NC State Stuffs Xavier in NCAA First Four
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Gregory Shamus/Getty Images Sport (DAYTON, Ohio) — T.J. Warren scored 25 points to lead North Carolina State to a 74-59 victory over Xavier on Tuesday night in the NCAA First Four.
The ACC player of the year scored 16 of his points in the second half to help NC State (22-13) advance to face St. Louis on Thursday. The 12th-seeded Wolfpack will take on the Billikens in the Midwest Regional.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” said Warren, who made 10 of 18 shots from the floor. “My shots wouldn’t fall in the first half, but my teammates did a great job of finding me.”
Xavier (21-13) was led by center Matt Strainbrook’s 19 points and nine rebounds. The team shot just 2 of 14 from beyond the arc.
“We weren’t ourselves today on defense,” Strainbrook said. “We build our identity on defense. When we can’t get stops, it ruins everything else. Overall, it was just a shambles.”
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