Villanova vs. NC State: Score and Twitter Reaction from March Madness 2015

Eighth-seeded NC State defeated the East Region's No. 1 seed, Villanova, 71-68 on Saturday, narrowly avoiding an epic late-stage collapse in the process of its thrilling upset win in Pittsburgh.

Darrun Hilliard II was a near-hero late for Villanova, sinking a trio of three-point daggers in the final minute and 29 seconds of play. His last shot brought the Wildcats within one with 1.7 seconds remaining, but Wolfpack guard Ralston Turner sank his free throws after the ensuing foul to put his team back up by three.

Villanova had a Hail Mary chance with 1.2 seconds left, but the Wolfpack caught the inbounds pass and ended the game. 

CBS Sports noted it has been quite some time since NC State last defeated a No. 1 seed:

Mark Giannotto of The Washington Post noted the other side of the coin for Villanova, reporting they haven't made it out of the first weekend of the tournament since 2009.

Four NC State players scored in double figures Saturday, led by guard Trevor Lacey, who had 17 points. Freshman forward Abdul-Malik Abu was a monster inside throughout the contest, finishing with 13 points and 12 boards. The Wolfpack took a four-point lead into halftime and never trailed in the second half.

NBC Sports' Rob Dauster noted this team may be more talented than people give it credit for:

Villanova head coach Jay Wright was wary of the Wolfpack's talent heading into this one.

"When they're at their best, they're as good as anybody in the country," he said, per ESPN.com's Dana O'Neil. "They were at their best against Duke and I think we saw that in the second half [against LSU]."

Still, Villanova didn't help itself in this one, as it missed plenty of gimme buckets throughout.

The Wildcats shot a wildly uncharacteristic 31.1 percent from the field and displayed porous interior defense. Prior to Hilliard's late-game barrage, they were 6-of-25 from three-point range as a team.

The senior finished with a game-high 27 points.

The Wildcats, who had scored 80 points in six of their last 10 games heading into Saturday, had a terrible time converting easy chances right from the start.

O'Neil noted Villanova struggled early at the rim:

NC State couldn't capitalize, however, and the score was knotted at 7-7 after the first six minutes of play. Villanova, normally an excellent outside-shooting team, started just 1-of-5 from beyond the arc.

Unfortunately, as Michael Pointer of The Indianapolis Star noted, the shots inside weren't falling either:

The Wolfpack, on the other hand, made seven of their first 11 shots from the field. Lacey and Anthony "Cat" Barber were particularly effective, as they were able to scythe through the lane on their way to easy buckets or slick dishes.

However, NC State was unable to pull away from Villanova, and the two teams traded buckets—and slim leads—for the majority of the first half.

Hilliard deserves much of the credit for Nova's ability to stick with the Pack. He scored 10 of the team's first 17 points, and it was he and backup guard Phil Booth who provided the Wildcats with a much needed jolt midway through the first, per CityofBasketballLove.com's Josh Verlin:

"

Villanova missing some bunnies, being bothered by N.C. State's length in this first game. Wildcats just 2-for-14 from field.

— Michael Pointer (@michaelpointer) March 21, 2015"

After a massive BeeJay Anya block on Villanova center Daniel Ochefu, Lacey drained a step-back three at the buzzer to send the Wolfpack into the locker room with a surprise 32-28 lead.

NC State head coach Mark Gottfried coaxed a balanced scoring effort out of his squad, with six players notching at least four points at the half.

There would be no easy solution for Villanova's first-half shooting woes. NC State jumped out to a 42-33 lead by the first official TV timeout of the second half at the 14:32 mark.

ESPN Insider John Gasaway noted Ochefu, who missed his first six shots before throwing down a dunk for his first points early in the second half, was particularly ineffective:

The poor shooting display shocked Fox Sports' Stewart Mandel:

The likes of Abu and Lennard Freeman were money inside for the Wolfpack, maneuvering into excellent positions in the low block and converting their close-range chances with ease. Abu also impressed with this thunderous jam in the second half, as noted by NCAA March Madness:

Despite the wide disparity in shooting performance, NC State struggled to put away the game. A little 6-0 spurt from Nova cut a 12-point Wolfpack lead in half by the 12:04 mark.

Booth hit a critical three in that mini-run, but PhillyVoice.com's Rich Hofmann noted he was a liability on the other end of the court:

Still, Villanova kept the game close with excellent free-throw shooting and solid perimeter defense, although it still had no answer for Abu inside.

The powerful freshman snagged four offensive boards and drew a foul on one possession, drawing praise from CBS Sports' Matt Norlander:

Thanks to the ferocity of Abu inside and the composure of Lacey on the perimeter, NC State held a 59-51 lead with four minutes remaining.

Five straight points from Villanova forward JayVaughn Pinkston would bring the score to 62-59 with 2:26 to play, setting up the nail-biting finish. Dylan Ennis missed a late chance to give the Wildcats a lead, and Hilliard's aforementioned heroics came up just short, allowing NC State to come away with the surprise win.

The Wolfpack will continue their tournament run on Friday in the Sweet 16 in Syracuse, New York, where they will face the winner of Sunday's Northern Iowa-Louisville contest.

The likes of Abu and Freeman could prove troublesome if they draw the Cardinals, as Rick Pitino's squad relies heavily on points from within the arc. Northern Iowa is an efficient shooting team, but it doesn't put up a great many points night in and night out (65.4 per game).

If the Wolfpack can control the pace and tempo in the Sweet 16, they could very well make a surprising run.