DALLAS — DJ Horne got 19 points, and N.C. State continued its incredible NCAA Tournament streak by defeating Marquette 67-58 on Friday night to make it to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986.
Casey Morsell contributed 15 points, and Mohamed Diarra scored 11 points and grabbed 15 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who have won eight games in a row since the beginning of the ACC Tournament, which they had to win just to be part of March Madness.
On the 50th anniversary of N.C. State’s first national championship in 1974 — when the Wolfpack beat the Golden Eagles for the title — it’s starting to resemble the second one in 1983.
N.C. State (25-14), the 11th seed in the South Region, will compete against top-seeded Houston or No. 4 seed Duke on Sunday to secure a spot in the Final Four.
The last time the Wolfpack reached that far 41 years ago, they had to win the ACC Tournament before the late Jim Valvano celebrated after a memorable upset of high-flying Houston for the title.
The more reserved Kevin Keatts is leading the current unlikely team, with a standout player in 6-foot-9, 275-pound forward DJ Burns Jr., whose spinning layup and five assists helped the Wolfpack establish a 13-point lead at halftime.
The No. 2 seed Golden Eagles (27-10) struggled with poor shooting in their first appearance in the Sweet 16 since 2013. They only made 4 of 31 (12.9%) 3-point attempts and shot 33.3% overall.
Kam Jones scored 20 points, and point guard Tyler Kolek got 17 points and 10 rebounds as a Big East team suffered its first loss in eight games in this tournament.
