out the Wolfpack’s all-tournament team honors was junior forward Mohamed Diarra, who stole the show in the event on the glass. He was named a second-team selection after he logged 60 total rebounds, the most in a single ACC tournament.
Diarra had four rebounds in the tournament opener against the Cardinals, but quickly became a force on the glass. He had 14 in the second round, 16 in the quarterfinals, 12 in the semifinals and 14 in the tournament final.
The Frenchman averaged 12 boards a game in the event, which was nearly five more than his regular season average.
NC State awaits its NCAA tournament matchup and location, both of which will be announced Sunday night at 6 p.m. on CBS.
