Connecticut 77, Villanova 65: Shabazz Napier scored 21 of his game-high 25 points in the second half as the Huskies upset the Wildcats in the third round of the NCAA tournament in East regional play in Milwaukee.

Lasan Kromah scored 12 points off the bench and Terrence Samuel, Ryan Boatright and DeAndre Daniels added 11 apiece for No. 7 seed Connecticut (28-8), which will play No. 6 seed North Carolina or third-seeded Iowa State on Friday in the Sweet 16 in New York. Niels Giffey collected a game-high 11 rebounds as the Huskies improved to 12-2 in the NCAA tournament since the start of 2009.

Ryan Arcidiacono led second-seeded Villanova (29-5) with 18 points in the battle between former Big East rivals while James Bell made four 3-pointers and finished with 14 points. Darrun Hilliard scored 13 points, JayVaughn Pinkston added 11 and Daniel Ochefu had eight rebounds for the Wildcats, who committed 16 turnovers and were held to 35.3 percent shooting.

Connecticut held the Wildcats to four points in the final 10:15 of the first half and led 25-24 at the break, and the Huskies moved ahead 41-36 when Napier scored with just over 13 minutes remaining. Napier, who picked up two early fouls and was limited to eight minutes in the first half, finished 9-of-13 shooting from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Napier hit consecutive 3-pointers to extend Connecticut’s lead to 51-40 with nine minutes left, and the American Athletic Conference Player of the Year drilled another 3-pointer after Villanova cut the deficit to six points three minutes later. Napier headed to the bench briefly late in the game with a bruised shin before helping to seal the victory with five points in the final 2:17.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Connecticut’s bench outscored Villanova’s reserves 26-5. ... The 24 points scored by the Wildcats were the fewest they’ve recorded in the first half this season. … Boatright missed seven of his 10 shots from the field but collected seven rebounds for Connecticut, which is headed to its first Sweet 16 since capturing the national title in 2011.