Sports Editor
For the first time in 10 years, N.C.
State, UNC, and Duke have all advanced to the Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament.
Not only has this area dominated the tournament this season, but the ACC as a
whole has proven that it is the most talented conference in the country. The
ACC has tied the record for most teams from one conference in the Sweet 16 with
five (NCSU, UNC, Duke, Louisville, Notre Dame). Here is how State, Carolina,
and Duke all made it to the Sweet 16.
Duke
Even though State and Carolina fans might
think otherwise, Duke is no doubt the best and most talented team out of the
trio. The Blue Devils got the #1 seed in the South Regional. In their first
game they played #16 Robert Morris. A #16 seed has never beaten a #1 seed in
the history of the tournament and Duke further showed why that is. The
Colonials kept it somewhat competitive cutting the lead to 10 with about 12
minutes left in the game, but then Duke scored 8 points in roughly 30 seconds
and never looked back from there winning 85-56. In their second game of the
weekend Duke played #8 San Diego State who offered a little more competition as
Duke only won by 19 instead of 29. Unlike their in state rivals Duke had very
little drama on their way to the Sweet 16 which is what we should expect from a
#1 seed. Duke plays #5 Utah Friday at 9:45 p.m. and can be seen on CBS.
UNC
The Tar Heels entered the tournament as a
#4 seed and played #13 Harvard in their first game, which brought out all the
academic jokes. Carolina dominated the first half and held a substantial
double-digit lead for a majority of the game and looked to cruise to victory.
But the NCAA Tourney being what it is, there had to be some drama and Harvard
mounted a comeback. The peak of the comeback came with 1:15 left in the game as
Siyani Chambers hit a three pointer and was fouled to give the Crimson their
first lead of the night. Carolina could have easily thrown in the towel after
giving up a 16 point lead, but they tied the game on the next possession. Then
off of a Harvard missed three, Justin Jackson slammed home a transition dunk
with 25 seconds remaining. Harvard had the last shot and launched a three from
the top of the key at the buzzer, but it was just off and the Tar Heels escaped
with a victory. A one and done in the tournament this year would have been very
surprising for Carolina especially after the run they had in the ACC Tournament
where they won three games in three days. UNC’s second opponent was the Arkansas
Razorbacks and the first half of the game was by far the most exciting half of
basketball this season. It went back and forth as each team was very evenly
matched and the Tar Heels held a three point advantage at halftime. The second
half started out just like the first until about the 10 minute mark when Marcus
Paige just flat out took over. He scored 14 points in five minutes and Carolina
never looked back as they went on to win. They didn’t get out of the game
unscathed, however, as Kennedy Meeks suffered a right knee sprain with about
three minutes to play. Meeks’ status is unknown for their Sweet 16 matchup with
#1 seed Wisconsin on Thursday at 7:47 on TBS.
N.C.
State
The Cardiac Pack is back. A nickname given
to N.C. State when they made their National Championship run with Jimmy V back
in 1983 as a #6 seed. It’s 2015 now and the Wolfpack is making another run as a
higher seed, #8 to be exact. N.C. State sure did live up to this nickname in
their first game vs. #9 LSU. The Pack could not stop the Tigers in the first
half giving up numerous highlight dunks and that put them down by 14 at the half.
LSU maintained a double digit lead for more than half of the second half and
then N.C. State went on a run. With about eight minutes left Trevor Lacey hit a
transition three and then on the next two possessions Kyle Washington had a put
back dunk and a three to cap a 10-0 run, put State within four, and right back
in the game. With less than two minutes to go, State was down by three and had
three wide open three-pointers to try and tie the game but missed all three. If
it wasn’t for Beejay Anya, the Wolfpack would have exited the Tournament in the
first round for the third straight year. Anya made his first bucket with less
than a minute to go and then had the game-winning jump hook with 0.1 seconds
remaining as State won in dramatic fashion. The Wolfpack had no easy task ahead
of them though as they played #1 Villanova in the next round. The Pack went
back and forth with the Wildcats in the first half and had a huge sequence to
end the half as Anya had a huge block underneath the basket which led to a
Trevor Lacey three at the buzzer to put them up four. The second half was all
Wolfpack as they extended their lead to as much as 12. Villanova wouldn’t go
quietly, however, and came all the way back to cut the lead to two with about
20 seconds to play. Wolfpack fans were probably having nightmarish flashbacks
of the Notre Dame game earlier this season when Trevor Lacey threw the ball
away to give Villanova a chance to win it. Dylan Ennis of the Wildcats had a wide
open three at the top of the key to win but it clanked off the back iron and
the N.C. State Wolfpack pulled off a huge upset. The Pack are back in the Sweet
16 for the first time since 2012 and will play conference foe #4 Louisville on
Friday at 7:37 on TBS.
If this Tournament has proven anything it
is that the ACC is the most powerful college basketball conference and that the
Triangle is the capital of the college basketball world. With Duke, Carolina, and
State all in different regions, we could have all three in the Final Four. If
the possibility of that doesn’t create headlines, I don’t know what will.
