In one of the biggest upsets of the NCAA Tournament, the NC State Wolfpack upset the No. 1-seeded Villanova Wildcats in the third round 71-68 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
After one half of play, NC State (22-13, 10-8 ACC) led 32-28. While Villanova (33-3, 16-2 Big East) shot merely 8-of-28 from the field, it was able to keep the game close after being fouled nine times that led to eight points from the free throw line, compared to the Wolfpack scoring just three off of those opportunities. On the contrary, the Pack shot a respectable 13-of-27 from the field in the first half.
“I thought they did a really good job defensively, not allowing Villanova to get going from the three point line,” head coach Mark Gottfried said. “Defensively, it was one of our better games from start to finish all year.”
NC State was able to end the half strong, with sophomore forward BeeJay Anya recording a monster block that led to redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey securing the lead with a buzzer beating three.
“It gave us a huge confidence boost, and we felt like if we hadn’t made a few mistakes, we could’ve extended the lead a little more,” Lacey said. “It gave us confidence that we knew we could compete with these guys. We knew that we just had to match their intensity in the second half because we knew they were going to make a run.”
At the half, Lacey led the Pack with eight points on 3-of-7 from the field. NC State also got helpful contributions from starting its starting forwards sophomore Lennard Freeman and freshman Abdul-Malik Abu, with Freeman tallying four points, six rebounds and a block, and Abu garnering six points and four rebounds. Villanova’s senior guard Darrun Hilliard led all scorers with 12 points on 4-of-9 from the field.
The Wolfpack caught fire to start the second half, going on a 13-5 run over the first 7:12 to jump out to a 45-33 lead. However, the Wildcats were quickly able to cut the deficit to six, and the two teams went back and forth from there.
Villanova was able to climb back within three points when senior forward JayVaughn Pinkston converted on a three point play with 2:26 remaining in the game. NC State was able to get some breathing room, but that was quickly taken away by Hilliard, who converted two three pointers to make it a 69-68 game with 1.7 seconds remaining.
“We’ve been there before, coach just made sure that nobody panicked,” Lacey said.
Turner was fouled with 1.4 seconds remaining and made both free throws, and the subsequent inbounds pass was intercepted by senior guard Desmond Lee that sealed the Wolfpack’s biggest victory of the season.
“We play in a great league, in an undervalued conference right now,” Gottfried said. “We’ve seen a lot of good teams in our conference, beating North Carolina and Louisville on the road and beating the No. 2 team at home. A league like that prepares you for games like tonight.”
Lacey led NC State with 17 points and added six rebounds and four assists. Abu and Freeman each put up double-doubles, with Abu racking up 13 points and 12 rebounds and Freeman adding 11 points and 12 rebounds. Hilliard gave the Pack fits throughout the game, scoring 27 points and scoring 6-of-10 from beyond the arc.
NC State committed 10 turnovers, but it overcame that by shooting 45 percent from the field and 20-of-27 from the free throw line.
In the victory, the Wolfpack advanced to the Sweet Sixteen for the second time in four years under head coach Mark Gottfried. This is the first time NC State has defeated a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament since its victory over Houston in the 1983 National Championship game.
