North Carolina State Wolfpack

The NC State Wolfpack are one of college basketball's great giant-killers, a program capable of catching fire in March like few others in the country. Playing in Raleigh, they carry two national championship banners and a reputation for producing legendary, against-the-odds tournament runs. The Wolfpack's 2024 Final Four charge echoed the magic of their most famous title teams, reminding the sport why NC State basketball is must-watch when the games matter most. Passionate, red-clad crowds and a deep ACC rivalry with Duke and North Carolina give every Wolfpack home game an edge.

NC State basketball built its national reputation with back-to-back generational title runs: David Thompson's dominant 1974 team dethroned UCLA's dynasty to win the program's first national championship, and Jim Valvano's 1983 'Cardiac Pack' delivered one of the most iconic finishes in NCAA history, upsetting heavily favored Houston on Lorenzo Charles's buzzer-beating dunk. Those two championships remain the cornerstone of Wolfpack basketball identity. Decades later, the program proved the magic wasn't gone, riding an improbable ACC and NCAA Tournament run all the way to the 2024 Final Four. NC State's history is defined less by sustained dominance than by unforgettable, lightning-in-a-bottle tournament runs.