WASHINGTON — NC State continued its stirring run throughout the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament, forcing overtime on a buzzer-beating 3-pointer in a 73-65 semifinal win over Virginia on Friday in an instant classic.
For the second straight night, the third-seed Cavaliers watched as their opponent forced overtime with a buzzer-beater. This time it was Michael O’Connell, who banked in a high-arcing 3-pointer from the left wing to square the score at 58-58 after Virginia’s Isaac McKneely missed the front end of a one-and-one.
Burns, who scored seven points in overtime, bullied the Cavaliers (23-10) in the paint in the extra session and converted an and-one to nudge 10th-seeded NC State (21-14) ahead 67-65 with 1:43 to play. O’Connell slid in to tack on a layup that boosted the Wolfpack up by two possessions with 45 seconds left.
Virginia missed its final four shots, while DJ Horne hit four free throws down the stretch to cap a 9-0 run and send the Wolfpack to their first ACC tournament title game since 2007.
NC State faces top-seeded and fourth-ranked North Carolina for the title on Saturday. The Tar Heels beat the Wolfpack in both regular-season meetings.
The Cavaliers led 53-46 with 4:19 remaining before NC State clawed back behind Casey Morsell, whose three free throws pulled the Wolfpack within 58-55 with 43 seconds left. Morsell missed a potential tying 3-pointer with eight seconds left, but McKneely’s ensuing miss at the line set up McConnell’s season-saving shot.
McConnell finished with 12 points along with Ben Middlebrooks, while Morsell added 11 points. Burns paced NC State with 19 points and Mohamed Diarra bundled nine points with a game-high 12 boards.
Virginia’s NCAA Tournament chances are less certain after Friday’s loss. The Cavaliers entered the day projected by bracket analyst Joe Lunardi as one of the last four teams in the 68-team field.
McKneely led all scorers with 23 points and hit 5-of-9 3-pointers. Reece Beekman paired 17 points with a game-high 11 assists and Ryan Dunn tallied 10 points and nine boards.
The Cavaliers made six of 11 free throws, while the Wolfpack hit 14 of 15.
Neither team led by more than five points throughout the first half, which ended tied 29-29. Beekman and Middlebrooks paced their respective squads with 10 points apiece.
–Tanner Malinowski, Field Level Media