On Sunday evening, the college basketball world received a jolt to the senses when DJ Burns and the 11th-ranked NC State basketball squad knocked off the number-four ranked Duke Blue Devils in the Elite Eight, punching their ticket to the Final Four to take on the Purdue Boilermakers next week in the process. Burns was utterly dominant in this one, dropping 29 points on the Blue Devils to go along with four rebounds and three assists for NC State, thoroughly winning his highly-anticipated matchup with Duke center Kyle Filipowski, who finished with just 11 points and nine rebounds in the season-ending loss for his squad.

After the game, Burns caught up with the CBS Sports crew who was broadcasting the contest and got 100 percent honest on the emotions running through his mind at that time.

“I'll say it like I've been saying it the whole tournament. When I stop having fun with basketball, I'll stop playing,” said Burns, per CBS Sports College Basketball on X. “I'm very thankful to be here.”

Burns also took the time to discuss what has changed for a Wolfpack team that once looked like a long shot to even make the NCAA tournament before rebounding to go on their current nine-game winning streak.

“There's just been a total switch in our commitment,” said Burns. “Nobody's being late to things, nobody's being a problem on the court. Everybody's come together. I don't know what it is, but everybody's handling it on and off the court well.”

A historic run for NC State basketball

As previously mentioned, there was one point this season when NC State looked absolutely dead in the water, with little to no chance of going dancing in March, let alone all the way to the Final Four. Instead, the Wolfpack, led by the play of DJ Burns, dominated their way through the ACC Tournament earlier in the month, knocking off Duke once again in the process, to earn their spot in the tournament, where they opened up as the 11th seed.

When they got there, they first defeated Texas Tech in the first round, before knocking off an Oakland squad–fresh off of an upset win of their own versus the Kentucky Wildcats–to advance to the Sweet 16. There, Burns led an impressive performance against number two-seeded Marquette, winning that game by a score of 67-58 to set the stage for Sunday evening's tilt with Duke.

Up next for NC State basketball will be their toughest test yet, as they will take the court against a Purdue squad that is looking for vengeance following their embarrassing loss in the first round as a one seed a year ago. This year, Purdue is once again a top seed but has looked much different than their listless performance last year, using the play of star center Zach Edey to coast all the way to the Final Four in Phoenix.

The matchup between NC State and Purdue is slated to tip off on Saturday evening.