NC State shocks Virginia at the buzzer to force OT, earns 4th win in 4 nights to reach ACC Tournament final

NC State picked up its fourth win in four nights, and perhaps its most unusual yet.

A day after No. 2 seed Duke won in the quarterfinals of the ACC men's basketball tournament, the 10th-seeded Wolfpack beat No. 3 seed Virginia in overtime 73-65. NC State will face top-seeded UNC, which beat Pitt earlier Friday, in the final.

Virginia seemed on its way to ending the dream series in the last minute of the game, especially when it took a 58-52 lead with 51 seconds left in the game. However, an ill-advised miss on a 3-point attempt by Ryan Dunn on the next possession allowed NC State to cut the deficit to 58-55 with 43 seconds left.

Virginia came up empty on its next two possessions, the last being a 1-and-1 free throw by Isaac McNeely with five seconds left. You can probably guess where this is headed.

NC State did not have a time limit. Virginia had a foul to give. Wolfpack guard Michael O'Connell had about four seconds to get into Virginia territory and find a 3-pointer. Which he somehow did, although it took a lot of effort and a favorable turn to tie the match:

NC State proceeded to outscore Virginia 15-7 in overtime to win 73-65.

It's very hard to overstate how much this NC State race came out of nowhere. The Wolfpack finished the regular season 4-10 with losses in their final four games. They beat conference doormat Louisville by just nine points, then dominated Syracuse and convincingly beat Duke to stay alive in Washington.

NC State is now one win away from becoming an outright bid stealer in the March Madness picture and achieving five complete wins in five nights that helped make Kemba Walker's UConn immortal. In front of them stands a UNC team that can lock up the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament with a win.

UNC beat NC State in both regular season games, a 67-54 win in Raleigh and a closer 79-70 win in Chapel Hill. The Wolfpack certainly aren't the opponent the Tar Heels envisioned in the final, but that doesn't mean they can't take them lightly.