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Kentucky advanced to the Final Four last weekend when freshman shooting guard Aaron Harrison hit a three-pointer from the left wing to defeat Michigan. It looked like this:
On Saturday, Kentucky advanced to the national title game when freshman shooting guard Aaron Harrison hit a three-pointer from the left wing to defeat Wisconsin. It looked like this:
Same spot. Same shot. Same result.
Let's not forget that Aaron Harrison also hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 40 seconds left to key the Wildcats' victory over Louisville in the Sweet 16. Kentucky is now the first team to ever win four straight games by five points or less in the NCAA Tournament. They can thank Harrison's penchant for hitting clutch shots for that.
More late-game heroics from Harrison covers up the fact that Aaron and his twin brother Andrew did not play particularly well against Wisconsin. The twins combined to go 7-for-22 from the field for 17 points. Kentucky's horde of NBA-caliber big men were bailing out their starting guards all night by crashing the glass, and the 11 offensive rebounds the Wildcats pulled down were as important as anything in the win.
You would think John Calipari's team is going to need better and more consistent production from the Harrisons in the national championship game against UConn's tiny but explosive backcourt of Shabazz Napier and Ryan Boatright. Of course, that won't be a problem until Monday. The eighth-seeded Wildcats just keep advancing, and it wouldn't have happened without Aaron Harrison coming up big in the most important moments.
Leave it to Kentucky center Dakari Johnson to put the moment in proper perspective. You might remember what he had to say after the win over Michigan in the Elite 8:
"He got big nuts, to be honest," Dakari Johnson said of Harrison. "He can't even walk right now."
Here's what he said after the win over Wisconsin on Saturday:
Oh my God. Dakari: "They're growing. The balls are growing."
— Kyle Tucker (@KyleTucker_CJ) April 6, 2014
That explains it, really.