N.C. State topples another
10th-seeded Wolfpack goes overtime to win fourth in four days
North Carolina State used a prayer 3- pointer at the buzzer by Michael O’Connell to end regulation and D.J. Burns’ dominance in overtime to give the Wolfpack a 73-65 victory against Virginia on Friday night at Washington, D. C., in an Atlantic Coast Conference semifinal. It was the fourth consecutive win in the tournament for the No. 10 seed.
Playing a fourth game in four nights, the Wolfpack (21-14) will try to complete their magical run in the ACC final Saturday against No. 1 seed North Carolina.
Virginia, the No. 3 seed, fell in line after N.C. State’s wins against Louisville, No. 6 seed Syracuse and No. 2 seed Duke.
The Cavaliers couldn’t shake loose in this one until a brief surge in the final minutes.
But N.C. State had an improbable finish, missing a 3pointer for the tie with eight seconds left, getting a rebound on Virginia’s free throw miss with six seconds left and forcing the overtime on O’Connell’s long shot from the left wing.
In the overtime, the Wolfpack’s burly center Burns scored seven points, matching Virginia’s team total in the extra period. Burns finished with a team-high 19 points in the game.
Isaac McKneely led Virginia with 23 points.
Other men’s tournaments
Big Ten: AJ Storr’s careerhigh 30 points carried Wisconsin to a 70-61 quarterfinal win against Northwestern at Minneapolis. ... Zach Edey’s 29 points and 12 rebounds helped No. 3 Purdue hold off Michigan State, 6762. ... No. 13 Illinois squeaked out a 77-74 win against Ohio State behind Terrence Shannon Jr.’s 28 points. ... Nebraska made quick and easy work of Indiana, winning 93-66 behind Brice Williams’23 points.
Big 12: Top-ranked Houston breezed into the conference final with an 82-59 win against 25th-ranked Texas Tech at Kansas City, Mo. L.J. Cryer led the Cougars with 20 points and Jamal Shead had 10 assists. ... Keshon Gilbert’s 20 points, eight rebounds and seven assists led No. 7 Iowa State to a 7662 win against No. 14 Baylor.
Big East: No. 2 Connecticut advanced to its first conference final since 2011 with a 95-90 victory at Madison Square Garden against St. John’s. Tristen Newton had 25 points and eight rebounds for the Huskies. ... Tenth-ranked Marquette was up by 15 early in the second half but had to withstand Providence’s rally for a 79-68 victory.
Pac-12: Oregon stunned top seed and sixth-ranked Arizona, 67-59, in a semifinal at Las Vegas. Jackson Shelstad scored 21 for the Ducks.
SEC: Cameron Matthews and Josh Hubbard each scored 18 points to boost ninth- seeded Mississippi State to a shocking 73-56 upset of fifth-ranked and No. 1 seed Tennessee in a quarterfinal at Nashville, Tenn. ... Johni Broome had 18 points and 10 rebounds as No. 12 Auburn whipped No. 15 South Carolina, 86-55. ... Wade Taylor IV’s 32 points led Texas AM to a 97-87 upset of No. 9 Kentucky ... Florida advanced with a 102-88 win against No. 19 Alabama.
Women’s tournaments
MAAC: Fairfield, ranked 25th in the nation in the AP poll, beat Canisius, 77-64, in a semifinal at Atlantic City, N.J., for its conference-record 28th consecutive win.
America East: Maine clinched the America East automatic bid with a 64-48 win against Vermont at Orono, Maine, behind Adrianna Smith’s 16 points and eight rebounds.