The NC State men’s basketball team shocked the nation and conquered No. 10 UNC-Chapel Hill 95-91 in an action-packed overtime thriller in the Dean Smith Center on Saturday.
The Wolfpack (15-7, 5-4 ACC) and Tar Heels (16-6, 5-4 ACC) battled all afternoon long in a tightly contested battle, needing an extra five minutes to complete the instant classic. Late in the second half, sophomore guard Markell Johnson drove down the lane for a clutch layup with 10 seconds remaining in regulation to put the Pack up 83-81, until guard Cam Johnson was fouled and made two free throws to extend the game to overtime.
“What an unbelievable game,” head coach Kevin Keatts said. “A game that went back and forth. Obviously we’re playing a very good basketball team on their home floor with great tradition. Give our guys credit; I thought we fought all the way to the end.”
In overtime Johnson swished a 3-pointer to take the lead 88-85 and the Pack never looked back. Off of the inbound Johnson was fouled with three seconds remaining, converted both free throws and sealed the victory, giving the Pack its first win over the Heels since 2015.
The Cleveland, Ohio native scored just five points in the past two games, but was instrumental in the Wolfpack’s offense yet again. The 6-foot-1 guard scored a career-high 20 points and dished 11 assists for his second career double-double.
“Just playing with confidence,” Johnson said. “My coach is just believing in me. They always believe in me; it just clicked in today. From here on out, my confidence is going to go up.”
NC State found itself down just three points, 41-38, after the first half, thanks to effective shooting from three.
The Wolfpack has struggled to convert its long-range attempts, but this was not the case in the first frame. The Pack converted six of its first 11 3-pointers, including 4 for 4 from graduate guard Allerik Freeman.
The Tar Heels missed their first eight 3-point attempts before freshman Andrew Platek sunk a corner three at the 3:48 mark in the first half. UNC was just 1 for 11 from the beyond the arc while NC State was dialed in from downtown.
Despite its early shooting woes, UNC, the No. 1 team in the country in rebounding margin, registered 26 rebounds to the Pack’s 16 in the first half and kept the Tar Heels ahead.
Sophomore center Omer Yurtseven continued his success in ACC play as he scored 16 points and grabbed 13 boards for his fifth double-double of the season.
Junior Luke Maye often matched up with the Istanbul, Turkey native, and he produced an outstanding outing as well. The Huntersville, North Carolina native scored 31 points and had 12 rebounds.
“I always think [I need to have a big game],” Yurtseven said. “As long as there’s a challenge, I try to rise up to it. At the same time, I knew they were kind of undersized. I mean, Luke Maye’s 6’8”, but they only had, in terms of my size, one big. I don’t think he was really physical. They put Luke Maye against me. I tried to go up and get some rebounds and play over him. He tried to take me outside, play face to face, but I feel like I’m the one that came up with the win at the end.”
After a poor outing against Virginia Tech on Monday, forward Theo Pinson bounced back for a points-rebounds double-double. Pinson exploded for 15 boards and 22 points on 62.5 percent shooting.
Also worth noting, UNC’s leading scorer and veteran guard Joel Berry II was held in check all day. Berry converted just three of his 12 attempted shots for six points.
However, the story of the day was the scoring of Freeman. The graduate transfer from Baylor hasn’t started for the Pack since the Jan. 12 win over Wake Forest, but he came up big for the Wolfpack off the bench.
Freeman had the hot hand from deep. The Charlotte native scored a career-high 29 points, topping his previous total of 25 against Jacksonville.
The Tar Heels have never allowed an opposing player to shoot at least 5 for 5 from beyond the arc, and Freeman promptly broke that record by shooting 7 for 7 from three.
“When I saw the first couple go in, I felt a lot of confidence,” Freeman said. “I felt like anything I threw up was going to go in. It was just one of those days. I’m just really thankful. I thank God for this opportunity and he really took care of us out there.”
It was NC State’s 50 percent 3-point shooting percentage that kept it within striking distance for the duration of the game. UNC outrebounded the Pack 48-34, but couldn’t match the Wolfpack’s sharpshooting, going 4 of 19 from three.
The Wolfpack’s depth proved to be a difference maker once again as five players scored in double figures. Freeman, Johnson and Yurtseven were obvious contributors while redshirt junior Torin Dorn and freshman guard Braxton Beverly had quietly productive outings with 20 and 10 points scored, respectively.
The upset marks just the second time in the Roy Williams era that the Pack has defeated the Tar Heels in the Dean Dome. Also, it’s the first time NC State has beaten top-10 Duke and UNC teams in the same year since 1991.
And this milestone win occurs exactly 384 days since the Wolfpack suffered a 51-point blowout loss to the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill.
“I had someone tell me before the game that last time NC State played here we lost by 51,” Keatts said. “I quickly dismissed that, because we’re not the same team, nor is Carolina. It’s a different team.”
Graduate transfer guard Allerik Freeman goes up for a three. Freeman was perfect from three shooting 7-7 on the way to a team high 29 points. The Wolfpack took down UNC in a 95-91 overtime thriller in the Smith Center on Saturday, Jan. 27.
