When is the last time NC State made Elite Eight? Wolfpack's deepest NCAA Tournament runs

Though it can often be overshadowed by Research Triangle compatriots Duke and North Carolina, NC State has a lengthy and proud basketball tradition.

The Wolfpack is one of just 15 Division I programs with multiple national championships, is one of the 30 winningest programs in the history of the sport and has several deep — even legendary — runs in the NCAA Tournament. And it may be in the middle of its most improbable one yet.

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With Friday’s 67-58 victory against 2 seed Marquette in the Sweet 16 of the 2024 NCAA Tournament in Dallas, the 11 seed Wolfpack is headed to the Elite Eight on Sunday, when it will square off against 1 seed Houston or, more interestingly, 4 seed Duke.

The program’s most recent trip to the Elite Eight has occurred during an often surreal two-week stretch.

Coach Kevin Keatts’ team entered the ACC Tournament as the league’s 10 seed (of 15 members), and was tied in the final minutes of its first-round game with 15 seed Louisville. After getting past the Cardinals, though, the Wolfpack won four more games over the course of four days to earn the ACC’s automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Its winning ways have continued in the Big Dance, with wins against 6 seed Texas Tech, 14 seed Oakland and 2 seed Marquette putting it one game shy of the Final Four.

As it prepares for that matchup, here’s everything you need to know about NC State’s history in the Elite Eight:

When is last time NC State made Elite Eight?

The Wolfpack’s Elite Eight appearance this season is the program’s first since 1986 — or, framed in a different way, 14 years before star big man DJ Burns was born.

That year, under coach Jim Valvano, 6 seed NC State beat Iowa, Little Rock and Iowa State, in order, before falling to 1 seed Kansas 75-67.

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NC State Elite Eight history

This season marks the seventh time NC State has made it to at least the Elite Eight in the NCAA Tournament.

Here’s how it fared in each of its previous appearances:

1986

The Wolfpack’s road to the Elite Eight was a narrow one. It edged 11 seed Iowa by two points in the first round, went to overtime against 14 seed Little Rock in the second round before pulling away in the extra period for a 14-point win and defeated 7 seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16 by four.

After NC State trailed by just two at halftime, Kansas pulled away late for an eight-point victory in the Elite Eight. The loss prevented what would have been a fascinating matchup in the Final Four against 1 seed and ACC rival Duke. The Blue Devils, led by a 39-year-old Mike Krzyzewski, defeated Kansas in the Final Four before losing to Louisville in the national championship game.

1985

After a 20-9 regular season, the Wolfpack, as a 3 seed in the first year of the 64-team bracket, defeated, in order, 14 seed Nevada, 11 seed UTEP and 7 seed Alabama, a path to the Elite Eight that allowed it to avoid potentially tougher matchups against 6 seed Tulsa in the second round and 2 seed VCU in the Sweet 16.

As was the case the following season, NC State remained close in the first half, trailing by just one at halftime, before watching St. John’s pull away in the final 20 minutes for a 69-60 victory. St. John’s, led by future Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Chris Mullin, was a 1 seed that entered the matchup with a 30-3 record.

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1983

An unforgettable run by an unforgettable team led by an unforgettable coach in an unforgettable tournament.

The Wolfpack’s legendary 1983 team is perhaps the closest comparison to its 2024 squad. That year, Valvano and NC State entered the ACC Tournament 17-10 before reeling off three consecutive wins to win the storied event and earn the league’s automatic bid to what was then a 52-team field.

Once there as a 6 seed, it embarked on a series of thrilling and narrow wins. It defeated 11 seed Pepperdine 69-67 in double overtime in the first round, edged 3 seed UNLV 71-70 in the second round, had a rare blowout in a 75-56 win against Utah in the Sweet 16 and got past 1 seed and ACC foe Virginia 63-62 in the Elite Eight.

After a seven-point win in the Final Four against Georgia, it defeated heavily favored Houston, led by future Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler, 54-52 in the national title game on a buzzer-beating dunk. It came from Lorenzo Charles off a desperation heave from teammate Dereck Whittenburg in what remains one of the most iconic plays in NCAA Tournament history.

1974

The Wolfpack’s first NCAA championship wasn’t nearly as tense and unexpected.

Following a 26-1 regular season, an NC State team led by three NBA players, namely future Hall of Famer David Thompson, rolled to the Final Four, defeating Providence by 14 and Pitt by 28. In the Final Four, it turned in one of the most memorable games in program history, beating John Wooden, Bill Walton and UCLA 80-77 in double overtime behind 28 points from Thompson.

In the title game, it had its way with Marquette, 76-64. In the process, the Wolfpack became the first team other than UCLA to win the tournament since 1966.

1951

In the first year of a 16-team tournament, the Wolfpack defeated Villanova 67-62 in the first round before falling to Illinois 84-70 in the national quarterfinals.

1950

In what was just an eight-team tournament at the time, NC State, with a 26-5 record, advanced to the national quarterfinals simply by making the tournament field. In its first game, it knocked off a Bob Cousy-led Holy Cross team 87-74 before falling to eventual national champion City College of New York 78-73 in the semifinals.

Later that year, CCNY was implicated in a point-shaving scandal.

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How many Final Fours does NC State have?

NC State has three Final Fours, reaching the national semifinals in 1950, 1974 and 1983.

NC State basketball national championships

NC State has two national championships, titles it earned in 1974 and 1983.

The Wolfpack is tied with Cincinnati, Florida, Michigan State, Oklahoma State and San Francisco for the 10th-most basketball national championships in Division I history.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: NC State Elite Eight history: Recapping Wolfpack's deepest NCAA Tournament runs