North Carolina State advanced to the Sweet 16 of the 2015 NCAA Tournament after scoring a stunning 71-68 victory over top-seeded Villanova on Saturday night in Pittsburgh.
Trevor Lacey led the way for the Wolfpack as he finished with 17 points on 6-for-14 shooting from the field to go along with six rebounds and four assists, while backcourt partner Anthony Barber ended up with 13 points.
Abdul-Malik Abu also had an outstanding night for NC State as he racked up 13 points and 12 boards, while Lennard Freeman posted 11 points and 12 rebounds to go along with two blocks.
"We came out today with the feeling that everybody expected us to lose to a 1 seed, but we believe in ourselves and that we're good enough to beat anybody in the country, and we went down and did it," said backup forward Beejay Anya, who helped his team advance to the round-for-32 with a game winner against LSU in the previous round.
The Wildcats were heavy favorites to win against the Wolfpack heading into the match. After winning two Big East titles, the Wildcats scored a huge 93-52 win over the Lafayette Leopards in their second-round matchup on Thursday.
The 41-point win earned them the stature of being tagged as one of the favorites to win the national title this year, but the Wildcats failed to get into their rhythm as they shot just 31.1 percent from the field, while allowing the Wolfpack to shoot 45.5 percent.
"I know we have to answer to the fact that we did not get to the second weekend again," Villanova coach Jay Wright said after the game. "We have to own that. But it's not going to define us within our program. It's going to define us outside of our program, and we accept that."
Darrun Hilliard, who almost helped Villanova overcome the deficit down the stretch with his big baskets, led the Wildcats in a losing effort with 27 points.
Meanwhile, tournament favorites Kentucky Wildcats earned a spot in the Sweet 16 with a 64-51 victory over the Cincinnati Bearcats on Saturday afternoon in Louisville.
Trey Lyles had a double-double performance with 11 points and 11 rebounds to go along with two blocks, while Karl-Anthony Towns racked up eight rebounds, seven assists and three blocks for the Wildcats.
With the win, the Wildcats not only advanced to the next round, but also set collegiate basketball record after scoring their 36th win in as many games this season and are still poised to become the first team to win the national title without tasting defeat in the season since Indiana did the feat in 1976.
