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GREENSBORO, N.C. — Marcus Paige hit two free throws with 3.9 seconds left to help No. 19 North Carolina top No. 3 Virginia 71-67 on Friday night in the Atlantic Coast Conference tournament semifinals.
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 as many as 13 points before all-ACC guard Malcolm Brogdon singlehandedly brought the Cavaliers (29-3) back.
The Tar Heels shot 55 percent against Virginia’s tough defense, controlled the boards and played solid defense of their own for much of the night to earn their fourth trip to the finals in five years.
No. 1 Kentucky 64, Florida 49
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Aaron Harrison and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 13 points and No. 1 Kentucky beat Florida in the Southeastern Conference quarterfinals.
Kentucky (32-0) outrebound Florida 39-33, including a 16-11 edge offensively that created extra chances and earned frequent trips to the free-throw line. Towns also had 12 rebounds.
Kentucky hit 19 of 23 free throws, while Florida was 3 of 5.
The Wildcats will play Auburn in the semifinals.
No. 4 Villanova 63, Providence 61
NEW YORK — Ryan Arcidiacono hit two free throws with 3.1 seconds left after a questionable foul call, and fourth-ranked Villanova escaped Providence 63-61 on Friday night to return to the Big East title game for the first time since 1997.
The Friars’ Kris Dunn, who shared conference Player of the Year honors with Arcidiacono but outplayed him Friday, made a layup off a turnover to tie it with 12.4 seconds remaining. Arcidiacono then drove to the hoop and Ben Bentil, whose steal and assist led to the tying basket, was called for a foul even though replays appeared to show little contact.
Providence scoring leader LaDontae Henton ended a rough night by missing a long 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have won it.
No. 6 Wisconsin 71, Michigan 60
CHICAGO — Sam Dekker scored 17 points, Frank Kaminsky added 16 points and 12 rebounds and Wisconsin beat Michigan in the Big Ten quarterfinals.
Dekker and Kaminsky, the Big Ten Player of the Year, combined to score all their team’s points in a decisive 9-2 run that broke a 54-all tie. The top-seeded Badgers (29-3) will play Purdue in the semifinals.
No. 8 Maryland 75, Indiana 69
CHICAGO (AP) — Dez Wells scored 22 points, Melo Trimble added 17 and Maryland won its first Big Ten postseason game, beating Indiana in the quarterfinals.
The Terrapins (27-5) got nine points from Wells in the final 9 minutes and made just enough defensive stops down the stretch to put away the Hoosiers (20-13). They shot 7 of 8 from the free-throw line in the final 39 seconds to seal it. That gave the longtime Atlantic Coast Conference power its eighth straight win and a spot in the semifinals against the Ohio State-Michigan State winner.
No. 9 Kansas 62, No. 16 Baylor 52
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Wayne Selden Jr. scored 20 points and ninth-ranked Kansas turned up its suffocating defense to beat No. 16 Baylor in the semifinals of the Big 12 Tournament.
Perry Ellis returned from an injury to add 11 points for the top-seeded Jayhawks (26-7), though their leading scorer limped off the floor after getting tangled up late. Ellis never went back into the game after trainers checked on his right knee.
NO. 20 SMU 74, East Carolina 68
HARTFORD, Conn. — Nic Moore scored 20 points to help SMU beat East Carolina in the American Athletic Conference quarterfinals.
Markus Kennedy added 15 points and six rebounds for the top-seeded Mustangs (25-6). They will face Temple in the semifinals.
No. 22 Arkansas 80, Tennessee 72
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Rashad Madden made four late free throws that helped No. 22 Arkansas overcome blowing a big lead in a victory over Tennessee in the Southeastern Conference Tournament.
The second-seeded Razorbacks (25-7) led 55-35 early in the second half before missing 12 of their final 15 shots, a drought that allowed the Volunteers to rally to 69-65 with 3 ½ minutes left.
No. 24 Davidson 67, La Salle 66
NEW YORK — Tyler Kalinoski beat the clock with a driving layup to cap Dadidson’s comeback against La Salle in the Atlantic 10 quarterfinals.
Top-seeded Davidson (24-6) trailed almost the entire game and was down nine after Jerrell Wright’s dunk for the Explorers with 4:45 left, but ninth-seeded La Salle (17-16) didn’t score another point.