Wolfpack Routs No. 20 Pittsburgh

Tuesday, January 19

Pittsburgh, PA

8 p.m.

NC State

(11-8, 1-5ACC)

Pittsburgh

(15-3, 4-2ACC)

NC State

Pittsburgh

1/19/2016 9:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

PDF BOX SCORE

PITTSBURGH - Anthony 'Cat' Barber had Pittsburgh's number again. NC State's star point guard went for 31 points, eight assists and seven rebounds and the Wolfpack rolled past Pittsburgh 78-61 on Tuesday night. Barber, the ACC's leading scorer, exploded for 34 points in a win over Pittsburgh in last year's ACC Tournament.

The Wolfpack pounded the Panthers (15-3, 4-2) from the opening tip. Pitt, unranked in the AP poll but No. 20 in the ESPN/USA Today poll, shot .367 for the game and NC State out-rebounded the home team 46-30.

#statement pic.twitter.com/G90hgdKVbE
— NC State Men's Bball (@PackMensBball) January 20, 2016

Abdul-Malik Abu added 16 points and 10 rebounds. He dunked four times, including a highlight-reel slam when he rebounded his own missed foul shot, spun and dunked on two Pitt defenders. Lennard Freeman came off the bench to grab 14 rebounds and Maverick Rowan, playing in the area where he grew up and with dozens of friends and relatives in attendance, added 14 points and buried four 3-pointers.

Huge Lead: The first 20 minutes of the game were close to perfect for the Wolfpack, who jumped out to a double-digit lead in less than eight minutes. Back-to-back 3-pointers by Rowan gave the Pack a 22-6 lead. Just before halftime, NC State extended the lead to 28, the largest of the night. The Wolfpack shot .581 in the first half and led 44-19 at halftime.

Big Cat: The 31-point effort was Barber's third 30-point game of the season. He scored 37 against Winthrop in November and 33 at Missouri in December.

Abuuuuuuuu: The Pack's athletic 6-8 forward is taking off and making an impact in every game. Abu has posted a double-double in eight of his last 10 games.

Up Next: NC State will see another ranked team, No. 20/12 Duke, in its next game. Duke comes to PNC Arena Saturday, Jan. 23 for a 2 p.m. game on CBS.