Louisville stops N.C. State’s run
Cardinals stay in hunt for third Final Four berth in four years.
SYRACUSE, N.Y.— Montrezl Harrell scored 24 points, reserve Anton Gill keyed a lategame surge, and Louisville beat North Carolina State 7565 Friday night in the East Region semifinals.
Louisville (27-8), the fourth seed in the East and seeking to make its third Final Four in four years, will play either No. 3 seed Oklahoma or seventh-seeded Michigan State in the East binal on Sunday. The Sooners and Spartans played in Friday’s nightcap in the Carrier Dome.
N.C. State (22-14), the eighth seed, saw its postseason run end after it had toppled top-seeded Villanova.
Louisville wasn’t given much chance of playing in late March after it lost two of three entering the NCAA Tournament, but gritty wins over UC Irvine and Northern Iowa had the Cardinals confident.
Terry Rozier had 17 points and 14 rebounds and freshman guard Quentin Snider scored 14 for the Cardinals.
Louisville coach Rick Pitino has a 12-1 record in Sweet 16 games, 6-1 with the Cardinals.
Trevor Lacey led the Wolfpack with 18 points, while Ralston Turner had 12 and Kyle Washington 11.
Anthony “Cat” Barber, the spark of the Wolfpack’s attack, finished with eight points on 3-of-14 shooting, only briefly getting untracked early in the second half.
Before the game, Pitino promised a surprise and Gill delivered. Gill, who averaged 9.5 minutes and 2.4 points during the season, hit a runner and a 3 from the right corner in a span of a minute as Louisville regained the lead late in a seesaw game. He followed with a baseline drive for a 62-57 lead with 3:33 left.
Lacey missed and Rozier stormed back on a fast break, his off-balance shot caroming in off the back of the iron as Turner committed a foul. Rozier calmly made the free throw to complete a threepoint play for a 65-57 lead with 3:05 left.
Harrell’s driving layup with 1:41 to go boosted the lead to 67-57 and that effectively put an end to the Wolfpack’s postseason run.
The teams met during the regular Atlantic Coast Conference season, with the Wolfpack winning 74-65 on the road on Valentine’s Day behind Barber’s 21 points.
The Cardinals are not the same team. Standout guard Chris Jones, an offensive catalyst and master of the steal, was dismissed from the team for off-the-court problems. Snider stepped in and has gained conbidence, scoring 26 points and getting nine rebounds in Louisville’s birst two tournament wins.