PITTSBURGH — Ben Middlebrooks scored a career-high 21 points and 11th-seeded North Carolina State surged past sixth-seeded Texas Tech 80-67 on Thursday night in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.
The Wolfpack (23-14), who won five games in five days in the ACC Tournament, won their first March Madness game in nine years behind Middlebrooks' boost off the bench and another bruising performance by center DJ Burns Jr.
The 6-foot-9, 275-pound Burns finished with 16 points. Mo Diarra had 17 points and 12 rebounds for N.C. State, and DJ Horne also scored 16.
The Wolfpack will face 14th-seeded Oakland on Saturday, ensuring a double-digit seed will advance to the South Region semifinals. The Grizzlies beat third-seeded Kentucky 80-76 earlier Thursday night.
Joe Toussaint led the Red Raiders (23-11) with 16 points, but Texas Tech made just 7-of-31 3-pointers and couldn't keep pace in the second half. N.C. State broke the game open with a 13-2 surge midway through the second half, highlighted by a pretty bounce pass from Michael O'Connell that turned into a dunk by Diarra and a soft running hook shot by Burns that made it 65-51.
The Red Raiders had relied on defense to reach the tournament in coach Grant McCasland's first season. Texas Tech came in 18-0 when holding opponents under 70 points and just 5-10 when teams reach that threshold.
N.C. State hit the 70-point mark on a layup by Middlebrooks with 4:06 to go.
It's been a remarkable turnaround over the last 10 days for N.C. State, which entered the ACC Tournament as the 10th seed and was dealing with questions about coach Kevin Keatts' future. The Wolfpack responded by beating rivals Duke, Virginia and North Carolina, the last a decisive victory in the title game.
Keatts admitted he was worried about how his team would respond emotionally against an opponent it barely knows. Turns out N.C. State was just fine thanks to Middlebrooks, a transfer from Clemson who has been a key reserve but rarely the focal point.
That changed against the Red Raiders. The 6-10 Middlebrooks tied his career high of 14 points set in January against Wake Forest in the first half. He kept going in the second. And when Burns — who plays a throwback under-the-rim game — got going after halftime, Texas Tech was scrambling to keep up.
It couldn't, sending N.C. State to the second round for the first time since 2015, when the Wolfpack won two games in Pittsburgh to reach the Sweet 16. Another chance awaits this weekend against the Horizon League champion Golden Grizzlies.
