GREENSBORO — Quick hits and notes from NC State's 81-70 win over Pittsburgh in the second round of the ACC Tournament in front of 22,026 fans at the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum Wednesday evening.

Every time Pittsburgh tried to make a run in the second half, NC State had the answer. The best example was when the Panthers cut the lead to 50-43 with 11:25 left after a three-pointer from sophomore forward Michael Young.

That was the closest that Pitt had been since NCSU went up 23-15 on a three-pointer from redshirt junior guard Trevor Lacey. NC State responded when Lacey threw over the top of Pitt's 2-3 zone defense for an alley-oop layup to freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu. That was the start of a quick 7-0 spurt by NCSU, and Pitt never got closer than eight points the rest of the way.

On this Wednesday night in Greensboro, ACC fans were simply living in sophomore point guard Anthony Barber's world. Barber, for the first time in his career, eclipsed 30 points with 34 on 9-of-13 shooting from the field, including 4 of 5 three-pointers, and a perfect 12 for 12 night at the line. His point total topped Turner's 33 at home against Tennessee for the most by a Pack player this season.

Barber, who also had five assists and three turnovers, tied his previous career-highs for made three-pointers and made free throws made in a game. He was just four points away from tying the school record set by David Thompson in the 1975 quarterfinals against Virginia and Tommy Burleson in the 1974 finals against Maryland for the most points ever in an ACC Tournament game in school history.

Barber's 12 made free throws tied for the second most ever in a tournament game, one off Julius Hodge's record set in the 2004 semifinals against Maryland.

NC State scored 81 points, tied for the seventh most in a game this season, yet they did it with just two players reaching double digits in scoring. They also reached that despite second-leading scorer fifth-year senior wing Ralston Turner being held to four points on 2-of-9 shooting, including going 0 of 5 on three-pointers.

That was just the fifth time this year that Turner did not make a three in a game, and NCSU is 3-2 in those contests. The four points were Turner's fewest since he had four with nearly identical shooting numbers at home in a loss to Virginia on Feb. 11 (he missed one more three-pointer that evening).

How did NCSU reach 81 points? Lacey was a major reason why. Despite being limited to 28 minutes due to four personal fouls, Lacey finished with 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting, including 2 of 5 on three-pointers. Lacey, who has scored in double digits in 16 straight games, also had five assists with no turnovers.

Sharp shooting from Lacey and Barber helped the Pack shoot 26 of 49 from the field overall, 53.1 percent. That was NCSU's fourth best shooting percentage of the season. It was also State's best shooting performance in an ACC Tournament game since they shot 54.0 percent against Virginia in the 2012 semifinals in Atlanta.

NCSU debuted new-look gray uniforms Wednesday night, and the Pack will sport a newly designed red outfit Thursday evening versus Duke. NCSU's starting lineups were presented by the same hype intro used at the PNC Arena.

In the stands, former Pack standouts Tom Gugliotta and Tony Warren, father of T.J. Warren, were spotted behind the Pack bench. Also in that section was junior wing Terry Henderson, who is redshirting this year after transferring from West Virginia.

NC State is 20-12 and Pittsburgh is 19-14, hoping for a potential NIT bid after its NCAA Tournament hopes were doomed by an active four-game losing streak.

NCSU secured its fourth straight 20-win season for the first time since they did it five years in a row under former head coach Jim Valvano from 1985-89.

NC State head coach Mark Gottfried also improved to 7-3 in the ACC Tournament and has won at least one game in all four years. The most recent time that State went four straight years with winning at least once in the tournament was 2002-05.

The Pack is 12-2 all-time against Pitt, including winning three in a row and 8 of 9. NC State is 70-51 all-time in the ACC Tournament, including 24-22 at the Greensboro Coliseum and 5-6 as a seven seed. They are 2-0 all-time against 10th seeds.

The game sets up a rematch against second-seeded and No. 2 Duke. NC State upset the Blue Devils 87-75 at the PNC Arena Jan. 11, handing then undefeated Duke its first loss of the year. It will be the 25th time Duke and NC State has played in the ACC Tournament, the most ever by two teams in the league. Duke has a 15-9 edge in those contests, including a win in last year's semifinals.

- NC State won the turnover margin 7-5, the fewest turnovers in a game this year by the Pack, and they had an 8-5 edge in points off those giveaways. Both teams had eight fast break points.

- Pittsburgh outrebounded NC State 33-29 overall and more decisively 12-4 on the offensive glass. That led to Pitt having a significant 17-7 edge in second-chance points.

- The Panthers' bench outscored the Pack's reserves 21-8.

- Defensively, NCSU had the only block in the game (one), and Pittsburgh had one more steal (5-4).

- NC State had a big 30-16 edge in points in the paint.