No. 9 Villanova battled but fell to the No. 8 North Carolina Tar Heels as they couldn't complete a comeback. UNC got hot early and was able to hold on to their lead as Villanova came roaring back in the winding minutes of the game.
Both teams each had four players in double digits as this game practically became about UNC knocking down free throws and getting the ball across half court.
UNC finished 19-27 from the free throw line and were led by P.J. Hairston and James Michael McAdoo in scoring. Hairston had 23 points on 7-11 shooting while going 5-8 from three and McAdoo dropped 17 points. For Villanova, JayVaughn Pinkston had 20 pointt and Darrun Hilliard finished with 18 as each went 8-15 from the field.
UNC ultimately kept knocking shot after shot throughout this game shooting at 49 percent in the game. Villanova wasn't too bad, but the fell a little short connecting on just 44.3 percent of their field goals.
This game was everything that it was expected to be and didn't disappoint as it went right down to the wire although UNC owned a pretty big lead halfway in the first period.
With the score 15-9 in favor of UNC, the Tar Heels went on a 13-2 run to break the game open and taking 28-11 lead. However, as it was present all night long, Villanova roared back and cut into the Tarheel lead before the half concluded.
Once the second half commenced, the Tar Heels took the double-digit lead right back, but Villanova came right back to take the lead unexpectedly. Then with 12:11 remaining in the game, UNC never let go of the lead. Villanova struggled and the Tar Heel led went up by as much as eight points.
The closest they Villanova would get to tying the game was at the 1:44 minute mark, but as it's always important down the stretch, UNC knocked down all their free throws to remain in the lead despite a relentless attack from Villanova on defense and offense.
