WILDCATS

Analysis | Wisconsin stuns UK, ends perfect run

Kyle Tucker

INDIANAPOLIS – For the final 5.5 seconds of game clock that he was still technically undefeated, Aaron Harrison stood on Kentucky's sideline – first doubled over, then with his head buried in his hands. The hero of last season's national semifinal against Wisconsin could not watch the end of Saturday night's Final Four rematch.

The Badgers, who came here to Lucas Oil Stadium seeking revenge for Harrison's late dagger a year ago, denied the Wildcats perfection with a stunning 71-64 upset to reach Monday night's national title game against Duke.

"Could not be more proud of this group of young people, what they did all year, just took us all on a ride – our staff, our school, our state," coach John Calipari said. "Took us on a ride. We all wanted to win those last two. These kids wanted to win in the worst way. But you have to give Wisconsin credit. They did to us what we have done to teams."

GAME REWIND |Wisconsin ends UK's pursuit of perfection

The Cats (38-1) will not be the first team since Indiana in 1976 to go undefeated, because after leading by four points with six minutes to go, they made just one more shot the rest of the night. Harrison exited with his head down after badly missing a desperation 3-pointer with six ticks left, an image in stark contrast to his clutch theatrics in 2014.

Streaming tears and stunned looks in the locker room, though, were reminiscent of the postgame scene when Kentucky lost to Connecticut in the national championship game last season – a biting defeat that spurred several Cats to come back for another shot.

"This doesn't feel as real," Harrison said. "I still haven't wrapped my mind around it, really."

A controversial call with 2:38 remaining benefitted the Badgers. Nigel Hayes' layup counted and tied the game at 60 despite what looked like a shot-clock violation. But that was just the start of a snowball as Wisconsin outscored Kentucky 15-4 to end the game.

While the Cats made plenty of history along the way this season – the first major-conference team in 39 years to go undefeated in the regular season, just the third team of any kind to reach the Final Four without a loss and the only team ever to start 38-0 – there was so much more it wanted to accomplish.

"We could've gone 38-2, 39-1 and won the national title and I'd feel a lot better," freshman point guard Tyler Ulis said. "It takes everything away. All the wins, to me, mean nothing."

The Badgers denied UK a ninth national championship and second in four years. Like 1979 Indiana State and 1991 UNLV, which also came this close, the Cats couldn't finish the toughest feat in college basketball. After all that winning, the sting was sharp and sudden.

"It's like a movie when the main character dies and you're like, 'What? Why did the main character die?' " junior 7-footer Willie Cauley-Stein said. "And you're, like, super hurt over the good guy or the guy you never suspect is going to die (when he) ends up dying and that's the end of the movie. No cliffhangers, no nothing. Just boom, you're done. That's the way it feels. That's the way it is."

This one was stunning, too, because it had followed such a familiar script before the surprise ending. Kentucky had been down plenty of times before this season – had six legitimately close calls, most recently in its Elite Eight escape of Notre Dame – and always found a way to fight back.

The Wildcats did that again, twice, against the Badgers. Down nine with 9:16 to go in the first half, twins Andrew and Aaron Harrison led the first surge. The former hit a driving bucket, crossed over his man for a pull-up jumper and scored over 7-foot All-American Frank Kaminsky. The latter drained a floater though a foul and with his three-point play tied the game.

It was 36-all after a frenzied first half. Even after Wisconsin blitzed Kentucky out of the locker room, hitting six of its first seven shots for a 52-44 lead with 14:41 to go, the Cats answered again. Before they finally ran out of clutch plays, the Harrisons – who combined for 25 points on 10-of-21 shooting – sparked an 8-0 run.

Freshman Karl-Anthony Towns, who finished with 16 points and nine rebounds, gave UK a 60-56 lead with six minutes remaining. That's when the wheels fell off. The Wildcats had three consecutive shot-clock violations and the Badgers reeled off eight straight points.

Soon, Aaron Harrison was on the edge of the court looking like he might throw up. Cauley-Stein was right there with him.

"I feel bad for our community," he said. "That's what is kind of weighing on me. I wanted to hold a trophy off the bus, off the plane, and just hear everybody go crazy. Because Lord knows there would be 10,000 people at our airport. They're still going to be there, but it's just going to be a different feeling."

For the first, last and only time all season, it is the foreign feeling of defeat.

Kyle Tucker can be reached at (502) 582-4361. Follow him on Twitter @KyleTucker_CJ.