Pittsburgh - Villanova went from a top seed to No. 1-and-done.

N.C. State is back in the Sweet 16, attacking one of the top teams in the nation for 40 minutes and stunning Villanova 71-68 on Saturday night. The Wolfpack went wild as the final horn sounded and danced around the court in celebration.

No, it wasn't quite Jim Valvano's mad dash after the Wolfpack won the 1983 national championship. But the Wolfpack (22-13) have designs on their own big March run. They will move on to Syracuse, New York to play the winner of the Louisville-Northern Iowa game.

N.C. State guards Cat Barber and Desmond Lee shared a long embrace after buzzer. Barber pounded his chest and said, "all heart!"

Lacey led them with 17 points and Barber had 13, each coming with big buckets to hold off a late Villanova charge.

The Wildcats saw a 16-game winning streak end and have not reached the second weekend since 2009.

The Wildcats come up empty after storming their way to pair of Big East titles and a 41-point victory in the NCAA tournament opener.

Dylan Ennis was nearly unconsolable, his arms crossed over his head in disbelief. Ennis missed a 3-pointer after an N.C. State turnover with 20 seconds left that would have put the Wildcats ahead.

Darrun Hilliard scored 27 points and gamely rallied the Wildcats in the final minutes. He hit 3-pointers that brought them to within four, within two with 41.1 seconds left and 69-68 with 1.2 seconds left.

Ralston Turner sealed the win with free throws and N.C. State was back in the Sweet 16 for only the third time since 1989 (2012, 2005). They hadn't defeated a top seed since that memorable night in 1983 when they upset Houston.

Malik-Adbul Abu had 13 points, 12 rebounds and absolutely destroyed the Wildcats inside.

Yet for the all the Wolfpack did right to keep the 'Cats on their heels, they never went on that decisive run that would have ended a comeback threat. Barber lost the ball and N.C. State's ninth turnover led to Josh Hart's three-point play with 3:51 left.

The Wolfpack didn't have to win with authority, though - they just had to win.

Desmond Lee's three-point play stretched the lead back to seven and put them minutes away from the signature win under coach Mark Gottfried. Wins over Duke, North Carolina and Louisville in ACC play let them know they could knock off the elite.

Gottfried also has a knack for pulling off March upsets - he led eighth-seeded Alabama to a win over No. 1 Stanford in the second round of the 2004 tournament.