NCAA March Madness: Kentucky narrowly avoids upset
Two No. 1 teams advance to Final Four
Top-seeded Kentucky barely avoided an upset in a game against Notre Dame, but managed to advance to a Final Four matchup with No. 1 Wisconsin for the second year in a row.
(1) Kentucky 68, (3) Notre Dame 66
Pushed to the brink, Kentucky's still perfect and still playing.
Andrew Harrison made two free throws with six seconds remaining, and the top-seeded Wildcats kept their unbeaten season and national title hopes intact with a 68-66 win over Notre Dame on Saturday night in the Midwest Regional final.
The Wildcats (37-0) advanced to the Final Four in Indianapolis next week, where they will meet Wisconsin.
It took everything Kentucky had to hold off the Fighting Irish (32-6), who came within seconds of shocking the tournament's overwhelming favorite. Notre Dame, which has a history of stunning upsets in football and basketball, wasn't done until Jerian Grant's double-clutched 3-pointer from the left corner was long.
Kentucky's bench stormed the floor and the Wildcats celebrated knowing they had ducked a major challenge.
Karl-Anthony Towns scored 25 to lead Kentucky.
(1) Wisconsin 85, (2) Arizona 78
Frank Kaminsky and the Wisconsin Badgers hung on to make the Final Four again.
"Frank the Tank" scored 29 points, Sam Dekker added his second straight career high of 27 and the West Regional's top seed beat No. 2 Arizona 85-78 on Saturday to reach consecutive Final Fours for the first time in school history.
The Badgers (35-3) denied the Wildcats (34-4) a Final Four berth for the second straight year, having beaten them by one point in overtime in Anaheim a year ago when their seeds were reversed.
Wisconsin and 67-year-old coach Bo Ryan head to Indianapolis next week hoping for another shot at undefeated and top-seeded Kentucky, which beat the Badgers by one point in the national semifinals last year.
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson and Brandon Ashley scored 17 points each for the Wildcats, who once again failed to deliver a first-time Final Four appearance for coach Sean Miller.