With just five seconds to go, Brandon Knight became a legend for the Kentucky Wildcats.
Amazing Brandon Knight shot puts Kentucky back in Elite Eight
For the first 39 minutes, 55 seconds of Kentucky's biggest win of the season, it was the contributions of the Wildcats' oft-overlooked upperclassmen that kept them within striking distance of top-seeded Ohio State.Then freshman point guard Brandon Knight made sure his teammates' hard work wouldn't go to waste.
Knight, so often compared to the likes of John Wall or Derrick Rose, hit a game-winning jump shot either of John Calipari's legendary former point guards would have been proud to have sunk. He shook off a top-of-the-key ball screen, dribbled right and sank a pull-up 16-footer over Ohio State's Aaron Craft with five seconds left, providing the final margin in the Wildcats' 62-60 victory.
If Ohio State looked dominant in winning 29 regular season games and nearly invincible in dismantling George Mason last Sunday, credit Kentucky for exposing the Buckeyes' vulnerabilities. The Wildcats played extraordinary defense to set up an Elite Eight rematch with North Carolina on Sunday, blocking 11 shots and finally shedding the reputation of a team that struggled to win close games for much of the regular season.
The biggest key for the Wildcats was the play of senior Josh Harrellson, the seldom-used role player for three seasons who has gone from cult hero to key contributor during the course of his senior year. The 6-foot-10 Harrellson scored 17 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but most importantly he was able to defend Ohio State's Jared Sullinger to a near draw without the help of many double teams.
The few times Kentucky did help Harrellson, it typically was DeAndre Liggins who provided it.
In addition to scoring 15 points and grabbing six rebounds, the defensive-minded Liggins drew Ohio State point guard Aaron Craft as his defensive assignment, enabling him to play somewhat of a rover position. He bottled up Craft into 0-for-5 shooting and made it difficult for him to find open teammates, yet managed to help as needed elsewhere.
Kentucky needed those contributions from its upperclassmen because its freshmen were ordinary at times. Knight, Terrence Jones and Doron Lamb combined to score only 23 points and shoot just 8 of 25.
Perhaps Calipari had the faith to go to Knight in a tie game on Kentucky's final possession because he'd seen the freshman deliver before in this situation. It was just a week ago that the Wildcats needed Knight to bail them out simply to avoid overtime in the round of 64 against 13th-seeded Princeton.
Now the Wildcats have secured a spot in the Elite Eight for a second straight season, this time against a Tar Heels team that defeated them 75-73 on Dec. 4.
It's an intriguing matchup with a Final Four berth on the line. The surprising part will be that No. 1 overall seed Ohio State will be watching from home.
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