NC State 81 Pittsburgh 70
Anthony Barber scored a career high 34 points as seventh-seeded N.C. State defeated 10th-seeded Pittsburgh to move into the quarterfinals of the ACC tournament on Wednesday night.
Junior guard Trevor Lacey added 21 points of his own for the Wolfpack (20-12) who have likely locked up an NCAA tournament birth, if they hadn’t already with several quality wins over teams such as Duke, Louisville, and North Carolina.
“I thought [Barber] today was just phenomenal,” N.C. State head coach Mark Gottfried said. “Played an unbelievable game. Trevor made big shots. Our inside guys contributed and got some baskets as well to help us. But I thought the biggest thing was Cat’s speed. I thought they had a little trouble containing him and stopping his penetration.”
N.C. State shot 53 percent from the field while going 23-of-29 from the foul line. Barber went 12-for-12 from the line, becoming the first player to do so in an ACC tournament since Virginia’s Sean Singletary in 2006.
Pitt (19-14) was led by senior guard Cameron Wright’s 19 points, with Michael Young adding 13 points and eight rebounds. The Panthers came into the matchup with already low NCAA tournament hopes, and will now likely receive an NIT birth.
The Panthers have reached the Big Dance 10 out of 11 seasons since head coach Jamie Dixon took over, and he wasn’t too thrilled with his team’s acheivements this season.
“It’s been hard,” Dixon said. “I mean, we’re used to being in the NCAA tournament. We play for that. But we knew what our challenges were and we didn’t get it done.”
Up next: N.C. State takes on second-seeded Duke at 7 p.m. ET on Thursday. The Wolfpack won the only previous meeting this season, 87-75 on Jan. 11.
