|
 "That guy's so smooth," Cauley-Stein said. "His face never
changes expression. I just knew if he got a clean look at it that we
were in trouble."
Instead, VanVleet's shot sailed wide right and the Wildcats were
rushing the floor moments later, winners of an epic Midwest Regional
third-round game against the nation's only undefeated team.
Forward James Young's 3-pointer with 1:38 left on Sunday put No.
8-seeded Kentucky ahead for good as it eliminated the top-seeded
Shockers 78-76 inside a raucous Scottrade Center.
Guard Andrew Harrison scored 20 points for Kentucky (26-10) and
guard and twin brother Aaron Harrison added 19. Forward Julius
Randle stuffed the stat sheet for 13 points, 10 rebounds and six
assists. Young finished with 13 points.
Andrew Harrison's foul shot with 7.2 seconds remaining gave the
Wildcats a two-point lead. After he missed the second shot, Wichita
State (35-1) rebounded, rushed the ball into the frontcourt and
called timeout with 3.2 seconds left.
Kentucky took away the Shockers' first two options — forward
Cleanthony Early, who led all scorers with 31 points, and guard Ron
Baker, who had 20. That left VanVleet, the Missouri Valley
Conference Player of the Year, to take the shot.
A 43.7 percent 3-point shooter on the season, VanVleet used a screen
to maneuver around a defender and pulled up from 23 feet, but the
shot wasn't close.
"That was a great, great basketball game," Wichita State coach Gregg
Marshall said. "At the end of it, they just made one more play than
we did. But this team went 35-1 and they've given me more joy than I
can imagine."
The Shockers were trying to become the first men's team in college
basketball history to go 40-0, a feat the Baylor women accomplished
two years. Despite connecting on 55.1 percent of their shots from
the field and committing only nine turnovers, they failed to hush
the skeptics who said their lofty record was a byproduct of playing
in the weakened Missouri Valley Conference.
Wichita State led 37-31 after a first half in which both teams shot
54.2 from the field. The differences came in turnovers, where the
Wildcats made eight to the Shockers' four, and an 8-1 advantage in
made free throws by Wichita State.
After Early stuck a 3-pointer to start the second half, Kentucky
scored 10 straight points to take a 41-40 edge. From there, the
teams played at a national championship level as a bi-partisan crowd
of 19,676 shook the arena.
[to top of second column] |
"You play in a game like this," Cauley-Stein said, "and when there
are 15 minutes left, it feels like there are 30 seconds left and
it's a one-point game. That's how hard everyone is playing."
Early scored 10 points in less than 4 1/2 minutes of the second
half, finishing the run with a 3-pointer from the right corner with
4:35 remaining for a 69-64 lead.
Back came the Wildcats, scoring on their last nine possessions
against one of the nation's best defensive teams. They attacked the
basket aggressively, converting 11 of 14 free throws, and got just
enough stops to complete the comeback.
"Bittersweet," Early said of his last game. "It is what it is."
Now Kentucky faces commonwealth archrival Louisville on Friday night
in the regional semis at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in a
rematch of a Dec. 28 game won by the Wildcats 73-66.
"We never feel like an underdog," Cauley-Stein said. "We could be a
16 seed and play a number one seed and we'd feel like we were
supposed to win. Look at the name on our chest ... that says a lot."
NOTES: This is the first time Kentucky and Wichita State have played
each other. ... Wildcats freshman F Julius Randle's double-double in
Friday night's second round win over Kansas State was his 21st this
season, third-most in program history. ... The last time Kentucky
faced a No. 1 seed in the NCAA Tournament was in a 2011 regional
semifinal, knocking off Ohio State 62-60 on Brandon Knight's jumper
with 10.4 seconds left. ... F Cleanthony Early scored 23 points on
Friday night against Cal Poly, marking the 21st time this season a
Shocker had 20 or more points in a game.
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