#PackMadness: Pack Survives, Advances to Sweet 16
3/21/2015 12:00:00 AM
March 21, 2015
Final Stats | Locker Room Quotes | Press Conference Quotes
PITTSBURGH - The Wolfpack is on to the Sweet 16! NC State stifled No. 1 seed Villanova 71-68 to advance to the East Regional next weekend. It was NC State's first win over a a No. 1 seed since the Cardiac Pack beat two No. 1 seeds on the way to the national title.
Trevor Lacey led the Wolfpack with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman recorded double-doubles. Abu added 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Freeman finished with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Anthony 'Cat' Barber added 13 points.
Desmond Lee provided a spark in the first half, playing 11 minutes. The Pack ended the half on a 7-0 run. Darrun Hilliard fouled Caleb Martin on a 3-pointer, and the NC State forward sank the free throw for a 29-28 lead. Lacey buried a 3 off a turnover at the buzzer for a 32-28 lead at the break.
The Pack came out firing in the second half. Abu rocked the rim with a dunk for a 40-33 lead and the Wolfpack soon stretched that to 45-33. The Wildcats kept missing from every angle -- layups, mid-range jumpers, everything -- as their season started slipping away.
Ennis converted a three-point play and Phil Booth followed with a 3-pointer only to give one of them right back on Lacey's basket-and-free throw on the other end.
The Wolfpack found the open spaces Villanova could not, like when Freeman had an easy path to the glass for a putback that snuffed a small Nova rally.
Back-to-back threes from Hilliard with .40 seconds remaining cut the Pack's lead to 67-65, but Barber and Turner drained late free throws as the Pack held onto its advantage. A heave down the court was broken up as time expired.
DOWN GOES NOVA! 8 NC State upsets 1 Villanova, 71-68. It's 3rd straight year that a top seed has lost in Round of 32. pic.twitter.com/F4Hv5eqBX4
-- SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) March 22, 2015
Up Next: NC State moves on to the Sweet 16 and will face the winner of Northern Iowa and Louisville in Syracuse, N.Y.