Washington ? Connecticut was as careless as a top seed can be – and got away with it.

Despite a season-high 26 turnovers and 10-point second-half deficit, Connecticut rallied to force overtime on Rashad Anderson’s three-pointer with 1.8 seconds left in regulation.

Then the Huskies of the Big East held off the foul-depleted Huskies of the Pac-10 in the extra period for a 98-92 victory Friday night and a place in the NCAA’s round of eight.

A huge free-throw difference helped: UConn hit 34 of 47 charities, while Washington made 18 of 23.

Marcus Williams, who got an earful from coach Jim Calhoun during a careless stretch in the first half, recovered to score a career-high 26 as Connecticut advanced to the regional finals for the sixth time in 12 years. UConn (30-3) will play for a spot in the Final Four on Sunday against 11th-seeded George Mason.

Connecticut did its best to give the game away, even after it appeared the game was sewn up in overtime. Rudy Gay, taking the ball out of bounds with UConn leading by two with 16 seconds remaining, committed the 26th turnover when his inbounds pass was intercepted by Ryan Appleby.

Washington's Brandon Roy (3) reacts in disgust as Connecticut's Denham Brown defends during their Sweet 16 game. UConn won, 98-92 in overtime, Friday in Washington.

But Appleby passed to Joel Smith, who threw the ball right back to UConn. Williams picked off the pass, was fouled, and then made both free throws with 11.3 seconds to play.

Senior Jamaal Williams came off the bench to score a career-high 27, including the first three-pointer of his college career, to lead fifth-seeded Washington (26-7). The Huskies from the Pac-10 failed to hold a 10-point lead with 15 minutes to play and began to run out of players down the stretch: two fouled out in regulation, and two more in overtime.

Connecticut has yet to hit stride in the tournament. UConn had to rally from 12 points down to beat 16th-seeded Albany in the first round and struggled to hold off Kentucky in the second round.

Calhoun warned Thursday that his Huskies were “a team of lapses,” and was he ever prophetic. UConn committed nine turnovers during a miserable 5 1/2-minute spell at the start of the second half, but Washington was unable to take full advantage.

Anderson rescued Connecticut with his three-point shooting. He made two in the final 35 seconds and finished with 19 points, making 5 of 10 three-pointers. Josh Boone added 13 points and 11 rebounds for Connecticut, which had only a 42-38 rebounding advantage over a much smaller opponent. Gay scored 11 of his 12 in the second half, but also had six turnovers.

Brandon Roy scored 20 for Washington. The Pac-10 player of the year missed vital time in the second half after he and Gay went chest-to-chest and received double technicals. Roy also got a personal foul on the play, giving him four fouls and forcing him to the bench for several minutes.