AUBURN, Ala. _ Auburn won the SEC title and made the Final Four last season but lost to N.C. State in December.
The Tigers knocked a win over the Wolfpack off of its to-do list on Thursday night. Samir Doughty scored 24 points to lead the 12th-ranked Tigers to a 79-73 home win over N.C. State.
N.C. State (8-3) got 21 points from senior guard C.J. Bryce and 17 points and 10 assists from senior guard Markell Johnson. Foul trouble hurt Johnson in the second half and helped Auburn (10-0) create space to pull away for the win.
Johnson made a 3-pointer with 13:08 left to put N.C. State up 49-48 but he was called for a technical foul after for jawing with Auburn guard J'Von McCormick.
The technical counted as a personal foul and was Johnson's third. On Auburn's next possession, Johnson fouled McCormick on a jump shot attempt for his fourth foul at 12:24.
Auburn was up 51-49 when Johnson went to the bench. He came back in briefly when Auburn got up 59-54 and then went back to the bench until the 6:08 mark with the Tigers clinging to a 62-60 lead.
A free dunk by Austin Wiley, after N.C. State didn't get back after a reset in its own end of the floor, broke a 64-64 tie with 4:18 left. The Tigers didn't trail the rest of the way.
N.C. State beat Auburn 78-71 in Raleigh exactly one year ago. It turned out to be the highlight of the Wolfpack's season.
It was merely a footnote for the Tigers, who reached the Final Four for the first time in school history and nearly knocked eventual national champion Virginia out in the national semifinals.
The teams traded long runs, and the lead, in a high-flying but not-necessarily-fluid first half.
Auburn used a 15-2 run to build a 26-16 lead at 9:42 in the first half. The Wolfpack responded with a 17-2 run of its own to take a 33-28 advantage.
The Tigers were able to make the last push of the half to take a 38-37 lead into the break.
