By ADAM ZAGORIA
N.C. State played its seventh game in 12 days in the second round of the NCAA Tournament against Oakland, and improved to 7-0 since March 12.
After winning five games in five days to capture the ACC Tournament, the No. 11 Wolfpack ended the Cinderella run of Josh Gohlke and No. 14 Oakland, 79-70, in overtime.
N.C. State outscored Oakland 11-4 in the extra period and will play the Colorado-Marquette winner in the Sweet 16 in the South Region in Dallas on Friday.
The Wolfpack’s last Sweet 16 appearance was in 2015.
“Our guys just find ways to win, and I’m starting to get impressed with them,” Wolfpack coach Kevin Keatts, who won his second straight NCAA Tournament game after starting 0-4 (0-2 at N.C. State), said on air.
“No matter what the situation is, overtime, we just found ways to win and I think we just did it on the defensive end.”
BURNS TO TAYLOR. HUGE BUCKET.
#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/y54LImrnUS
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) March 24, 2024
DJ Burns went for 24 points, 10 rebounds and 4 assists, scoring 6 points in overtime. DJ Horne, Casey Morsell and Mohamed Diara scored 11 apiece.
Gohlke, who canned 10 3-pointers for 32 points in the first-round upset of Kentucky, finished with 22 points, while Trey Townsend led Oakland with 30 points.
The Wolfpack had lost four in a row before the ACC Tournament, where they knocked off Louisville,
Syracuse, No. 11 Duke, Virginia and No. 4 North Carolina in five days.
“I’ve got a lot of young men who were fighting and hungry and…we strung together some really good games and we’re going to the Sweet 16, brother,” Keatts said.
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