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