Kentucky 78, Wichita State 76: Andrew Harrison scored 20 points and Aaron Harrison added 19 as the Wildcats held on to end the undefeated run of the Shockers in the round of 32 of the NCAA tournament in St. Louis.
Julius Randle posted 13 points, 10 rebounds and a career-high six assists for No. 8 seed Kentucky (26-10), which shot 54 percent from the field. James Young chipped with 13 points and eight boards as the Wildcats advanced to meet Louisville in the Midwest regional semifinals on Friday in Indianapolis.
Cleanthony Early scored 21 of his season-high 31 points in the second half for top-seeded Wichita State (35-1), which saw its NCAA-record 35-0 start come to an end when Fred VanVleet’s potential game-winning 3-pointer sailed wide right as time expired. Ron Baker added 20 points for the Shockers.
Wichita State used a 17-4 surge to erase a four-point deficit and take a 32-23 advantage late in the first half and led by nine after opening the second half with a 3-pointer by Early, but a dunk and three-point play by Randle sparked a 10-0 burst that put Kentucky back in front. The Wildcats extended their edge to four following another three-point play by Randle before Nick Wiggins drained a 3-pointer to start a 9-2 run.
Kentucky withstood a 3-point barrage by Baker and Early and dug out of a five-point hole, pulling ahead 73-71 on a triple from Young with 1:40 to go and getting two free throws by Andrew Harrison to build a four-point edge with 43 seconds left before Baker banked in a 3-pointer on the other end. After Randle and Early each hit two foul shots, Andrew Harrison missed the second of two free throws to leave the Wildcats ahead by two with eight seconds left.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Shockers had won their previous 10 games by double digits and their last 18 by at least seven points. … Coach John Calipari has reached the Sweet 16 in each of his four NCAA tournament trips with Kentucky. … Early and Baker combined to score Shockers’ final 22 points.
Kentucky | Wichita St. | |
Andrew Harrison 20 | Scoring | Cleanthony Early 31 |
Julius Randle 6 | Assists | Fred VanVleet 6 |
Julius Randle 10 | Rebounds | Cleanthony Early 7 |
Andrew Harrison 7 | Free Throws Made | Cleanthony Early 3 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 2 | Steals | Fred VanVleet 2 |
Willie Cauley-Stein 1 | Blocks | Darius Carter 1 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Kentucky | 78 | 54.0 | 8-18 | 16-22 | 11 | 26 | 3 | 6 | 11 |
Wichita St. | 76 | 55.1 | 10-21 | 12-18 | 14 | 23 | 3 | 6 | 9 |