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)<\/p>\n
The win moves the Heels to the next round of the NCAA Tournament Sunday.<\/p>\n
“We made some big shots with the game on the line,” UNC coach Roy Williams said. It was Williams’ 700th coaching victory.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
In addition, the Heels turned the ball over 17 times whereas they only turned it over 23 times in their last three games combined.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n