By Associated Press
Houston, TX – Kemba Walker scored 18 points Saturday night to lift Connecticut to its 10th straight victory since finishing off a .500 Big East regular season, a 56-55 win over cold-shooting Kentucky that moved the Huskies a victory away from their third, and most improbable, NCAA title.
Walker, a quick-handed junior from the Bronx, added seven assists and six rebounds to help the young UConn team (31-9) extend a winning streak that started with a five-wins-in-five-nights leg-drainer at the conference tournament and now includes five more at the tournament that really counts.
The third-seeded Huskies - lowest seed left in a tournament that has been as unpredictable as any in history - will face No. 8 Butler, a 70-62 winner over 11th-seeded VCU in the first semifinal, on Monday.
Fourth-seeded Kentucky (29-9) shot 33.9 percent for the game and went 5:39 without a point late in the second half. UConn wasn't much better, but Walker, Alex Oriakhi and Shabazz Napier all made baskets to turn a 48-48 tie into a 54-48 lead with 2:29 left.
DeAndre Liggins made a 3-pointer for the Wildcats to cut the deficit to three, and Kentucky had its chances. But Brandon Knight, one of John Calipari's three sensational freshmen, barely drew iron on a 3-pointer. After Kentucky got the rebound, Liggins drew a foul but only hit one of two free throws.
Kentucky forced one more turnover and went for the win, but this time, it was Liggins whose 3-pointer was short. Napier made two free throws to make it 56-52, then Knight ended the game with a 3-pointer at the buzzer - a meaningless make and a cruel close to what has otherwise been a remarkable season for Calipari and Co. - Kentucky's first trip to the Final Four since winning it all in 1998.
Knight finished 6 for 23 with 17 points, Doron Lamb had 13 on 5-for-10 shooting. But the Wildcats made only 21 field goals, only nine from 3-point range and shot 4 for 12 from the free-throw line.
"I just think we missed a bunch of open shots," Kentucky senior Josh Harrellson said. "We had good looks, and we just weren't knocking anything down. ... We just couldn't make anything."
"We had our chance to win the game, and as a coach, that's all you can ask of these young people," Calipari said. "Give us a chance, and we had an opportunity."