North Carolina blew a 20-point first-half lead to a more physical, bigger Villanova team, even falling behind in the second half, but the Tar Heels hit some key threes down the stretch to hold off the Wildcats 78-71. (3/22)

The win moves the Heels to the next round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday.

“We made some big shots with the game on the line,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. It was Williams’ 700th coaching victory.

Villanova took a 45-44 lead with just under 14 minutes to play but Carolina’s Reggie Bullock drained a three from the left corner to put the Heels up 47-45. While the game stayed close, that was actually the last lead change of the game.

Back-to-back three-pointers by Bullock and P.J. Hairston seemingly put the Heels in control of the game at 63-54 with just over five minutes left.

But, a 12-4 run, during which the Wildcats got numerous second chances on offense and a pair of three, cut the lead to just one at 67-66 with 2:14 left.

The Tar Heels were then able to break Villanova’s aggressive press and Marcus Paige found himself open for a three, which he took and swished with just over two minutes left to make it 70-66.

Hairston wrapped it up with 42 seconds left when he went in for a bucket on a fastbreak and was fouled hard. He hit the free throw to give the Heels an eight-point cushion, 76-68.

Carolina, now 25-10, hit 11 of 21 three-point shots while Villanova hit only 4 of 21. The Wildcats were able to stay in the game with a 35-23 rebounding edge including 14 offensive rebounds. As a result, Villanova took 12 more shots than Carolina.

In addition, the Heels turned the ball over 17 times whereas they only turned it over 23 times in their last three games combined.

“There were a few moments we were really ugly,” Williams said adding that Villanova was competing harder for a while. “I was proud of the way our team answered that.”

For more on the game, please click here.