UNC Defeats Villanova 78-71; Duke Beats Albany 73-61; Temple Over NCSU 76-72
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) — P.J. Hairston scored 23 points, James Michael McAdoo added 17 and North Carolina unleashed a flurry of 3-pointers to subdue gritty Villanova 78-71 in the NCAA tournament Friday night, giving coach Roy Williams his 700th career victory.
The never-say-die Wildcats (20-14) erased a 20-point deficit that North Carolina built in the first half and then nearly climbed out of a nine-point hole in the final minutes after the Tar Heels hit three consecutive 3s and once again appeared to take control.
The victory set up a possible dream matchup in the third round for Kansas fans, who have been jamming the Sprint Center in downtown Kansas City, about 30 minutes from the Jayhawks' campus. The eighth-seeded Tar Heels (25-10) take on the winner between Western Kentucky and No. 1 seed Kansas, where Williams coached for 15 years and rang up more than 400 wins.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) - Seth Curry scored 26 points, Mason Plumlee had 23 and second-seeded Duke beat Albany 73-61 on Friday in the second round of the Midwest Regional.
The Blue Devils (28-5) will meet the winner of the game between seventh-seeded Creighton and 10th-seeded Cincinnati in the third round Sunday at the Wells Fargo Center.
Duke shot 58.7 percent (27 of 46), just off its season-beat 60.8 percent against Florida State.
The Blue Devils, who lost 75-70 to 15th-seeded Lehigh in the second round last year, never really pulled away from the Great Danes (24-11), who got as close as eight points with 4:40 to play.
Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski extended his all-time lead with his 80th career victory in the tournament that he has won four times.
Jacob Iati had 15 points for Albany, which was making its third NCAA appearance, all since 2006.
DAYTON, Ohio (AP) - Khalif Wyatt scored 31 points, finishing the game with an injured left thumb that had him grimacing before his clinching free throws, and Temple broke with its one-and-done NCAA tournament trend Friday, beating North Carolina State 76-72 in the second round of the East Regional.
The ninth-seeded Owls (24-9) opened a 17-point lead before Wyatt - the Atlantic 10's player of the year and top scorer - hurt his left thumb and left the game briefly, returning with black tape on the non-shooting hand.
Every shot was an adventure, but he made enough - including six painful but perfect free throws in the final 32 seconds - to keep Temple around for more than one game. The Owls had lost their opener in four of their last five NCAA trips.
No. 8 NC State (24-11) trailed most of the game and came up short of a deep tournament run on the 30th anniversary of its national title.
