From wire reports

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – With a valiant underdog pushing North Carolina to the limit and point guard Raymond Felton on the bench, the Tar Heels desperately needed a leader.

They found one in Rashad McCants, as the often-criticized forward delivered nine points in 2 minutes, 36 seconds Friday night to spark the top-seeded Tar Heels to a 67-66 victory against No. 5 seed Villanova at the Carrier Dome.

McCants scored all but two of North Carolina’s 11 straight points to break a 50-50 tie. A five-point North Carolina lead had evaporated within 62 seconds after Felton went to the bench with four fouls with 8:26 remaining.

Backup point guard Quentin Thomas was immediately called for a charging foul, and was replaced by Melvin Scott after 15 seconds.

Scott was called for a foul on Kyle Lowry’s three-point play that tied the score at 50-50 with 7:24 remaining. But Scott broke Villanova’s press and got the ball to McCants in front of the North Carolina bench for a tiebreaking 3-pointer.

McCants took control of the ball and got to the foul line to make six free throws to spark an 11-0 run that left Villanova (24-8) scrambling. The Wildcats made one last run, drawing within 64-62 on a Randy Foye free throw with 40 seconds remaining.

But Scott made two free throws with 28.9 seconds left, and North Carolina (30-4) will play No. 6 seed Wisconsin in the regional final at 2:40 p.m. on Sunday.

Wisconsin 65, N.C. State 56

SYRACUSE, N.Y. – The Wisconsin Badgers almost waited too long to get their offense swinging.

Alando Tucker helped Wisconsin bounce back from a horrible first half, scoring eight straight points during a 13-0 run that gave the Badgers a 65-56 victory over North Carolina State on Friday night and a spot in the NCAA tournament’s round of eight.

Sixth-seeded Wisconsin (25-8) will play the winner of the late game between North Carolina and Villanova for a berth in the Final Four.

Tucker scored 22 points and Mike Wilkinson scored 17, getting his final two on a breakaway dunk with 20 seconds left that got the rest of the Badgers to leap for joy on the court.

Engin Atsur scored 16 and Julius Hodge had 14 on 4-for-15 shooting for N.C. State (21-14).

Kentucky 62, Utah 52

AUSTIN, Texas – Regardless of whether Kentucky goes on to win the national championship, the Wildcats accomplished something Friday night no team has done all season: slow Utah’s Andrew Bogut.

Primarily using two 7-foot backups and lots of help from smaller guys, the Wildcats harassed Bogut into the poorest shooting game of his All-American season and showed off their depth, spreading their scoring in a 62-52 victory in the Austin Regional semifinals.

Kentucky (28-5) is headed to the regional finals for the second time in three years and the third time since winning the championship in 1998, the team’s first season under coach Tubby Smith. The second-seeded Wildcats will play fifth-seeded Michigan State on Sunday.