University of Connecticut Athletics
Huskies Head Back To NCAA Sweet 16
3/17/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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WASHINGTON (Sun., March 17, 2002) – Caron Butler (So., Racine, WI) scored a career-high 34 points, including several key free throws in the final 11 seconds, in order to elevate the second-seeded Connecticut men’s basketball team into the Sweet 16 with a 77-74 victory over seventh-seeded North Carolina State on Sunday at the MCI Center in the second round of the 2002 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.
UConn extended its winning streak to 11 straight and moved its record to 26-6 as they will face Southern Illinois on Friday at the East Regional in Syracuse, NY. UConn head coach Jim Calhoun’s record in the first and second rounds of NCAA Tournament play now stands at 18-2. With the loss, North Carolina State ended its season with a 23-11 mark.
The Huskies pushed the lead to as big as 11 in the first half behind a 14-0 run that made the score 31-20. The Wolfpack chipped away though, and trimmed the UConn margin to 35-30 at the half. Butler and junior Tony Robertson (Providence, RI) each had a dozen by the break to lead the Huskies.
N.C. State made its move midway through the second half and went on an 11-2 run to pull ahead, 48-47, when Marcus Melvin hit a three-pointer with 11:22 to play. The Huskies took back the lead on their next possession but could never build a comfortable margin.
Up 72-71 with 47 seconds to play, Butler got the ball after a time out and with the shot clock winding down attempted a three-pointer with 11 seconds left. The shot bounced off the rim, but Wolfpack freshman Julius Hodge was called for the foul. Butler calmly sank all three free throws to put the Huskies up 75-71.
N.C. State’s Ilian Evtimov answered with a quick three-pointer from the corner, cutting the deficit to one. Butler was fouled again off the inbounds play and sank his two free throws to make it 77-74 with three seconds to play. Hodge had a chance for redemption, though his off-balance shot from 30 feet away clanged off the side of the rim.
Butler’s 34 points came on 10-of-13 shooting from the field and a perfect 12-of-12 from the line. His point total eclipsed the record for most points scored against an N.C. State team in the NCAA Tournament, formerly held by UCLA’s Bill Walton with 29 in 1974. The total also ranks as the second highest ever by a UConn player in the NCAA Tournament as Ray Allen had 36 against UCLA in the Elite Eight on March 23, 1995.
Robertson finished with 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting. Freshman Emeka Okafor (Houston, TX) and sophomore Taliek Brown (Queens, NY) each finished with eight apiece. Okafor also had eight rebounds and four blocks on the day. N.C. State’s Anthony Grundy led the team with 17 points.
