To make the Final Four for the third time in four years, eighth-seeded Kentucky had to defeat college basketball's only unbeaten team, the most feared No. 4 seed in the tournament and the regular season champs of the nation's toughest conference, writes Jeff Eisenberg on Yahoo Sports.
Somehow, the Wildcats found a way to do it.
Aaron Harrison secured Kentucky's place in the Final Four on Sunday when he received a dribble handoff from his brother, faked like he intended to drive and then buried a go-ahead step-back 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds left over the outstretched hands of Michigan's Caris Levert. That shot provided the final margin in a 75-72 Kentucky victory that ended the Wolverines' hopes of a second straight Final Four and kept alive the Wildcats' quest to atone for a poor regular season.
A Kentucky team loaded with NBA prospects entered the NCAA tournament as the easily nation's most disappointing team after a regular season that began with talk of going 40-0 ended with 10 losses and a No. 8 seed. The Wildcats have since redeemed themselves the past two weeks, taking down No. 9 seed Kansas State, No. 1 seed Wichita State, No. 4 seed Louisville and No. 2 seed Michigan to emerge from what was hailed as the NCAA tournament's glamour region.
