The NC State men’s basketball team has made its mark as this year’s Cinderella team, unapologetically busting brackets across the nation on its way to the Sweet 16.

After defeating the 9-seed Louisiana State, 66-65, in comeback fashion Thursday, the Wolfpack (22-13) shocked the basketball world by upsetting the 1-seed Villanova, 71-68, Saturday night in Pittsburgh.

Head coach Mark Gottfried said though Nova was the top team in the East division, he and his team were not intimidated by the concept of facing a 1-seed.

“We don’t talk about the whole seed thing very much,” Gottfried said. “We’re all aware of it. It’s not something we try to make a big deal out of that we’re the 8 and they’re the 1. We respect Villanova, but we’ve seen good teams. We’ve seen a lot of them in our conference.”

Though State had relied on stellar guard play to propel its way to the tournament, it was the State frontcourt that played the role of hero over the weekend.

Against the Tigers, it was sophomore forward BeeJay Anya’s last-second hook shot that sealed the team’s trip to the third round.

According to Anya, the play was initially drawn up for redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey, the team’s leading scorer, but the big man said he felt confident taking the final shot himself.

“We ran a play for [Lacey] to shoot it, but his defender had good defense on him, so he made a smart play getting it to me,” Anya said. “I knew it was going in as soon as it left my hand.”

The left-handed hook capped an 18-3 State run over the final nine minutes of the contest. Another big man, sophomore forward Kyle Washington, scored the seven of the first 10 points of the run, including a put-back jam that put a spark back in his team.

Despite limited minutes late in the season, Washington said he was constantly prepared to play, as one’s moment can come anytime.

“Adversity can make you or break you,” Washington said. “I just stayed ready. It’s not really about me; it’s about the team.”

The State frontcourt continued its domination against Villanova, outscoring the Wildcats in the paint, 34-14.

Forwards Abdul-Malik Abu and Lennard Freeman both fought the larger Nova bigs with tenacity, each compiling double-doubles to combine for 24 points and 24 rebounds.

Abu also put up double-digits points in the team’s second-round game against LSU. The freshman said facing two opponents over 6-foot-10 back-to-back was a welcome challenge.

“My parents told me to go out there and work hard; I pride my game off of just working hard,” Abu said. “I wanted to try to match [my opponent’s] energy and take it to another level.”

The heroics of the State frontline was paramount on the weekend, as in both games, the team could not buy a three-point basket.

Against LSU, the Pack was a dismal 5-for-24 from long range, and followed up that showing with a 3-for-11 performance from downtown on Sunday.

While the dry spell from three-point land was a shock to the team Thursday night, nearly resulting in elimination, Gottfried said his team’s game plan against Villanova was not as reliant on the three-point shot.

“You never know how a game is going to unfold,” Gottfried said. “We wanted to go in early and get the ball around the basket and score inside. Whether we made three three-pointers, whatever the number was, that wasn’t a concern for me.”

On the other side of the court, the Pack went into the Nova game with three-point defense as a top priority. Gottfried said his team’s tough perimeter defense, which limited the Wildcats to 9-for-28 shooting from distance, was “the difference in the game” against the Wildcats.

The passionate play of senior guard Desmond Lee was a huge factor in Saturday’s game. Lee played 20 minutes of tough defense after just averaging just under six minutes per game during the regular season.

“I’m proud of Desmond; he’s hung in there,” Gottfried said. “Prior to the tournament, I thought he had great practices. I just felt like as a senior, he could do some good things for us, and he did.”

Now in the Sweet 16, the Pack face Rick Pitino’s 4-seed Louisville Cardinals. While there are no easy games in the tournament, State has proven itself multiple times as a giant-slayer.

“I’m really proud of our guys,” Gottfried said. “They’ve come a long way. I don’t think we’re done yet.”