WASHINGTON, D.C. — Caron Butler admitted he did not hear the whistle, but had no doubt he was fouled.
Connecticut advanced to the Sweet 16, beating North Carolina State 77-74 Sunday as Butler racked up 34 points and nine rebounds and hit five clutch free throws in the last 11 seconds.
As the shot clock sounded, referees called Julius Hodge for a foul on Butler’s three-point attempt. Because of the horn, few players or fans heard the call, and boos showered the 6-foot-7 sophomore as his foul shots put the Huskies up by four.
“I know I got fouled,” Butler said. “Hodge was doing a great job defending me, and I committed myself by making the crossover. I had a chance to make the shot and he hit my forearm — and the rest is history.”
Ilian Evtimov nearly answered, nailing a three-pointer as he fell to the floor. Emeka Okafor apparently made contact, but this time the officials hesitated to make any call.
“He hit the deck and obviously that call wasn’t made,” Wolfpack coach Herb Sendek said. “I’m not going to say that’s why we lost. You can always pick a play here and a play there, but no one play determined the outcome of the game.”
After Butler sank two more free throws, Hodge’s tying 35-footer banked off the front rim while time expired.
“They refused to go away,” Calhoun said. “They made our lives exceptionally difficult, and even their last shot had a chance of going in.”
Hodge’s seven offensive rebounds helped the Wolfpack keep the game competitive. N.C. State allowed UConn to shoot 62 percent from the field but forced 21 Huskies turnovers, and 17 offensive boards led to 12 second-chance points.
“I thought for the most part our guys played with great energy on the press, and that was the prodder for us in this basketball game,” Sendek said. “It was instrumental in forcing all those turnovers.”
Butler virtually willed Connecticut to withstand the comeback. N.C. State came within three several times and took the lead 48-47 with 11:23 left and each time Butler answered with a run of his own.
Butler said it was offensively his best game, and Calhoun offered that the forward had never played so well in such an important game.
“I’ve seen him get 15 rebounds — 11 offensive — and he’s capable any night of having six or seven assists, but never as far as a clutch performance at this time of the year,” Calhoun said. “He made those special plays at special times to get us to the Sweet 16.”
Senior point guard Anthony Grundy led the Wolfpack with 17 points, while Marcus Melvin added 15 and Hodge had 13.
UConn led at the half 35-30 thanks to Tony Robertson’s hot shooting. The 6-foot-2 junior scored 10 consecutive points to bring the Huskies from three points behind to a 27-20 lead, part of a 13-0 run in the middle of the half.
Robertson and Butler each scored 12 in the first half as Connecticut handled the Wolfpack press and dominated the running game early.
With Taliek Brown pushing the ball effectively up court, UConn outscored N.C. State 14-2 on the fast break.
But Sendek adjusted his pressing defense and stifled the Huskies early in the second half. Earlier, Brown was able to find outlets in the center of the court, but Sendek clogged the middle and Grundy, Miller and Hodge forced the Connecticut guards to toss deep, which caused problems.
“The press we were able to shred in the first half became much more crucial because of adjustments Herb made in the second half,” Calhoun said.
The three-quarter court defense forced four UConn turnovers in the first four minutes of the half and started N.C. State’s comeback.
The Wolfpack took 22 more shots than the Huskies, including 18 more three-pointers. Connecticut advances to play Southern Illinois in the Eastern Regional semifinals at Syracuse, N.Y.
