UNC derails No. 3 Virginia

Marcus Paige hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to help No. 19 North Carolina beat No. 3 Virginia in the Atlantic Coast Conference semifinals in Greensboro, North Carolina on Friday.

Paige also hit a huge shot to beat the clock in the final minute, helping the fifth-seeded Tar Heels (24-10) hold off the tournament’s top seed and reigning champion in a tense finish.

Freshman Justin Jackson scored a season-high 22 points to lead the Tar Heels, who never trailed and led by 13 points before all-ACC guard Malcolm Brogdon singlehandedly brought the Cavaliers (29-3) back.

Brogdon scored 22 of his 25 points in the second half.

(11) Notre Dame 74, (2) Duke 64: Bonzie Colson scored 17 points and the Fighting Irish (28-5) defeated the Blue Devils (29-4) in the other ACC semifinal.

Demetrius Jackson added 15 points and Jerian Grant had 13 for the third-seeded Fighting Irish.

Notre Dame will face North Carolina tonight.

Southeastern Conference

(1) Kentucky 64, Florida 49: Aaron Harrison and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 13 points as the Wildcats (32-0) defeated the Gators (16-17) in the SEC semifinals in Nashville, Tennessee.

Kentucky (32-0) outrebounded Florida 39-33, including a 16-11 edge offensively that created extra chances and earned frequent trips to the free-throw line. Kentucky faces Auburn in a semifinal today.

(21) Arkansas 80, Tennessee 72: Rashad Madden made four late free throws and the Razorbacks (25-7) held off the Volunteers (16-16) in a quarterfinal.

Bobby Portis was 9 of 10 from the line en route to 26 points and Michael Qualls added 20 for Arkansas (25-7). The second-seeded Razorbacks will face Georgia.

Big East Conference

(4) Villanova 63, Providence 61: Ryan Arcidiacono hit two free throws with 3.1 seconds left after a questionable foul call, and Villanova beat Providence (22-11) to reach the Big East title game for the first time since 1997. Villanova (31-2) will face Xavier. The Musketeers beat No. 23 Georgetown 65-63. After struggling at the foul line while the second-seeded Hoyas (21-10) cut a 21-point deficit to one, the sixth-seeded Musketeers (21-12) made 5 of 6 in the final 10.3 seconds to hold on.

Big Ten Conference

(6) Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60: Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and 12 rebounds and the Badgers (29-3) defeated the Wolverines (16-16) in the quarterfinals at Chicago.

The Badgers will play Purdue in the semifinals. Purdue overcame a halftime deficit to defeat Penn State 64-59.

(8) Maryland 75, Indiana 69: Dez Wells scored 22 points, Melo Trimble added 17 and the Terrapins (27-5) won their first Big Ten postseason game, beating the Hoosiers (20-13) in the quarterfinals.

Maryland advances to the semifinals against Michigan State, which defeated Ohio State 76-67.

Big 12 Conference

(9) Kansas 62, (16) Baylor 52: Wayne Selden Jr. scored 20 points and the Jayhawks (26-7) turned up their suffocating defense to beat the Bears (24-9) in a semifinal at Kansas City, Missouri.

The Jayhawks will face No. 13 Iowa State which defeated No. 15 Oklahoma 67-65. The Cyclones (24-8) rallied from a double-digit deficit for the fourth straight game, then watched Ryan Spangler of the Sooners (22-10) miss a point-blank layup at the buzzer.