N.C. State upsets Georgetown 66-63

After completing a class No. 11-No.6 upset in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the N.C. State Wolfpack were back up to their old tricks in a 66-63 shocking upset over the No. 3 Georgetown Hoyas. The Madness, and a tournament run for N.C. State, continues. Mark Gottfried’s men’s hotel room in St. Louis has waited, and the team delivered; most namely C.J. Williams and C.J. Leslie.

Leslie is a future NBA first-round pick who showcased his talents- athleticism, length, quickness, energy- in the victory. He was one of three N.C. State players to notch 14 points, and he overcame some shooting struggles early in the game to post a 5-11 line. Richard Howell provided the muscle with ten boards and added nine points as well. Scott Wood was extremely quiet in the first half, but you knew the guard was always going to be a factor in the second half and finished with 14 points on an extremely efficient 4-5 from three.

C.J. Williams finished with 14 on 5-12 shooting, but he didn’t have the all-around game that Leslie had. Before the season- and even during- some N.C. State fans were sick of Leslie and didn’t care much for his talent. True story. But the man whom scouts raved about in high school delivered on defense with 8 rebounds, 2 steals, and 3 blocks (4 offensive rebounds). Guard Lorenzo Brown made himself useful despite a 3-9 game with 6 rebounds and 7 assists. He was just 5-9 from the free throw line, so the 12 points are definitely not as impressive as the quality passing and rebounding.

For the Georgetown Hoyas, it was all about the Hollis Thompson show in this game. He scored 23 points and held it together as the rest of his team flopped. The only reason why this defensive battle was close was because of the scoring by Thompson, because the rest of this Georgetown team was incompetent offensively. Thompson went 8-15 with 5 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks and overcame some cold three-point shooting in the first half. He had to be on his best as fellow Hoyas star Jason Clark had a surprisingly terrible game (3-11 and did little else of note).

N.C. State had a lower field goal percentage, but they hit more threes and were better in this game. Hollis Thompson couldn’t even will Georgetown, and this Big East powerhouse fell victim to another big game for N.C. State and their star C.J. Leslie. The Wolfpack’s trio topped out one star striving to win, and it didn’t end pretty for the No. 3 seed. Did I mention how much I love college basketball? I bet NBA scouts are drooling at Leslie even more, and he is going in the 25-30 range in, most likely, the 2013 NBA Draft.

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