WORCESTER, Mass. -- Just five weeks ago, North Carolina State coach Herb Sendek and the rest of his team couldn't walk down the streets of Raleigh, N.C., without hearing the whispers about his job security. He has heard them before, but they grew louder after each conference loss.
Now the Wolfpack head man, who has taken the team from a 3-7 ACC mark to the team's first Sweet 16 appearance since 1989, should be hearing two words after knocking off defending champion Connecticut: contract extension.
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| Julius Hodge makes Herb Sendek look like a genius and gives his coach some job security. (AP) |
Hodge, who had come up short against UConn in the second round of the tournament in 2002, converted a three-point play with 4.3 seconds left to knock off the second-seeded Huskies 65-62 on Sunday afternoon.
"We got it done today, and nobody believed that it could happen for us," Hodge said. "It feels great. There was no way we were going to be denied today. Big-time players have to step up and make big-time plays, and you saw that today."
Not only did it validate Sendek.
It ended a tumultuous season for UConn.
It started with assistant coach Clyde Vaughn being forced to resign after his arrest for soliciting a prostitute. Then freshman A.J. Price, who was expected to battle Marcus Williams for the starting job at point guard, was lost for the season after suffering a brain hemorrhage.
Starting shooting guard Rashad Anderson missed seven games with an infection in his right leg that put him in intensive care. Just before the Big East Tournament, Antonio Kellogg, a freshman forced to play 14.4 minutes per game this season, was suspended for violating team rules.
Anderson wasn't the same bull's-eye shooter he was a year ago, and fellow wing Denham Brown was playing with an injured left knee.
"Those two guys normally get free," UConn coach Jim Calhoun said. "Today they weren't themselves."
Tenth-seeded N.C. State hung around in the first half and never relinquished the lead after Engin Atsur's 3-pointer with 16:40 left in the second half. The Wolfpack pushed it to 56-45 on Cameron Bennerman's three with 5:05 remaining, but the Huskies didn't quit.
Villanueva woke up from a lengthy nap and converted a three-point play. Josh Boone, who was also silent for nearly the entire game, slammed Williams' alley-oop. Just a few minutes later, N.C. State was looking to its vocal leader to pull out the victory.
