PITTSBURGH — Four players from 11th-seeded North Carolina State basketball as the Wolfpack defeated No. 6 seed Texas Tech basketball 80-67 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday night at PPG Paints Arena. reached double-digit points.
The Wolfpack (23-14) kept the pressure on Texas Tech (23-11) all night, putting the returning Warren Washington in a tough spot dealing with a foot injury in his return.
Ben Middlebrooks led the way with 21 points, and the Wolfpack pulled away late to win six straight, all in postseason play.
North Carolina State puts Texas Tech in trouble.
The Wolfpack worked together to make Texas Tech's powerhouse as aggressive as possible. Much of Tech's defensive improvement over the past five games has come from help-side attacks, but the Red Raiders couldn't do that against the likes of Middlebrooks and DJ Barnes Jr.
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Middlebrooks and Barnes combined for 22 of NC State's 37 points at halftime (Middlebrooks scored 14 points on multiple 3-point plays).
NC State went on a 10-0 run in the final four minutes of the first half to take a 37-33 lead at halftime.
Joe Toussaint's Salvation
The Red Raiders' offense was stagnant for most of the first half, with Joe Toussaint the only real scorer.
Playing in the NCAA Tournament for the fourth time in his career, Toussaint seemed completely unfazed by the stage. He had 13 points, three rebounds and three assists before intermission. This included chasing down a key offensive board and hitting Darrion Williams with a 3-pointer in the corner just before the halftime buzzer to cut the lead to four points.
Wolfpack blocks tech company rally
NC State led by seven points early in the second half, but Texas Tech quickly got within two. From there, the Wolfpack went on to make more runs, with this one he pushed the advantage to 10 with a 12-4 spurt.
The Wolfpack benefited from multiple turnovers that led to transition buckets by Mohamed Diarra and Casey Morsell. The lead grew to 12 when Barnes hit Warren Washington with a skyhook.
cold shooting night dooms red raiders
The Red Raiders stayed in the game for a while, but it was an ice-cold shooting night that finally defeated them.
Texas Tech, trailing by 12 points with 5:26 remaining, made just 4 of 22 3-pointers. Pop Isaacs was 1-of-8 from long range, Williams was 2-of-6 and Toussaint was 1-of-5. The Wolfpack blocked the lane to the basket, forcing the Red Raiders to attempt difficult shots from long range.
What's next?
Oakland, the No. 14 seed in the South Division, defeated No. 3 seed Kentucky 80-76 in the first game of the night session to advance to Saturday's second round. NC State will face the Golden Grizzlies (24-11), with the winner heading to Dallas in next week's Sweet 16.
