Rainier Ehrhardt / AP FILE
North Carolina’s Joel Berry II (2) reacts after making a three-point basket against Arkansas during the first half in a second-round game of the NCAA men’s college basketball tournament in Greenville, S.C., Sunday, March 19, 2017.
Sunday, March 26, 2017 | 4:41 p.m.
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Luke Maye hit a jumper with 0.3 seconds left, and top-seeded North Carolina held off Kentucky 75-73 to earn the Tar Heels' second straight trip to the Final Four and 20th all-time in Sunday's showdown of college basketball's elite in the South Regional.
The Tar Heels (31-7) will play Midwest champ Oregon on Saturday in Phoenix in the national semifinal.
North Carolina took control with a 12-0 run within the final 5 minutes. Kentucky's freshmen De'Aaron Fox and Malik Monk hit three quick 3s, the last two by Monk and his second with 7.2 seconds left tied it up at 73.
Theo Pinson brought the ball down, passed back to Maye. The sophomore from Huntersville, North Carolina, knocked it down for the win with his feet on the 3-point line.
The Wildcats had one last chance, but Derek Willis' inbound pass went out of bounds on the far end.
Kentucky (32-6) will miss out on the Final Four for the second straight year.
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