Villanova’s Kris Jenkins hit a three pointer as time expired to give the Wildcats a 77-74 victory over the North Carolina Tar Heels to win the 2016 NCAA men’s basketball championship. Just a few moments before, UNC’s Marcus Paige hit a double-clutch three pointer to tie the game at 74. Both players hit big shots when their teams needed them the most. Jenkins’ and Paige’s performances have sparked a debate about clutch NCAA tournament shots. Which begs the question: where does Aaron Harrison’s 2014 run rank historically?
The story of the 2013-14 is well known to the Big Blue Nation. After the disastrous 2013 season ended with a first round loss to Robert Morris in the NIT, expectations were high for the 2014 Wildcats. As usual, head coach John Calipari brought in a top notch recruiting class: Andrew and Aaron Harrison, Julius Randle, James Young, Dakari Johnson and Marcus Lee. More than a few folks, both within and outside of the BBN, labeled this group one of the best recruiting classes of all time. As well all know, it takes time for a team to come together.
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The Wildcats were ranked #1 to start the season and met #2 Michigan State at the Champions Classic early in the season. Despite the Kentucky youth, the Cats lost a tightly game to the Spartans 78-74. A good sign, no doubt, but it instead showed a lingering inability to close out games. The Cats lost by 5 at Baylor (*after the women’s teams played an epic 6 overtime game as the undercard) and at North Carolina. The Kentucky team that was preseason #1 limped into the conference season with three losses on its record.
As the 2014-15 Kentucky Wildcats entered the SEC portion of their schedule, the losses began to mount. An overtime loss to Arkansas, a 5 point loss at LSU, a 10 point home loss to Florida, another overtime loss to Arkansas (at home) and, finally, a completely disheartening loss at South Carolina led to a complete meltdown. Coach Cal was tossed out of the game against the Gamecocks. The lackluster play of the Cats and the still fresh 2013 NIT performance, led to the critics coming out to damn Calipari and his method. Noted Calipari critic Pat Forde penned his infamous article stating that Cal had made his bed and he should be prepared to lie in it.
The good news is the season didn’t end after the South Carolina game. It didn’t end after the 84-65 loss at Florida or the 61-60 loss to the Gators in the SEC title. The Cats entered the NCAA tournament as an 8 seed in the Midwest Region. For a team that was preseason number one, this wasn’t exactly the way the BBN figured the Cats would enter the tournament. Kentucky’s first game was a by the numbers 56-49 victory of Kansas State which set up a matchup with undefeated Wichita State.
Prior to the postseason, Coach Cal talked about “tweaking” the team. A lot of people, especially his critics laughed it off as more Cal-Speak. Whatever he did, we all witnessed the fruition of his work against the Shockers. In front of about 19,000 people in St. Louis, MO, Kentucky and Wichita State played one of the best games in NCAA tournament history. The undefeated team against the team that should have been undefeated and the matchup didn’t disappoint. The much maligned Harrison twins combined for 39 points as the Cats won 78-76. The victory setup a showdown with intrastate rival and defending national champion Louisville in the Sweet 16.
For the second time in 3 years, the Cats and Cards were set to meet in the NCAA Tournament. And even though Kentucky had won earlier in the season, the Cards were the favorites heading into the matchup in Indianapolis. Louisville jumped out to a 21-3 lead and all looked lost for the boys in Blue, but the Cats fought back to close the gap to a 34-31 Cardinal lead at halftime. The second half was hotly contested until Aaron Harrison raised up and hit a three to lift the Cats to the winning margin of 74-69, the first of his incredible NCAA tournament shots. Lost in Aaron’s heroics: the balanced Wildcat attack. Aaron Harrison, Julius Randle and Dakari Johnson each scored 15 and Andrew Harrison scored 14 points (with 7 assists).
For the first time in NCAA history, a team would have to face three teams from the previous year’s Final Four. After defeating Wichita State and Louisville, the Michigan Wolverines stood between Kentucky and an improbable Final Four run. Of course, Aaron Harrison’s shot over Michigan’s Caris LaVert with second left in the game is the lasting memory, but Marcus Lee’s performance (10 points, 8 rebounds in 15 minutes) was outstanding. And not to be forgotten: just how dominant Julius Randle became. After 15 points and 12 rebounds vs Louisville, he notched 16 points and 11 rebounds vs Michigan. After a 75-72 victory over the Wolverines, a team that didn’t perform well for most of the season was headed to Dallas and the 2014 Final Four.
Against Wisconsin, Randle had 16 points and 5 rebounds. James Young scored 17 points to lead the Cats. And Alex Poythress played his best start to finish game of his career with 8 points and 7 rebounds off the bench. The Cats had found their stride. The Cats overcame a 40-36 halftime deficit and worked hard to set the table for Aaron Harrison, who was 2-7 from the field, to hit another difficult shot from the left hand side. Harrison hit a three pointer to secure Kentucky’s trip to the NCAA title game with a 74-73 victory over the Badgers.
Yes, the Cats fell short against Connecticut in the title game 60-54. But the memory of the 2014 shouldn’t be one that fades away. For a team that really didn’t click until the NCAA tournament, the run was incredible. When you talk of last second, high pressure shots in the tournament, there are lots of players to hit one and even that guy for Duke hit two (one against UConn and the other against The Unforgettables), but three in three consecutive games? How magical is that? It’s rare that Kentucky ever gets to play the underdog role, but it for one March the Wildcats were underdogs. The 2013-14 Kentucky Wildcats gave the Big Blue Nation lots of great memories and showed why were excited with the twins coming.