Hard-Working NC State Marches Into Sweet 16

Somehow, NC State just keeps winning. On Saturday night, the Wolfpack overcame a pesky Oakland squad with a 79-73 overtime victory in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament. The win earned them a berth in the Sweet 16 and marked their seventh victory in 12 days. Given where NC State sat on March 12, this stretch has been mind-boggling.

The Wolfpack entered the ACC Tournament having lost four straight games and five of six. They were the No. 10 seed with a 17-14 record (9-11 in conference) and head coach Kevin Keatts' seat was starting to get hot. According to bracket projections, they needed to win the whole thing to reach the NCAA Tournament. That's exactly what they did.

NC State ripped off five wins in five days, taking down Louisville, Syracuse, Duke, Virginia and North Carolina to win the ACC Tournament title. It was a cool story, the kind we often see in March of a team overcoming a rough regular season to play its way into the field of 68. Usually it ends with a whimper once the Big Dance kicks off. Keatts' squad had other ideas.

The Wolfpack earned the No. 11 seed in the South Region and opened action against Texas Tech. Despite being underdogs, NC State kept things close before taking a 31-30 lead with 3:01 left in the first half and never relinquished it while cruising to a relatively drama-free 80-67 win.

In the Second Round against Oakland, things were a bit more dicey. The No. 14 seed Golden Grizzlies refused to go away, mounting several comebacks through the second half. They even managed to take the lead with 2:49 remaining, but NC State battled back to force overtime. The Wolfpack dominated the extra frame, outscoring Oakland 13-7. The key to the game was Casey Morsell's defense on three-point specialist Jack Gohlke. Gohlke was held mostly in check, rarely getting a clean look at the basket. The sharpshooter finished 6-of-17 from three-point range, a far cry from his 10-of-20 performance in a First Round upset against Kentucky.

NC State has won with defense and toughness through the first two rounds of the tournament. The Wolfpack held Texas Tech to 38.7 percent shooting from the field, and 22.6 percent from three-point range. Oakland struggled offensively as well, only hitting 36.8 percent from the field and 34.3 percent from beyond the arc. NC State has also received huge minutes from D.J. Burns Jr. The senior forward used his size to score 16 points in the First Round, and 24 pounds to go along with 11 rebounds, four assists and a block against Oakland.

Keatts' team will finally get a few days off before heading to Dallas for the Sweet 16. It will be a well-earned break. The Wolfpack will face the winner of Marquette-Colorado on Friday.

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer at The Big Lead.