Gani Lawal added 12 points and 10 rebounds for the seventh-seeded Yellow Jackets (22-11), who advanced after a frantic finish to face top-seed and No. 4 Duke on Sunday.
The 11th-seeded Wolfpack’s hopes of being the lowest-seeded team to reach the final were dashed thanks to poor late-game execution. Javier Gonzalez had a chance to atone for a key turnover and intentional foul in the final 2 minutes, but he missed a game-tying 3-pointer in the final seconds.
Tracy Smith had 15 points for N.C. State (19-15), which shot 31 percent but used its pressure defense to rally from a 10-point halftime deficit.
The Yellow Jackets reached the final for the first time since losing to Duke in 2005.
The championship game will be played Sunday at 1 p.m. against Duke, which defeated Miami, 77-74 earlier in the day, and will be televised on WATL.
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