Men’s NCAA Final Four is set with 11th seed N.C. State’s shocking upset of Duke

The men’s NCAA Final Four is set.

In a shocking Elite Eight upset, 11th-seeded N.C. State powered through to beat its longtime rivals, the Duke Blue Devils, 76-64, and paving the way to its first Final Four appearance since 1983.

An 11th seed is the lowest-seeded team to ever make the Final Four, tying the record with LSU (1986), George Mason (2006), VCU (2011), Loyola Chicago (2018) and UCLA (2021), according to the NCAA.

With just under seven minutes left in the second half, N.C. State pulled away with a double-digit lead, sealing the deal for the Wolfpack and kissing the Blue Devils’ chances at yet another Final Four appearance goodbye.

Duke didn’t have another lead for the rest of the game.

The Wolfpack will face the Purdue Boilermakers — a No. 1 seed — on Saturday at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

Also facing off on Saturday will be the No. 1 seeded UConn Huskies and the fourth-seeded Alabama Crimson Tide.

The winners of each of those games will head to the NCAA championship game, which is set for April 8, also at State Farm Stadium.

Duke was favored to win Sunday’s matchup by 6.5 points, according to Bet MGM, but ended up falling to N.C. State by 12 points.

As for the rest of the Final Four teams, UConn showed its dominance against Illinois, beating the fighting Illini 77-52 on Saturday.

Also Saturday, Alabama secured an 89-82 win over Clemson to advance to the next round.

And Purdue narrowly held on to a lead in a back-and-forth battle against Tennessee earlier Sunday, beating it 72-66.