Ohio State turned the ball over with 50 seconds left, and Foye was fouled four seconds later. He missed the front end of a one-and-one. The Buckeyes' Tony Stockman then drove untouched through all five Villanova players for a layup that made it 66-63 with 32 seconds to go - Ohio State's only field goal over the final 5 1/2 minutes.
Foye missed a three-point attempt with 15 seconds remaining, and Villanova's Will Sheridan could not convert the rebound. Brandon Fuss-Cheathem made one free throw with 9.2 seconds left, and Nardi hit a trey at the buzzer for the final score.
"We didn't do some things early that we needed to, and that got us into a hole again," Villanova coach Jay Wright said. "We can't keep putting ourselves into that kind of hole. Ohio State is a very good team, and they did a good job in the first half of attacking our pressure. They spread the court and made shots."
Ray agreed.
"We dug ourselves into a hole in the first half because our intensity wasn't where we needed it to be," the sophomore guard said. "In the second half, we played even harder and got ourselves into a position where we had a chance to win. I felt very confident that we could execute and get it done, but we came up short."
Stockman, a transfer from Clemson, led the Buckeyes with 23 points - 17 in the first half, when Ohio State (2-2) took a 39-24 lead.
Terence Dials had 12 points and nine rebounds for the Buckeyes, who shot 54.3 percent for the game but were just 13 for 23 from the free-throw line.
Ray had 21 points, and Foye had 18 points and eight assists for the Wildcats. Villanova was without two injured starters, and another player was serving the final game of a suspension from last season for unauthorized use of a university telephone access code.
"I'm looking forward to getting our whole team back," Ray said. "But even when that happens, we know we have to play harder than ever. We can't just think that because we have more help, good things will automatically happen. We need to make them happen."
Villanova lost, 52-49, in the tournament opener to Chaminade, the Division II host school. The Silverswords had lost their last 30 games in the tournament. Four Wildcats played at least 39 minutes Wednesday, and Chris Charles played 35 before fouling out.
Ohio State lost, 83-61, to San Diego State in its opener.
