National Basketball Association
Kentucky 74, Wisconsin 73
When: 8:49 PM ET, Saturday, April 5, 2014
Where: AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas
Officials:
# Patrick Adams, # Mike Stuart, # Terry Wymer
Attendance:
79444
By SportsDirect Inc.
Kentucky 74, Wisconsin 73: Aaron Harrison hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left as the Wildcats defeated the Badgers to reach the NCAA title game in Arlington, Texas.
James Young scored 17 points and Julius Randle added 16 as eighth-seeded Kentucky (29-10) advances to face seventh-seeded Connecticut in Monday’s championship. Harrison scored just eight points but made the decisive basket in the final seconds for the second straight game when he drained a 3-pointer from about four feet behind the arc.
Sam Dekker and Ben Brust scored 15 points apiece for Wisconsin (30-8), which took a 73-71 lead with 16.4 seconds left when Traevon Jackson hit two of three free throws. Jackson scored 12 points and had a chance to atone for the free-throw miss but was off the mark with a 15-footer as time expired.
The Badgers used a 15-4 surge to turn an eight-point deficit into a 58-55 lead on Jackson’s basket with 10:52 left but Kentucky recovered and tied it at 69 on two free throws by Randle with 3:48 remaining. Alex Poythress scored at the rim with 2:16 left to push Kentucky back ahead before Wisconsin’s Frank Kaminsky – who was held to eight points – tied the game at 71 on a hoop with 1:16 remaining.
An early 10-0 burst allowed Wisconsin to lead most of the first half before taking a 40-36 lead into halftime. Dekker made a 3-pointer to start the second half before Young scored six points during a 15-0 run to give Kentucky a 51-43 lead with 15:33 remaining.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Poythress (6.2 points, 3.6 rebounds per game in NCAA tournament) had a bag of ice on his left knee after getting injured in the postgame celebration, but said he was fine after scoring eight points. ... Kentucky C Willie Cauley-Stein (ankle) sat out with the injury he suffered against Louisville on March 28. … Wisconsin was 19-of-20 from the free-throw line – Jackson’s crucial miss being the lone one – while the Wildcats were 14-of-21. … Kentucky held a 32-27 edge on the boards and committed just four turnovers, all in the first half.
Top Game Performances
| Kentucky |
|
Wisconsin |
|
James Young 17 |
Scoring |
Ben Brust 15 |
|
Andrew Harrison 4 |
Assists |
Josh Gasser 3 |
|
Dakari Johnson 7 |
Rebounds |
Duje Dukan 5 |
|
James Young 6 |
Free Throws Made |
Sam Dekker 8 |
|
James Young 2 |
Steals |
Sam Dekker 1 |
|
Marcus Lee 1 |
Blocks |
Frank Kaminsky 2 |
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Points |
FG% |
3PM-3PA |
FTM-FTA |
Assists |
Rebounds |
Blocks |
Steals |
Turnovers |
| Kentucky
|
74 |
50.0 |
2-5 |
14-21 |
9 |
32 |
1 |
4 |
4 |
| Wisconsin
|
73 |
46.0 |
8-20 |
19-20 |
11 |
27 |
3 |
4 |
8 |
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