The NC State Wolfpack defeated the Louisville Cardinals, 94-85, to advance to the second round of the ACC Tournament. Five Wolfpack players scored in double digits, with Casey Morsell leading the way with 25 points.
NC State was without leading scorer DJ Horne, who has been nursing a hip injury and will be a game-time decision for Wednesday’s 2nd round matchup against Syracuse.
“When we practiced yesterday he shot a little bit and we wanted him to go through kind of our warmups to see how he felt,” head coach Kevin Keatts said after the win. “I wasn’t going to play him unless I knew we absolutely had to have him. We’ll do the same thing. He’ll have around the clock treatment. The great thing about it is we play a 7:00pm game tomorrow, but he’ll still be a game-time decision.”
The Wolfpack played the Orange twice these season – losing both games. Horne was the team’s leading scorer in both contests.
NC State vs Louisville Game Notes:
- Casey Morsell finished the game 5-of-12 from the floor and a perfect 13-of-13 from the foul line. The 13 free throws were the most by an NC State player without a miss in ACC Tournament history. The previous most for an NC State player was Cat Barber who went 12-for-12 for the Pack against Pitt in the 2015 ACC Tournament.
- Jayden Taylor finished with 18 points, eight rebounds and four steals. The eight rebounds were a career-high and the four steals tied a career-high.
- Michael O’Connell poured in a season-high 16 points while D.J. Burns, Jr., added 12 points and Ben Middlebrooks finished with 11.
- NC State shot a season-high 40 free throws and also made a season-high 33. The Pack shot 30 of its 40 free throws in the second half as NC State went 25-for-30 from the charity stripe in the final 20 minutes.
UNC Continues to Shine into the Final Stretch