NC State is responsible for ousting the first No. 1 seed of the tournament, Villanova. Now the Wolfpack move on to face Louisville in the Sweet 16, a game that should give them hope at an Elite Eight run that nobody could have predicted.
NC State vs. Louisville, 2015 NCAA Tournament: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Wolfpack hope to continue their unlikely run into the Elite Eight.
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That isn't to say Louisville is an easy win. But the loss of point guard Chris Jones after rape allegations late in the season turned an average offense into a top-heavy one that struggles to score when their key players aren't producing. After their three leading scorers, the Cardinals don't have a player who averaged more than four points per game this season, putting extra pressure on a good-not-great defense.
That said, Louisville's top three players are all excellent. Terry Rozier's fantastic season culminated in a win Sunday over Northern Iowa, where he had 25 points, seven assists, five rebounds and just two turnovers. Along with forward Montrezl Harrell, who is nearly averaging a double-double for the entire season with 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds, Louisville has gone where those two take them.
Wayne Blackshear is the other key cog of the Cardinals team, a versatile senior who does a bit of everything (except score efficiently, but hey, you can't win them all). Since Jones' dismissal, freshman guard Quentin Snider has exceeded expectations, including a 16-point outing against UC Irvine in Louisville's opening round. However, the team's depth is tested anytime coach Rick Pitino goes to his bench.
This NC State team has to be at an all-time high in confidence considering the route it’s taken to get here. It wasn’t just the Villanova upset -- the Wolfpack had to surge back in the second half for a 66-65 win against LSU to even make it to the second round.
NC State starts three guards, who average more than 31 minutes a game: leading scorer Trevor Lacey, senior Ralston Turner and sophomore Anthony Barber. Six more players averaged between 11 and 18 minutes in a frontcourt by committee approach, but Lennard Freeman and Abdul-Malik Abu are the starters and are playing great. Both posted a double-double against Villanova and will likely earn the majority of the minutes (along with BeeJay Anya) as the Wolfpack try to handle Harrell inside.
Here’s how to watch:
Time: 7:37 p.m. ET on TBS
Place: Syracuse, N.Y.
Online: March Madness On Demand
Odds: Louisville -3.0
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