'Ridiculous shot:' Kentucky beats Wisconsin in cliffhanger; goes to NCAA final
(CNN) -- With just seconds left on the clock, Freshman Aaron Harrison sank a long three-pointer to give Kentucky a 74-73 win over Wisconsin Saturday night in the Final Four of the NCAA men's basketball tournament.
Wisconsin managed one last good shot, but it missed the goal.
Kentucky will now face Connecticut -- a 63-53 winner over Florida -- on Monday in the championship game.
Attendance was 79,444 Saturday night at the Final Four at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, breaking the previous record of 78,129, according to the NCAA March Madness Twitter feed.
The championship game will be played at the same site.
Harrison has hit two other key long baskets in the tournament. Calipari said Wisconsin could have easily come out on top.
'They did everything they were supposed to do to win the game and then we made a ridiculous shot,' he said at a post-game press conference. 'We hung on and so did Wisconsin. It was a heck of a game.'
Calipari praised his freshman-laden team for coming back from a 40-36 half-time deficit to go on a 15-0 run. 'When we're down ... they grow hair on their necks,' he said.
Traveon Jackson of Wisconsin got off the last shot as time expired.
'I felt pretty good that he got to that spot where he's hit shots before,' Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. 'It just didn't go.'
Florida was the top seed for the entire tournament and held a 12-point lead midway through the first half in its bout against Connecticut, earlier Saturday.
Connecticut roared back, taking a slight lead at the half and expanding the bulge early in the second half.
'They showed us some true grit and toughness,' Connecticut coach Kevin OIlie said in the post-game press conference.
Shabazz Napier said he and his teammates didn't panic when they trailed 16-4 early in the game.
'We've been through a lot of dog fights and continue to believe in each other,' he said.
Florida coach Billy Donovan said, 'Once they got their defense set I think we had a hard time handling their pressure.'
Scottie Wilbekin of Florida, the player of the year in the Southeastern Conference, only scored four points in the contest.
'On offense we couldn't get anything going,' he said.
Both Kentucky and Connecticut were not expected to advance this far. Kentucky was a No. 8 seed in their region and Connecticut was a No. 7 seed.
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