It is an unfortunate reality that happens in the tournament. Just like the movie, the clock eventually strikes midnight for Cinderella.

NC State and Oakland were exchanging the lead throughout the first 3 minutes of overtime when DJ Burns got a rebound off a missed three pointer from the corner, giving the Wolfpack a 1 point lead. On the next possession, NC State would find DJ Horne near the baseline who hit the jumper and extended the lead to 3. But on the shot, there was also a foul on DJ Burns blocking out Oakland’s Blake Lampman. The 93.3% FT shooter who had only missed 3 FTs all season missed the first free throw before making the second and cutting the lead to 2 points.

And then the dagger hit. The Wolfpack got the ball into Burns, who found Jayden Taylor for a three point shot that gave NC State a 5 point lead with a minute to play.

Jack Gohlke would miss a couple three point shots as well as Rocket Watts missing one. Horne and Burns both hit a couple free throws after getting fouled off the rebounds to cut the lead to 9, until DQ Cole cut the lead to 6 with 13 seconds. But they were given a little bit more hope when NC State turned it over on the inbounds pass. But Gohlke would miss the next three pointer, and NC State would run out the clock on the 14 seed.

So, the magic continues for NC State. The only other time a team won 5 games in 5 days to win their conference championship was 2011. The Connecticut Huskies went on to win 6 more games and claim the National Championship. Who knows what the future will bring – what is certain is everyone should be concerned about the Wolfpack – they are a super hot team right now, and are celebrating as a double digit seed breaking brackets to reach the Sweet 16.