DALLAS – The starting center looks more like a football defensive lineman than a basketball player. The point guard was an All-American lacrosse star in high school. The starting forward has been observing the fast of Ramadan since the start of the postseason.

And the shooting guard may be best known for flipping off a referee on national television.

This NC State basketball team, which has captured the attention of the entire college basketball world during its wild 2-week run in the ACC and NCAA Tournaments, looks more like an island of misfit toys rather than a cohesive unit preparing for the Sweet 16.

And for a good portion of the regular season, it played that way.

The Wolfpack lost their final 4 regular-season games and 7 of their last 9 to fall so far off the NCAA bubble they’ve had to take an overnight trip just to get close enough to see it.

But somehow, this quirky group found a way to come together just in the nick of time.

They had to win 5 games in as many days and earn their school’s first ACC Tournament championship in 37 years just to get into the NCAA Tournament — as an 11 seed. And they haven’t stopped yet.

Two more victories last week have advanced Kevin Keatts’ team into the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2016, where it will take on 2nd-seeded Marquette on Friday in the opening South Region semifinal at American Airlines Arena.

The Wolfpack are a 6.5-point underdog, according to ESPN Bet. But considering the odds they’ve already overcome just to get here, it might be unwise to bet against them.

“It makes for a great story,” Keatts said during State’s session with the media on Thursday. “When you look at teams that are in the Sweet 16, you always try to figure out how they get here? We got here because we’re very unique.”

Calling this team unique is about as much of an understatement as calling NC State’s fan base passionate.

Let’s start with that super-sized big man who has become the breakout star of this NCAA Tournament.

DJ Burns is a barrel-chested, 6-9 bulldozer generously listed at 275-pounds. With his perpetual smile, soft hands and footwork that would make a professional dancer proud, he has a personality that’s hard not to like. That is, unless you happen to be a defender trying to stop him from backing his way to the rim.

Adding to the degree of difficulty in defending Burns is his ability to pass out of double-teams to provide teammates with open 3-point looks.

When it comes to passing, that’s the specialty of point guard Michael O’Connell. An old-school pass-first playmaker, he committed to play lacrosse at Maryland before changing his mind and going to Stanford for basketball.

His stats don’t jump off the page. He’s averaging only 5.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. But the Wolfpack have much more of a flow and continuity to it when he’s on the floor.

He also has a flair for the dramatic, as he displayed by banking in the dramatic buzzer-beating 3-pointer that forced overtime in the ACC Tournament semifinals against Virginia and his driving layup to bring State from behind late in regulation of its 2nd-round NCAA win against Oakland.

Mohamed Diarra, meanwhile, has been a rebounding machine since the end of the regular season while also adding an offensive element to his game. He’s averaging 13.5 rebounds in his past 6 games while scoring at an 11.7 point per game clip. Almost twice his season average.

All while abstaining from food and drink until sundown each day since March 10.

Sometimes volatile shooting guard DJ Horne is also on a scoring tear while wing Casey Morsell, backup center Ben Middlebrooks and guard Jayden Taylor have also made significant contributions to the run.
It’s been literally someone different stepping up to lead the team to victory in every game of this amazing, improbable streak.

“We’ve got a traditional old-school back-to-the-basket post guy who can score. Most teams don’t have that. We’re starting a point guard who is a legitimate point guard. Most teams have kind of a combo guard, as we’ve had in the past. Then we’ve got a lot of good pieces around.”

It’s a combination that makes the Wolfpack different from virtually everyone else in the tournament. And, by extension, so difficult to prepare for. Especially one a day or 2 notice.

OK, so the difference in their makeup and the way they play on the court is an advantage. But what about all those diverse personalities and backgrounds?

The top 7 scorers on the team are all transfers. Five of them in their first year in the program.

Burns started at Tennessee and went to Winthrop before coming to Raleigh. O’Connell came from Stanford, Diarra from Missouri, Horne from Arizona State, Morsell from Virginia, Middlebrooks from Clemson and Taylor is from Butler.

How in the world have they managed to piece it all together like they have? And why did it take this long to for it to mesh?

To listen to Morsell explain it, the meshing happened almost immediately. It just took awhile for it to translate into wins.

“We’ve been very close throughout it all, throughout the good times and the bad,” State’s top on-the-ball-defender said. “Just because the results don’t show up on the court doesn’t mean we weren’t close. Just trying to figure everything out.

“There were a lot of new faces, a lot of new people trying to adjust to the program, to the culture, and it took time. The fact that we’re finally starting to click, it’s great. It’s great timing.”

Better late than never.