While one Cinderella run ended late on Saturday night, another will be extended into the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament. After having to run the gauntlet in the ACC Tournament just to earn their spot in the field of 68, the NC State Wolfpack survived Jack Gohlke, Trey Townsend and the Oakland Golden Grizzlies in a thrilling overtime 2nd round matchup that will send the ACC Tournament champions to the Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 2015. Survive and advance. Win or go home. That's what March basketball is all about, and sometimes, in games of such high stakes, things devolve into, as NC State head coach Kevin Keatts would say, a boxing match.

“Well, for those who are not here in Pittsburgh, I'll start off by saying that Oakland is as good as advertised. I mean, Greg's done a great job with their program, and it was a tough hard-fought, it felt like a boxing match,” Kevin Keatts told reporters after the game, per Charlie Gribble of 247 Sports. “We made big plays when we had to have big plays. I thought one of the biggest things for us was our character really shined through when we needed it. We stepped up in many ways. We had to get big stops. We had to get big baskets. At times things weren't going our way. And it just shows you the growth of, obviously, this team and how they're locked in and they're focused, and their love for one another and how they play for one another, it's been very impressive.”

All five NC State starters scored in double figures in the 79-73 win, but there was one player who stood out above the rest, and it's not just because he's such an exceptionally large human being, even compared to many other large human beings.

DJ Burns Jr., a 6'9″ 275 lb. sixth-year senior who started his career at Tennessee and wound up playing at Winthrop for three seasons — and winning a Big South Player of the Year Award in his time there — before transferring to NC State ahead of the 2022-23 season, added to his already growing March legend, putting together a 24 point, 11 rebound, 4 assist performance in 43 minutes of action. According to ESPN Stats and Information, it was the first 20 point, 10 rebound NCAA Tournament game for NC State since both David Thompson and Tom Burleson did so in the Wolfpack's famous 1974 double-overtime win over UCLA in the Final Four. But let me tell you, the numbers alone don't do Burns' performance justice.

NC State's offense was primarily run through Burns, even though the big man from Rock Hill, South Carolina faced relentless double-teams on essentially every post touch. Despite so much defensive attention and some physical play that is incredibly hard to officiate, Burns turned the ball over only twice all game. He kept his head and made the right play on just about every offensive possession, and while the Wolfpack didn't necessarily cash in on each of those possessions, Burns at least put them in position to do so.

“When DJ gets going it makes it easier for us guards on the perimeter,” Burns' teammate Casey Morsell said after the game. “He draws so much attention, and all we could do is just kind of stay ready, stay ready to shoot, stay ready to make a play. But when he's going, we're very hard to stop.”

NC State now awaits the winner of Sunday afternoon's Colorado vs. Marquette game in the Sweet Sixteen in Dallas. If Kevin Keatts' Wolfpack squad can extend their unexpected postseason win streak to eight games, they'll advance to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986, when legendary head coach Jim Valvano led the program to the Elite Eight for the third time in four seasons. And for all those who continue to doubt the run that NC State has put together, DJ Burns has a defiant message.

“They didn't really believe in us. They probably still don't but that doesn't matter to us. We're just going to stay together,” Burns shared. “If you're supporting us, thank you. If not, that's what it is.”