North Carolina State head men’s basketball coach Kevin Keatts returned a veteran roster that was expected to make an NCAA men’s tournament appearance this season.
However, a rocky regular season left the Wolfpack needing to capture the conference title to make the NCAA tournament. The disappointing regular season and potential missed tournament berth had Keatts’s seat warming quickly.
Consider all of that water under the bridge.
The Wolfpack traveled to Washington D.C. for the ACC tournament and won five games in five nights, culminating with an 84–76 victory over No. 1 seed North Carolina to capture the conference title on Saturday night.
With the win, Keatts triggered a two-year contract extension that now runs through April of 2030. In addition, Keatts will receive a $400,000 raise, which will be effective beginning next season. The Wolfpack coach will also receive a $100,000 bonus for winning the conference title, and will make at least $10,000 for appearing in the NCAA tournament.
This will be the second straight NCAA tournament appearance for the Wolfpack, and their third in seven seasons under Keatts. NC State has never made it past the first round of the NCAA tournament with Keatts as the coach. The Wolfpack lost as an 8-seed to 9-seed Seton Hall in 2017-’18, and lost last season as an 11-seed to 6-seed Creighton.
NC State will learn more about its first round opponent and path to pursuing a national title when the bracket is released on Sunday night.
