Randy Foye, the conference’s player of the year, had 26 points for Villanova, which shot 35.2 percent from the field (19-for-54), including 29.2 percent on 3s (7-for-24).

Pittsburgh led 32-21 at halftime and just 32 seconds into the second half, Ray was hit in the face as he and two Pittsburgh players battled for the ball on the floor near the Villanova bench.

The senior guard remained on the floor for several minutes, kicking his legs in obvious pain.

Wright said there was “no scratched cornea and the official injury is soft tissue injury to right eye.”

The Panthers led 50-38 when they started to milk the shot clock on each possession. They made it work for four straight baskets with less then 5 seconds left on the 35-second clock. The last of the four was a drive by Fields with 3:21 left that made it 60-45.

That was the Panthers’ final field goal and they went 8-for-12 from the free throw line over the final 1:55.

“I think our players on the bench ... you have to watch out for us now,” Graves said. “Everybody should know that they have to watch out for us now. We’re a deep team, we play well together and share the ball. That’s all that counts.”

Pittsburgh forward Levon Kendall, who missed the West Virginia game with back spasms, had six points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes on Friday.

Pitt beat 11th-seeded Louisville 61-56 in the opening round and No. 19 West Virginia 68-57 in the quarterfinals.

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