DALLAS (AP) — DJ Horne scored 19 points and North Carolina State kept its magical NCAA Tournament run alive, beating Marquette 67-58 on Friday night to reach the Elite Eight for the first time since 1986.
Casey Morsell added 15 points and Mohamed Diarra had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Wolfpack, who have eight consecutive victories since the start of the Atlantic Coast Conference Tournament, which they had to win even to be a 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 beginning to look a lot like the second one in 1983.
N.C. State (25-14), the 11th seed in the South Region, will face top-seeded Houston or No. 4 seed Duke on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
PURDUE 80, GONZAGA 68
DETROIT (AP) — Purdue big man Zach Edey withstood all the abuse Gonzaga could lay on him, finishing with 27 points and 14 rebounds to lift the Boilermakers to a victory and move them one win from the Final Four.
Gonzaga leaned on, swatted and grabbed at the 7-foot-4 center — even slapped him across the forehead at one point — but it wasn’t enough to stop either him or his top-seeded team.
On Sunday, Purdue, which last year became history’s second first-round loser as a No. 1 seed, will play the winner of tonight’s later game between Tennessee and Creighton in the Midwest Region. A win there would land the program in the Final Four for the first time since 1980.
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-mens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
