Pitino, Louisville back in Elite Eight

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Add Louisville sophomore guard Anton Gill to the long list of the NCAA Tournament’s unexpected heroes.

Gill, who was averaging 2.4 points per game, came off the Cardinals’ bench to score seven points in the final seven minutes Friday night and spark fourth-seeded Louisville’s 75-65 victory over eighth-seeded North Carolina State in an East Regional semifinal game at the Carrier Dome.

Gill filled in for senior forward Wayne Blackshear, who went to the bench after picking up his fourth foul with 8:31 remaining. Gill, who played three minutes and didn’t score in the first half, hit a spinning shot in the paint, a 3-pointer and a layup to help the Cardinals build a 60-57 lead.

Louisville sophomore guard Terry Rozier took it from there with two old-fashioned 3-point plays, the second of which boosted the Cardinals’ lead to 70-59 with just over one minute to play.

Louisville improved to 27-8 as it avenged a regular-season defeat to the Wolfpack in February. The Cardinals have defeated No. 13-seed UC Irvine 57-55, No. 5 Northern Iowa 66-53 and now N.C. State to advance to its 14th Elite Eight and fifth in the last eight years (2008, 2009, 2012, 2013 and 2015).

Louisville will face the winner of Friday night’s late game between No. 3 seed Oklahoma and No. 7 seed Michigan State in the Elite Eight on Sunday at the Carrier Dome.

N.C. State finished its unlikely tournament run with a 22-14 record after knocking off No. 9 seed LSU 66-65 and No. 1 seed Villanova 71-68 to advance to the Sweet 16.

Louisville junior forward Montrezl Harrell led all scorers with 24 points, and freshman guard Quentin Snider added 14 for the Cardinals.

Junior guard Trevor Lacey paced the Wolfpack with 18 points.

N.C. State sophomore guard Anthony “Cat” Barber came alive at the start of the second half after shooting 0 for 7 in the first half. Barber hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the second half to boost the Wolfpack’s lead to 39-31.

But the Cardinals’ Harrell took over the game by scoring eight of Louisville’s next nine points in a 14-2 run that included Snider’s 3-pointer and gave the Cardinals a 45-41 advantage.

The Wolfpack remained close thanks to sophomore forward Kyle Washington, who scored five of N.C. State’s seven points in a 7-2 run that pulled the Wolfpack within one at 49-48.

Lacey’s 3-pointer from the top of the key gave N.C. State its first lead (54-53) since early in the second half.

The Wolfpack led 33-31 at the half after a flurry of 3-pointers in the closing minute. Lacey and senior guard Ralston Turner sank back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Wolfpack their largest lead of the half, 33-28. But Rozier hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds remaining to pull the Cardinals within two at 33-31.

N.C. State held an early 10-6 edge, but the Cardinals went on a 12-2 run to take an 18-12 lead. Snider ignited that spurt with back-to-back drives, and Blackshear scored six of the Cardinals’ next eight points.

Washington kept N.C. State close by scoring six consecutive points for the Wolfpack as they closed within three, 26-23. Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu’s dunk on an alley-oop from Lacey kept N.C. State close and the 3-pointers from Lacey and Turner enabled the Wolfpack to move ahead.

N.C. State shot only 35.5 percent (11 for 31) in the first half, but shot 5 for 10 from beyond the arc. Lacey led the way with 12 first-half points, helping to overcome the cold shooting of Barber, who entered the game averaging 12.3 points per game but shot 0 for 7 in the first half (0 for 3 from 3-point range).

Harrell led the Cardinals with nine first-half points, while Blackshear had eight, and Snider chipped in with seven. Rozier led both teams with eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

NOTES: Only three teams have made more Sweet 16 appearances than Louisville’s 21 since 1975: Kentucky (26), North Carolina (26) and Duke (24). … North Carolina State coach Mark Gottfried defeated four Hall of Fame coaches this season: Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski, North Carolina’s Roy Williams, Syracuse’s Jim Boeheim and Louisville’s Rick Pitino. … Pitino started his coaching career as an assistant at Syracuse after he was famously interviewed and hired on his wedding night by Orange coach Jim Boeheim and then postponed his honeymoon to recruit future Syracuse star Louis Orr. Pitino had dinner with Boeheim and his wife, Juli, on Thursday night and said Boeheim’s announced retirement in three years will be “very difficult” and “we would all miss him on the coaching sidelines.” … Six schools reached this year’s Sweet 16 and also won a football bowl game: Michigan State, N.C. State, Notre Dame, Utah, UCLA and Wisconsin.

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