NC State upsets Duke for third straight win at ACC Tournament

By WRAL

NC State will be staying in Washington, D.C. for another day — at least.

NC State, the No. 10 seed, won its third game in as many days, upsetting second-seeded Duke 74-69 in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals Thursday night.

The Wolfpack entered the tournament having lost four straight games. But now NC State (20-14) is into Friday's semifinals where it will meet No. 3 seed Virginia, which needed overtime to stop Boston College on Thursday night.

"Our confidence level is just super high right now," said guard Michael O'Connell, who had 12 points, on ESPN after the game.

Five NC State players scored in double figures, led by DJ Horne, who had 18 points. Horne did not start the game as he returns from a hip injury that kept him out of the Wolfpack's tournament opener.

"Why not us?" Horne said on ESPN after the game.

NC State reached the semifinals for the first time since 2014 and became the first double-digit seed to advance three rounds at the tournament since 2007 ... when NC State did it and eventually reached the title game.

Now the Wolfpack needs just two more victories for its first tournament title since 1987.

NC State defeated Louisville on Tuesday and upset No. 7 seed Syracuse on Wednesday in the tournament.

"We're going to celebrate it, but we know it's going to be a short turnaround for tomorrow, and the job is not done, so we've got to do it again," Horne said.

NC State led 35-32 at halftime and extended its lead to 10 points in the second half. But the Wolfpack had to hang on down the stretch thanks, in part, to missing seven free throws and a dunk in the final minutes.

The missed dunk by Ben Middlebrooks also led to a one-shot technical foul. But NC State kept possession with the arrow due to it being a dead-ball situation.

"The rule needs to be changed," Scheyer said. "It's a strange play because I told them: 'I don't want the tech then.' Give us the ball. It's better to have the ball, get a chance to score. We're going to score two or three or have the opportunity to."

Duke, which had a double bye into the quarterfinals, has now dropped two straight games after losing its regular-season finale to North Carolina. It will await its seed and destination for the NCAA Tournament.

"It's about the competitive fire you need to have in the postseason," Scheyer said. "... We didn't have that collectively overall. For us, we have to go get back to it and work. The biggest postseason is ahead of us, and we're going to be in the tournament. We're excited about that."

Sophomore center Kyle Filipowski led Duke with 28 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out. Forward Mark Mitchell had 18 points and eight rebounds for the Blue Devils (24-8).

But Duke's three starting guards struggled, and the Blue Devils got zero points from its bench. Tyrese Proctor, Jared McCain and Jeremy Roach combined for 23 points on 7-of-26 shooting from the field.

"We need them to be better," Scheyer said. "We rely on them to do so much for us. It's not the scoring. It's everything else. It's the poise. It's the rebounding. It's the guarding. It's everything else that comes with it. I've seen all of them do it, have it at different points. But we need it every game."

McCain, a freshman, received three stitches above his right eye after bumping heads with teammate Jaylen Blakes before the game. McCain had eight points and missed all three of his 3-point attempts.

"Jared wasn't his normal self," Scheyer said. "He's been as consistent and as dependable as anybody. Again, he was fine tonight, but he wasn't the way he normally is. I do think that played a part."

NC State, however, got contributions from much of its roster. Mohamed Diarra had 13 points and 16 rebounds for NC State. Casey Morsell (11) and DJ Burns (10) also scored in double figures. Middlebrooks had four big rebounds, including two offensive.

"Our guys were really focused and locked in from the start of the game to the finish," NC State coach Kevin Keatts said. "I thought we made big plays on both ends of the floor. We got stops. I thought we executed the game plan to the right direction and did everything right."

Top-seeded UNC and No. 5 seed Pittsburgh advanced to Friday's semifinals earlier.