SYRACUSE, N.Y.- No one sacrificed more than Rashad McCants to make sure North Carolina got back to the Final Four. So it was only fitting that he made the plays when the Tar Heels needed him most.

The star guard, no longer the team’s leading scorer this year while accepting a more team-oriented role, swished a clutch 3-pointer and made two huge defensive stops down the stretch, leading top-seeded North Carolina past Wisconsin 88-82 yesterday in the final of the Syracuse Regional.

Sean May led the Tar Heels (31-4) with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Raymond Felton added 17 points – including four free throws in the final minute to seal it. But it was McCants who did the most to end a marvelous run by the sixth-seeded Badgers (25-9) and send the Tar Heels to the Final Four for the first time since 2000.

With North Carolina clinging to a three-point lead, McCants jumped high to swat away a 3-pointer by Clayton Hanson with about two minutes left, Hanson’s only miss of the second half from beyond the arc. Later, when Kammron Taylor drove to the basket, McCants again was there to stop him.

Wisconsin closed within three again on an alley-oop dunk by Alando Tucker before McCants made his 3-pointer, coming off a screen by Marvin Williams to give North Carolina an 81-75 lead. He finished with 21 points.

Coach Roy Williams advanced to the Final Four for the fifth time; after four trips with Kansas, he’s taking his alma mater in his second season there.

Tucker scored 25 points for the Badgers, who, despite their reputation for steady and methodical offense, never once tried to slow the pace. They scored more than 80 points for only the third time this season. Still, they managed to stay close throughout, led by Tucker and the shooting of Hanson, a former walk-on. He scored 15 points – all on 3-pointers – after averaging only 6.2 coming into the regional.

The leading scorer in the ACC last season as a sophomore, McCants’s average went down more than four points to 15.8. His shots are way down and his assists are up – he has more assists than turnovers for the first time in his career. He was first-team all conference in the ACC last year; his junior year he slipped to third-team all conference.

Meanwhile, May has become the no. 1 offensive option. The burly center certainly was that in this victory, shooting 13-of-19 to reach double figures for the 19th straight game.