North Carolina State has been led this season by its strong backcourt, but the Wolfpack used some old-fashioned, big-boy basketball to send home a top seed for the first time in the 2015 NCAA tournament.
The eighth-seeded Wolfpack beat No. 1 Villanova, 71-68, Saturday night in an East Region third-round game at Consol Energy Center, propelling them into the Sweet 16 for the 11th time in program history.
Villanova coach Jay Wright said Friday that while North Carolina State is usually led by its guard trio of Anthony “Cat” Barber, Trevor Lacey and Ralston Turner, he was most concerned about the play of the Wolfpack’s young big men, who have struggled at times this year but stepped up big Thursday night against LSU in the second round.
Sure enough, it was the forwards who ended up doing a lot of the dirty work for the Wolfpack. The guards had their moments, but North Carolina State outscored Villanova, 34-14, in the paint and outrebounded the Wildcats, 45-32.
“In some ways we did what we wanted to do defensively, but those forwards stepped up and were a big difference,” Villanova coach Jay Wright said.
Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu had 13 points and 12 rebounds, and fellow big man Lennard Freeman added 11 points and 12 boards.
“It’s just a mindset to go in there,” Abu said. “Coach always inspires us to be the best we can be and be your best when the best is needed.”
Villanova slowly chipped away at North Carolina State’s lead in the second half, and got it down to two points when a 3-pointer from Darrun Hilliard made it 67-65 with 41.1 seconds to play.
An errant pass from Lacey to Desmond Lee with 36.8 seconds left gave the ball back to Villanova with the chance to tie the score or take the lead.
Dylan Ennis’ 3-pointer clanked off the rim, and Barber grabbed the rebound for North Carolina State.
Barber, who picked up his third foul early in the second half, finished with 13 points.
“It seems like that always happens with us going down the stretch,” Lacey said. “I threw the ball away like that against Notre Dame. We’ve been there before. Coach made sure that nobody panicked and we let that play go.”
The Wolfpack jumped to an early first-half advantage thanks largely to Villanova’s inability to convert shots, particularly those close to the rim.
The Wildcats made just two of their first 14 shots, spotting North Carolina State a halftime lead that grew as large as six with 11:20 remaining.
Villanova appeared to finally seize some momentum with 2:10 left when Booth hit a 3-pointer to give the Wildcats a 28-25 lead, and the Villanova section of Consol Energy Center rose to its feet and made the most noise it had to that point in the game.
But less than 30 seconds later, North Carolina State forward Caleb Martin silenced them with a four-point play from the top of the key that put the Wolfpack back on top.
The Wildcats had a chance to seize the energy back on the final possession of the half, but forward Daniel Ochefu’s layup attempt was stuffed by Wolfpack forward BeeJay Anya.
That gave North Carolina State one last chance, and the Wolfpack capitalized.
With three seconds left on the clock, Lacey took the inbounds pass from under the basket and sprinted up the court. He spotted up from the right wing and, just an instant before the first-half horn sounded, splashed home a 3-pointer. Lacey sprinted back toward the North Carolina State locker room and his teammates followed suit, ahead, 32-28, at the break.
“It was a big boost but I think we had more confidence because the game wasn’t out of hand,” Lacey said. “If we didn’t make a few mistakes, we could’ve extended the lead a little more.”
The loss means another early NCAA tournament exit for Villanova. The Wildcats have made five of the past six tournaments, but haven’t advanced to the Sweet 16 in any of them. Three of those five tournament exits came with the Wildcats as No. 1 or No. 2 seed.
The Wildcats’ previous appearance in the tournament’s second weekend was in 2009, when they also advanced to the Final Four after defeating Pitt.
North Carolina State, meanwhile, advances to the fourth round for the second time under Gottfried after previously making it in 2012. It will play the winner of a game today between Louisville and Northern Iowa at Carrier Dome Friday night in Syracuse, N.Y.
Sam Werner: swerner@post-gazette.com and Twitter @SWernerPG.
First Published: March 22, 2015, 1:50 a.m.
