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College basketball: March Madness 2005
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Julius the Great dooms Huskies
Associated Press
Published March 21, 2005
WORCESTER, Mass. - Julius Hodge didn't know what to do with himself. He just knew the moment was too golden to let it slip away.
So as the rest of the delirious Wolfpack headed for a Sweet 16-bound celebration in the locker room, Hodge hung around near midcourt.
First, he high-fived a Michigan State player who had jogged onto the court for his pregame warmups. He hugged the next one. Then he peered over to the N.C. State fans and yelled, "I told you! I told you all!"
Finally, he played conductor as the crowd serenaded him with chants of "Jul-i-us."
Yes, Hodge was living in the moment.
"It definitely feels good to get a win against a major program," said Hodge said. "One of the best teams in the nation. We had to pull everything out of the box to get this victory."
What it finally took for 10th-seeded N.C. State was Hodge converting a three-point play with 4.3 seconds left Sunday that lifted it to a 65-62 win over second-seeded Connecticut "It's not unbelievable," Hodge said. "But no one believed it could happen for us."
It almost didn't happen, though. N.C. State built a 56-45 lead with 5:10 to play when Cameron Bennerman drilled a 3-pointer. But UConn, the defending national champion, battled back thanks to an 11-1 run keyed by a three-point play by Charlie Villanueva, who had 16 points and 12 boards, and an alley-oop from Marcus Williams to Josh Boone.
The momentum seemed to be turning the Huskies' way, and when Villanueva scored on a putback after a wild scramble with 15.8 seconds to play, UConn had caught the Wolfpack at 62-62.
But Hodge, the senior guard, drove the right side of the lane, knocking down the layup while being fouled by Ed Nelson.
"I really thought it was going to be an offensive foul," Villanueva said. "But the referees called it North Carolina State's way."
Hodge, who led N.C. State with 17 points, added the free throw for a three-point cushion. And when Williams, who led all scorers with 22 points, came up short on a 3-pointer at the buzzer, the party was on as the Wolfpack headed for the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1989.
"We ran out of bullets and energy," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "We had no more bullets."
N.CAROLINA 92, IOWA ST. 65: Reaching the round of 16 used to be a mere formality for the Tar Heels, who once advanced that far 13 years in a row under Hall of Fame coach Dean Smith.
After a five-year absence, North Carolina is back, led by a pair of bullying performances from Sean May and Marvin Williams that left Iowa State's six-man rotation gasping for air in Charlotte, N.C.
"They seemed exhausted," Felton said. "We just keeping running them and running them and running them. We just feel like no one in the country can run with us, and that's not being cocky."
May had 24 points and 17 rebounds, and Williams finished with a career-high 15 rebounds for the top-seeded Tar Heels.
During one stretch of the second half, May and Williams dominated on both ends of the court. May started by blocking Curtis Stinson's layup back out to halfcourt then took advantage of a nifty pass from Felton on the other end for a layup to make it 48-35.
"It's a tremendous feeling," May said. "We know we deserve to be here. For Carolina to be in the Sweet 16, that's an incredible achievement. But our goal wasn't to make the Sweet 16. That's just a step toward our goal."
Williams scored 20 - tying his season high for the second straight game - and Rashad McCants added 17 for North Carolina, which went to the Final Four in 2000 before the tournament drought. Second-year coach Roy Williams is in the region semifinals for the 10th time in 17 tournament appearances.
"They're just deep. That's what makes them really good," Stinson said. "We're just proud we made it this far. It means a lot to the team. There are still a lot of people who don't recognize Iowa State, but we'll be back."
WISCONSIN 71, BUCKNELL 62: The Badgers have heard all season how much better they might be if Devin Harris had stuck around for his senior season or if his replacement, Boo Wade, had played more than one nonconference game.
Well, even if they had those guys, they couldn't be any better off than they are now.
Mike Wilkinson had 23 points and nine rebounds and Zach Morley contributed 15 points and eight rebounds in Oklahoma City.
"It's pretty good to be in the Sweet 16 after all this team's been through," coach Bo Ryan said. "People kept saying what we could've been and should've been. Well, we're going to Syracuse. It's not Disneyland, but, hey, it's Syracuse."
The Badgers are into the second weekend for the second time in three seasons. They were knocked out in the second round last year, even with Big Ten player of the year Harris and Wade, who left the program for personal reasons, first in October then for good in January.
"Hard work pays off," said Alando Tucker, Wisconsin's other starting forward who scored 15 of his 17 from the foul line. "We've been battling the whole season."
Bucknell gave the Patriot League its first Tournament win, against preseason No.1 Kansas in the first round, then played the Big Ten's third-place team tough deep into the second half.
Pretty impressive for a program that started handing out scholarships last year and has only five players getting free rides.
"I was very proud to be part of that game," coach Pat Flannery said. "There's nothing I could take negative from this, whatsoever."
[Last modified March 21, 2005, 01:51:06]
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